Few American cities embrace their local traditions quite like Indianapolis rallies around their Speedway. Memorial Day weekend is much more than a weekend, stretching into the week with schools closing. Ask a Hoosier if they have plans during the month of May, and they’ll look at you like you’ve been dropped in from another planet.
But at the same time, it’s a distant place. You visit, you witness history, but you don’t get a chance to make it. You watch others do it.
Until this week. At the 58th SCCA National Championship Runoffs, locals can return home and declare to their friends, forever, that “they’ve raced there.”
Mory Doyle, Andy Doyle, Steven Jeffers and Scott Jeffers, Brandon Reed, John LaRue, Max Grau, Amy Hollowell, Gabe Fehribach, Bill Baten — the list goes on. There are lots of locals on the track, many for the first time this week.
Count B-Spec’s Chris Jackson among the first timers. Though he grew up in Cincinnati, Jackson went to college at IUPUI (that’s Indiana University/Purdue University at Indianapolis for those outside the Hoosier state that might not be following along) and stayed in Indianapolis for work.
This year, he was recruited to the B-Spec community and has been a part of their tremendous growth. In just his first season of wheel-to-wheel racing, he’s gone all in to get here to the Runoffs.
“It means a lot to me,” Jackson said. “Back when the Formula One Grand Prix was here, I was here with my family. I came to some of the NASCAR events and some Indy 500s, and grew up going here. Being here means a lot, it’s pretty sentimental.”
Though he’ll start the race in the back half of the 61-car field, he’s still on track rather than in the stands.
“This is my first Runoffs experience, so my goal is just to have fun and finish the race and have a complete car at the end of the day,” Jackson said.
At the other end of the spectrum is a guy trying to add his name to the list of legends who have crossed the yard of bricks.
Bob Perona has two Runoffs Silver medals and fell just short in a Formula F thriller a season ago. The professional driver coach who works with several IndyCar and IMSA drivers, including Jack Harvey, would love nothing more than to get a win of his own at IMS.
“It’s always special to be at this place,” Perona said. “I’ve spent so much time here, but I don’t get to drive here very often so it’s nice to be here driving. I love it. It’s 10 minutes from the house, so it makes things nice and easy. I wish we could come here more often.”
He’s got a small but mighty team behind him — just the three of them, though his secret weapon is his wife, Kate, who is an engineer on Pato O’Ward’s IndyCar.
“I still haven’t won one of these things. That’s the goal and that’s what we came here to accomplish,” said Perona. “There are pro teams here with pro drivers and I’m building this in my garage, so it puts them at a huge advantage and a disadvantage for me. I’ve got a pretty good crew. We’re going to try to give them hell on Saturday and see what we can do.”
There aren’t many people who can say their neighbor or co-worker raced at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but, come Monday, a few more will.
Photo caption: Chris Jackson navigates the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in his Mini Cooper
Photo by: Ray Krolewicz
