Gentlemen, Start Your Engines! By Becky Morgensen
	The sound of cars flying by at speeds averaging 226 miles per hour, the smell of smoking tires, the energy in the air. These are the sensations most of the 23 Ski Club members were in search of as they boarded the bus on Sunday, May 19 to head to the last day of this year’s Indianapolis 500 Time Trials. Others may have been more in search of the sound of a great band, the smell of beer and racetrack food, and the energy of all their friends that day. Whatever their reason for going, everyone went away satisfied after a great time at “Bump Day”—the day last minute qualifiers can earn a spot on the starting line, bumping others down to the 33^rd (and last) starting position.
The trip over was full of anticipation…first anticipation of the Time Trials themselves…then closer to Indianapolis, anticipation of the rain. But we got lucky, and the rain stopped just as we arrived. Jamie Magirl was a great trip leader, and even got us an up close and personal parking place in the “employees only” parking. We won’t ask if that one was planned,

Jamie…but we sure appreciated it! From the bus we watched as a team of parachutists dropped through the sky, red smoke trailing in unique designs from the heels of each member of the team. Roger Gingrich and Tom Kaskubar were later seen getting tips from these daredevils, and there are some amongst us that expect to see these two “hit” the slopes next winter with skis and a parachute. Watch out, over 60’s fans!!!.

Jamie did a fabulous job of planning and leading this trip. He arranged for all of us to sit together AT THE FINISH LINE! Talk about a bird’s eye view of the most critical stretch of the track! But Jamie didn’t stop at that…he obtained each of us a Garage Pass, and gave us his personally-guided tour of Gasoline Alley! We walked right up to the front of the garages to watch the mechanics do last minute adjustments in hopes of getting that last little boost of power that would edge their car over the qualifying time of 226 miles per hour. We spoke with and got autographs from various drivers, and watched intently as racecars were towed to the filling station, then out to the racetrack.

After watching a number of drivers qualify, and some not qualify, the rain began to threaten again. Many of us took this opportunity to tour the Indy 500 Speedway museum. While some of we “girls” weren’t originally excited about the museum, everything changed when we walked in the door. Vintage racecars, new racecars, old broadcasting equipment, trophies from around the world and throughout the decades…all this and more combined to make the museum one of the highlights of the trip. Okay, the fact that some of us had our picture taken in a racecar didn’t hurt, either!

Outside the museum were a number of live military exhibits, and we were all impressed that Cindy Sullivan’s sons, Brendon and Bryan, completed the Marine obstacle course in record time. After watching their agility and speed, no amount of encouragement could persuade the older Ski Club members (you know…age 25 and over) to show their skill at the course. Way to go Brendon and Bryan!

With clear skies once again, we headed back to watch more racers pursue that qualifying speed. I was really fortunate when some nice gentleman in the bleachers next to us lent me his Pit Pass, and I could go down to the track’s edge. You could literally feel the vibrations in your chest as the cars flew by. I realized after I was out of film that I had been watching the time trials with Ashley Judd sitting on the car right in front of me. We both looked on as her husband earned his spot in the big race. I may have been too focused on fast cars to recognize movie stars, but Tammy Meister recognized Ashely back in Gasoline Alley, and got her autograph!

Well, as Scott and Linda Cooper said, it was exciting just watching the weather change every 30 minutes, and finally the qualifications were closed due to rain. We all “tried” to make our way back to the bus on what would at first appear to be a customer service vehicle. But, as we found out, the bride of Chucky was our tram-nazi. Some of us still have nightmares of the sounds of “Do NOT attempt to get off the tram at Undesignated areas”, “Not on MY tram”, and the ever famous “Sorry my As@”!

But even the bride of Chucky could not ruin the great time everyone had on this trip. As Paul Carr said, it was just great to find somewhere in the US where you can drive at triple digit speeds without ending up in traffic school! (Remember Paul—these are trained professionals on a closed course!)

Thanks again to Jamie for the hard work, great planning, and all the special perks that made this a trip we’ll never forget!