Winning and Losing

Beginning in 2011, I started to race a 1989, ex Kelly Girl series, tube frame sedan race car.  The car had a Oldsmobile body with a 350 cu. in. small block Chevrolet engine, which was built to last at 540 hp.

 

I will start with the success first. In 2018, I won my class at the SVRA event on the road racing course in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This is the facility that holds the Indianapolis 500 race each Memorial Day weekend, at the end of May.  I was nursing a hot engine, with water temperature at 245-25 degrees, but managed to finish, which is pretty important if you want a win! As I pulled of the track, I was signaled to go to Victory Lane. Frankly, this was a surprise as I had no idea how I had placed.  My main competition who had a faster car, had failed to finish.  This had happened to me several times in the past, but on that day I got the job done. What transpired then was surreal.  First, I got to climb up the same podium as the Indianapolis 500 winner. This was cool.  Then I was handed a milk bottle with some milk in it.  It took a few seconds to register, but the winner of the Indianapolis 500 does not drink champaign, but tradition call for milk Never in any dream, or any part of my reality did I think I would wind a car race at the Indianapolis Speedway, and drink the milk on the actual Indy 500 podium!