Marcus Ericsson, Will Power and Scott Dixon
pictured at the end of the St Pete race. (The Tomaso Collection)
Yet at least I got to listen to the Important parts
of the St Pete Broadcast!
First off, I’d like to tackle something that
seems to being overlooked on Ye Blogosphere.
Yeah, I’d like there to Not be a four weeks gap
in IndyCar’s first two rounds like everyone else. But what’s not being mentioned
is the fact that this is primarily due to the multiple IndyCar Teams who also
race in IMSA Sports Cars competition, and the need to Not race on the same
weekend as the prestigious 12 Hours of Sebring.
As Sebring’s legendous’ ‘Ol School 12 Hours race
is typically held on the second full week of March, and was held on March 18th this
year. Which if Y’all recall, IndyCar’s race at Texas Motor Speedway exactly did
so last year with great Dissatisfaction from those IndyCar teams affected!
Ah, it seems fairly strange to think that I
haven’t Scribbled’ anythingy’ new for Ye No Fenders Blog in a month’s time.
Having been on another glorious 23 days Holiday, albeit I’ve enjoyed being away
from the Keyboard!
I simply love how Tacoma Bureau Chief Mary
ellen Always takes care of me!
Case in point, after telling Her I wanted to listen
to the St Pete IndyCar race while On Holiday, Abracadabra!
And in a case of apparently prescient
knowledge, I was totally unworried over missing the season opening Formula 1
race also taking place in Bahrain the same weekend, since we All know how that
Max Verstappen Red Bull Whitewash worked out! Although one does not need a
Crystal Ball to foresee this. With Sergio Perez leading another Red Bull Farce
in Jeddah. Along with reading subsequently Grizzled F1 Journo’ Joe Saward
predicting a further Red Bull Massacre Down Under in Bloody Melbourne Mates!
But I digress…
Yet fortuitously I asked Mary ellen to pull up
the results of Friday’s practices for both F1 and IndyCar, to which She also
inquisitively asked me where to find the IndyCar Radio Broadcast online. And
when I mentioned they’d also be broadcasting Qualifying Saturday. She
immediately said, Don’t you want to listen to that also?
Spending the week at Her Seester’s house on
Vashon Island, Catherine had earlier divulged that the Internet service was
currently awaiting a 48 Hours Reboot. Since She’d accidently cancelled the
Credit Card it’s monthly Autopay payments had been being made from. With No
idea when it would resume, or why it was taking so g-Damn long? But more upon
that later…
As Saturday was a veritable “Keystone Cops” Comedy
of Errors! Although it ultimately turned out to be a good “Spring Training”
workout for Ye Apple Orchard’s technical issues!
Strangely, the Intrawoods’, nee internet
service still wasn’t activated, with Catherine making another phone call to
their Internets’ Service Provider (ISP) to find out what’s taking so long? With
Catherine saying She knew how I could listen to it, as I sat on the couch with
my faithful lap Hog Hang 10’ Hilo counting down until Qualie’ began at 11:15AM
Pacific. As Catherine was initially busy listening to Wait Wait… don’t Tell Me!
After saying I thought the race was tomorrow? Before pulling up the IndyCar
Radio Network on Her Smart phone.
As perhaps it’s what All those Uber Smart Kids
due these days? With Catherine saying She could stream the broadcast via Her
phone thru their Rocu’s Bose Wave surround sound Speaker, and it would be just
like being at the track! Whale’ not exactly Catherine, Hya!
Thus I marveled to Thyself after Catherine had
repositioned the Bose speaker directly in front of Mwah for true “Stereophonic”
sound. Along with Hilo seated on my lap as the start of the season’s first
Qualifying session from St Pete began , musing “It Doesn’t get Any Better than
This!” Especially when not having to inhale those typical, noxious wafting
Cigar and Cigarette Fumes trackside!
Wallah, Just-in-time! Thar was Mike Gravelly’
James and Davey Hamilton Yacking at me as Catherine flitted about the house,
being able to hear Her having a Chinwag’ with Mary Ellen before the broadcast suddenly
Quit playing with just over 90 seconds remaining for Session One, Group One’s
outing. Before I yelled Catherine!
An apologetic Catherine came out of the bedroom
and said Sorry! I only have one bar and was trying to make a phone call. So I
totally missed who’d gone thru for Group-1 before Catherine re-established
“Connectivity.”
Then somewhere near the middle of Session One,
Group Two’s 10mins, whilst Catherine was puttering about at the Dining room
table Her phone rang, once again Knocking Out my Qualie’ broadcast! As it was Catherine’s
Husband Stuart calling from somewhere in the Dolomites, to which Catherine
Cheekily said we’ll have to Text Stuart, we’re currently having Broadband
issues…
Next, I simply went into Hysterical, almost
maniacal laughter when the next door neighbor teenager Alayla ran the Doorbell
about halfway thru the 90mins broadcast and All three Dogs began Barking Madly!
And Catherine and Alayla began talking excitedly over the piercing calamity of
three Barking dogs! As even Hang 10’ Hilo, whose normally chilled, was Barking!
Which obviously caused me to not be able to hear a Gory thing!
And Alayla, whose 14yrs old just wanted to
“Play” with Danny, Catherine & Stuart’s 80-plus pounds Pitbull mix. Whilst
Catherine and Alayla seemed totally Oblivious to the idea of my needing it to
be QUIET! In order to actually Hear the Intrawoods’, nee internet broadcast…
Fortunately Mary Ellen came to my rescue and
picked up the wireless Bose speaker and escorted me into the nearby Master
bedroom, with Hilo trailing behind. As She left me holding the speaker while
going and getting a TV tray table to place it upon. Got a foam pillow for my
backside with Hilo hopping onto my lap, and then closed the door for me so I
could finally Hear what was going on with three minutes remaining for session
two’s Fast 12 Knockout round!
But at least I got to listen in relative
silence to the final six minutes Fast Six Shootout. The most important part,
being for Pole position, which Romain Grosjean somewhat unexpectedly claimed.
Later that afternoon, Catherine & Stuart’s
daughter Elizabeth, a College Senior at UPS came over to the Island for the
weekend. And as we sat around the table following dinner the topic of the
Internet being out came up. To which incredulously Elizabeth Screamed What
As Catherine tried explaining how it wasn’t Her
fault that She’d accidently cancelled the Credit Card! Before I Sardonically
said to Elizabeth, I guess that’s sorta a Deal Breaker! To which Elizabeth
curtly shot back it sorta is! To which I couldn’t help myself and said I guess
that was Need to Know Information…
Sunday morning, the Intrawoods’ service
still wasn’t working, WTF! For which Catherine called their ISP again, to which
it told Her the service had been restored and would She like them to reset it? Which
should take up to 10mins time. And then still without thee Intrawoods’ working,
Catherine began reading the trouble shooting guide. And for reasons totally unknown,
the modem had mysteriously become unplugged! For which this would take a
further 10mins to reset after being plugged back in…
Yet finally just some Gory 10mins before
the Pre-race broadcast began, Eureka! Thankfully Mary Ellen was able to set-up
Her laptop for Mwah in the guest bedroom where I could close the door! And
listen to the whole IndyCar race in relative silence with Hilo on my lap!
As we All know what happened during the
race. As suddenly Mark James was Screaming at me over the calamity of the
massive six-seven car Pile-up at Turn-3 on lap-1! For which I promptly sought
out Mary Ellen to turn down the volume during the 21mins Red Flag period…
As it just seemed like it turned into an
All Skate that Nobody wanted to win! As I found myself once again Rootin’ for
ScottyMac’, aka Scott McLaughlin before you know what!
And I really thought that Pato O’Ward
had the race in the bag, since it had turned into a single groove race track
with the propensity of Marbles Off-line. But then that weird, almost never,
random plenum fire temporarily Halted Pato’s forward progress, and Marcus
Ericsson said Thank You very Mucho!
Photo C/O No Fenders Offical’ Photographer CARPETS’
