A Great Day

I should have been a sportscaster. Spectator sports are like junk food (or comfort food if you prefer). Yes they are fun but the more you consume, the emptier you feel.

 I have learned to limit my viewing and reading about such alluring matters. I still watch things like The Olympics, The Kentucky Derby and the Indianapolis 500.

 Today the Naptown Half-Thou once more delivered the day. Open wheel racing has been up and down with more downs than ups. It is currently riding a might wave. One might think that with higher speeds, races would not be close. At an average speed differential of say, one mile an hour--and at 200+ mph those differentials would appear--and the race took place over three hours, the field would be strung out all over the place and few cars would be on the lead lap. It hasn't worked out that way.

 Well into the race almost the entire field was separated by about 20 seconds. Engineering continues to engineer. I can remember when half the field would drop out due to mechanical failure. Not counting pit errors or collisions I think her were only one or two mechanical failures in Indianapolis today.

 As with football, the race has become more about the coach than the player. More about the Andretti in the booth than the Andretti behind the wheel. Drivers are still important but races are won and lost in the booth..and the pits.

 Alexander Rossi became the first rookie to win the Indianapolis 500 in 15 years. It was the brilliant Bryan Herta who orchestrated the victory. He's one of those gnomes with headsets who realized that the only chance Rossi had against the faster cars was to take one fewer pit stop.

Rossi got 90 miles on his last tank of gas and his car sputtered to the finish line. It stalled on the victory lap and was towed to the Winner's Circle. How symbolic!

 With 54 lead changes and a surprise ending, this, the 100th Indy 500 was a masterpiece.

 But I wasn't finished. I was feeling a little under the weather so I did not feel the need to conclude my viewing early. I switched back and forth between the Red Sox beating Toronto 5-3 in 11 innings and Jordan Spieth's highlight reel at the Dean and Deluca Invitational.

 It was a great day.