First of all, I want to extend my thanks to Marlboro Team Penske for the ticket vouchers again this season for grandstand seats and pit passes for the Firestone 225 at Nazareth Speedway.
We arrived early so we could be among the 1500 first come, first serve fans with vouchers to receive pit passes. Visiting the pits and garage area at an IRL event is a must. The year before, we arrived at 8:30 am and there were only a few fans ahead of us, this year we arrived a little after 8 and the place was packed, but we still managed to get our pit passes. The fact that this was the IRL's 100th event and also that it was the last major event to be held at the Nazareth facility may have had something to do with the exceptionally large turnout.
I have to say that the difference between an IRL event at a facility and a NASCAR event at the same facility is overwhelming. We attended the NASCAR Busch Series event last May 23rd and the prices were outrageous along with the overbearing security measures that we had to suffer through. Compared to NASCAR, the IRL is a class act, the difference between the IRL and NASCAR can be likened to the difference between a sleazy no-name rock concert and the opera. The prices had gone back down considerably for the IRL event, which included food, drinks, and souvenirs.
We were treated to the Bully Hill 100 pre-race warm up with the USAC Silver Crown cars during the morning hours, with the 100 lap event beginning just before noon. Last season we watched Kasey Kahne win the event in the #167 ASE Ford, and this year Tyler walker won it in Kasey Kahne's #19 Dodge Dealers Dodge. Last season Kahne won the event as a driver and this year he won as a team owner!
After walking throughout the pit/garage area, taking pictures, and buying some IRL souvenirs, we settled into our grandstand seats for the main event which began a little after 2 pm. As per usual the IndyCars were awesome. The Marlboro Team Penske #3 and #6 cars led the field off for the beginning of the event, but they eventually fell by the wayside. Helio Castroneves, last season's winner, just didn't have a good enough set-up on his machine for the flat oddly shaped track. Sam Hornish Jr. in the #6 left his pit box too quickly and took the methanol fuel hookup with him, spilling the fuel all over his car and the pit area. Team owner Roger Penske saw the fuel man rolling on the ground and immediately doused him with a bucket of water, knowing from experience that the flameless fire was all over him. The fire was quickly extinguished in the pit area and Hornish had to come back into the pits to get the fire on his car extinguished as well, giving up the lead in the process. It just wasn't a good day for Marlboro Team Penske!
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