Last night’s finally-completed Firestone 600 IndyCar race at the Texas Motor Speedway was an event for the ages. Graham Rahal beat James Hinchcliffe by 0.008 seconds. To add to the fun, Hinchcliffe lead almost every lap—except for the one that counted. Rahal passed Hinchcliffe about halfway through the very last lap. It was the fifth-closest race in IndyCar history and the closest race of any kind ever held at the Texas Motor Speedway. It was good, old-fashioned TMS pack racing for the last eight laps after a late yellow flag.
My wife, my son, and I enjoyed the hell out of the race, for lack of a better phrase. The only disappointment was that we were unable to get any autographs during the way-too-brief signing session. The track made all of the drivers available and allocated 45 minutes for the session. I think they underestimated the number of spectators who wound up attending. The line for autographs stretched from Gate 3 all the way back to Gate 4 (a significant distance, for those of you reading this who are unfamiliar with the sheer size of the facility). Nonetheless, the track took further steps to make up for the delay and red flagging of the race on June 12th by selling $1.00 hot dogs and soft drinks.
The folks at TMS also made the race a “Back the Blue” event. Law enforcement and other first responder personnel were given free admission for themselves and their guests. Quite the gesture for an area that was hit hard when the Dallas sniper attack of June 7th, 2016 claimed the lives of five officers.
In any case, if you were in the area and you didn’t attend the race, you missed a fantastic event. Come out to next year’s race and see what IndyCar racing is all about!
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