My lost weekend ... and hopes for the future

Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews also can be seen in the Northern & Central California Cruisin’ News magazine published monthly out of Folsom, California.

Sacramento, California -- Since I was 7 years old in May of 1961, Memorial Day weekend has meant venturing to Indianapolis for the world-famous 500 -- everything from helping pack up the family car for the short drive over from Dayton, Ohio, to flying cross-country from my California home.

That did not happen this past weekend ... and the feeling was surreal.

I knew early on, of course, that the Memorial Day holiday was going to be a lost weekend for me, with Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials pushing the race forward to Aug. 23, when, hopefully, the 500-mile race can be run in some fashion.

Still, I was like a little boy searching for his favorite lost toy over the just-completed holiday weekend.

I watched television -- although I am quickly growing tired of watching yet another rerun of the Yankees and Red Sox in the 2004 American League Championship Series and the Cleveland Cavaliers rising up to knock off Golden State in the NBA Finals of 2016 -- or read books or jogged the neighborhood streets in an effort to fill the time.

It didn't help much.  Last Friday, I'd look at the clock and think that I should be watching the final Indy 500 practice session right about now, when all 33 starters are blazing around the IMS oval to nail down fuel mileage and last-minute car set-ups.

On Sunday, I awoke early and recalled the countless mornings I traveled to IMS, with excitement, anticipation and (often) rain in the air.  I was mentally counting down the magical hour before the start time of the race, when tradition and heartbeats ramp up to high speed.  And oh, how I was missing the pulsating flying start of the race -- still the most exciting moment in all of sports, in my humble view.

To its credit, NBC did a wonderful job of showing what amounted to a replay/documentary of the 2019 race, complete with special recognition of the U.S. armed forces and thoughtful interviews with Simon Pagenaud, last year's winner, and runner-up Alexander Rossi, pride of Northern California.  Both drivers did outstanding jobs of breaking down the spellbinding finish of the 2019 race, among the best 13 laps I've ever seen at Indianapolis.

But again, it wasn't the same.

Knowing what I know right now, I'm skeptical about the likelihood of the race being run on Aug. 23.  I'm just not sure things will change significantly over the next three months to enable some 300,000 people to assemble shoulder-to-shoulder on the grounds of the grand old speedway.

There's some rumor-talk about pushing the race ahead to an October date, but, well, who knows?

As for me, I long for a day when I can mingle with thousands of race-starved fans and fellow speed/horsepower freaks at IMS.  There's a shared attitude and experience in that, which, frankly, I cannot put into words.  But it's a high I want to share at Indy for as many years as I have left.

Here's hoping it comes to pass soon.  The old racetrack, which has seen so much over its 111 years, sits waiting for our return.  That day will be one to celebrate.