2011 Indy Meet Writeup

[M-Pressive]

This recap was originally posted in the club newsletter, it is being re-posted here for the new Indy webpage that is in the works.

Article Contributed By: BigMike60

Outlined against a blue-gray October sky the Four Horsemen rode again. Uhh...? Wait that was a different Saturday, and a different time warp. This "ride" was on May 21, 2011, and there were five riders, more fearsome than Famine, Pestilence, Destruction and Death. These were the fearsome riders of the Chrysler 300M Enthusiasts Club making their annual assault on the Brickyard.

And like the original Four Horseman, each rider rode a different steed. First came FIREM in his Inferno Red 300M beast, followed by Beespecial in his gray 300M Special, then Stan in his new 300C, Rick in his "Knight Rider like" Charger, and BigMike in his TorRed Challenger R/T. The murmur from the crowd as these beasts prowled around the oval almost drowned out the roar of the engines as the pack approached 229.7 m.p.h (in their minds) on the momentous lap. (A quick check of driver pant bottoms after the run conclusively established that the true track lap speed had not approached the virtual speed in each driver's mind.)

Flash bulbs were popping as the riders hit the Yard of Bricks, and each rider's steed was captured in megapixels for posterity to bear witness to their coming and going. After stabling the steeds the riders enjoyed a sumptuous repast with several Indy Princesses who were enthralled by their tales of driving daring-do, while the old riders were just enthralled by the Princesses. Rutherford, Mears and Mario provided breakfast banter prior to crowning of a Queen. Following breakfast, qualifications dominated the afternoon as Indy car drivers jockeyed for the Pole position for the race. Alex Tagliani won the Pole, but crashed his car in the race and did not finish. Showers in the late afternoon made Bump Day a hectic event on Sunday. Marco aced out a teammate in the final minute of quailfying and he ran very well in the Race until fuel issues forced him and Danica down the ranks to a mediocre finish.

On Saturday night the five horseman were joined by Cory, Josh, and Travis and the group hit a local eatery and had a great dinner, and a quarter hour of parking lot commentary about the various cars of Travis and Josh. Cory brought the M of the Year to the meet and had pulled parts at a salvage yard stop on his way in from Illinois, and some swaps were made among attendees. Travis had installed an incredible light system on his M. Lights glowed in various hues around, under, and within his beast. It was an awesome mod. On Sunday morning at the Show and Shine the usual cast of characters were up at 0-dark-30 and did an outstanding job of cleaning and polishing their steeds. Awards were made, 1/64 diecast Indy cars were drawn in rotation with each person getting 4 or 5 and then the non-locals began galloping their steeds for home. A real good time was had by all.