derBayerische November/December 2021 - 24

///MClub Day Visits
Indy Motor Speedway
I
t was something of a déjà vu experience. This past spring, I received an email
from NCC's M Club Day organizer, Doug Verner. " I'm sending this message
first to a few of my ///M Club Day event 'repeat offenders' to give you
advanced notice of two very special programs Mike Renner and I have been
working on this year. We've finalized plans for a one-day M4 GT4 race car
school at the Performance Center West... We've also just finalized plans for
two one-day M4 GT4 race car schools at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, on July 10th and
11th of this year. "
Indy? Indy! INDY MOTOR SPEEDWAY!!!
Doug had managed to do it again - organize
another bucket list trip to drive at a world famous
venue. Pinch me once, pinch me twice.
According to Wikipedia, Indianapolis Motor
Speedway " is the home of the Indianapolis 500
and formerly the home of the United States Grand
Prix. Constructed in 1909, it is the second
purpose-built, banked oval racing circuit and the
first to be called a 'speedway'. It is the third-oldest
permanent automobile race track in the world,
behind Brooklands and the Milwaukee Mile.
With a permanent seating capacity of 257,325, it
is the highest capacity sports venue in the world.
A modern, FIA Grade One infield-road course
was completed in 2000, incorporating part of the oval circuit, including the
main stretch and the southeast turn, measuring 2.605 miles. The track is nick24
named
'The Brickyard', and the garage area is known as Gasoline Alley. "
Host for the IndyCar Series as well as NASCAR, Formula One, MotoGP,
By Jacques Raymond
and the U.S. Grand Prix, Indy Motor Speedway is the home of some of " the
greatest traditions in racing " (winners drinking milk on the podium and kissing
the bricks), " the greatest moments in racing " (including when Janet Guthrie
qualified to drive the Indy 500), and " the greatest heroes in racing " (including
AJ Foyt, Al Unser, Rick Mears, and Jeff
Gordon). And we would be driving on the
same circuit that they did.
Some of the group arrived early
enough for a curated tour of Lance White's
car collection (Lance is the President of
BMW CCA Foundation) and a tour of the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum,
including The Basement Vault, which contains
some of Indy's most prized artifacts.
However, I'll have to let Doug tell that story.
I did arrive in time for the group's din(Top)
The BMW M4 GT4 in the pits, ready to rock n roll.
(Above) With the legendary Bill Auberlen at Indy.
ner outing to St. Elmo's Steakhouse. St.
Elmo's is an old, up-scale Indianapolis
establishment, the kind with dark wood
paneling and low lighting. The size of the
interior belies the exterior façade; the dining
rooms go on and on, across several floors.
It was a good thing I was following the person in front of me or I might have
gotten lost. We were seated in a private dining room; it was like dining with two
derBayerische
https://www.nccbmwcca.org/driving-events/m-club-day/ https://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/ https://www.nccbmwcca.org/driving-events/m-club-day/
derBayerische November/December 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of derBayerische November/December 2021
