Nervousness reigns on road course

I get uncomfortable when I’m a passenger in a vehicle.
So imagine what I was feeling Tuesday when presented with the opportunity to be driven around the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
I was overcome with multiple emotions.
First, I was excited.
Not many people get the chance to take laps at IMS, especially those without deep enough pockets or the skill to be a professional racecar driver. Also, with each visit to the site of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” I fall more and more in love with racing and the desire to go fast.
Plus, who wouldn’t get excited over receiving the following invitation:
“Media rides will be available [Tuesday], in vintage Corvettes and other vintage Pro-Am race cars that will be preparing to compete in the third Brickyard Vintage Invitational at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway …”
Corvettes. Vintage racecars. The chance to go fast at IMS.
I’m in.
But as the time was fast approaching Tuesday afternoon, the weather wasn’t cooperating in Indianapolis. Twenty or so miles northeast in Carmel, the IHSAA Boys Golf State Finals was delayed for more than five hours because of heavy downpour.
Then I had gotten an email saying the media rides were rain or shine.
While the rain continued to pour out of the sky, a white 2017 Chevrolet Suburban emblazoned with the official 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 logo, with a yellow light bar on the roof and “Official Vehicle” on the side, pulled up near us in the pit area by the Yard of Bricks. Then came a black SUV, presumably a Chevrolet Equinox, but it could also have been a Chevrolet Traverse. I forgot to check.
Suzi Elliot, media relations manager at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, approached me, introduced herself and asked if I had preferred to ride with one driver over another.
“No,” I responded.
Then I wondered to myself, “Where are the Corvettes? What about the vintage racecars?”
Because of the rain, plans changed.
No Corvettes. No vintage racecars. No chance to go fast at IMS — far less excitement.
These two Chevys were going to be our chariots.
I was directed to the SUV with two older gentlemen. Our driver was Scott Harrington, a former Indy Racing League (IRL) and CART driver. In 1999, he was named IRL Rookie of the Year.
Here’s where the other emotions started to kick in.
Disappointment. No fast cars, no chance to go fast. Also, I had never heard of Harrington. I thought maybe I’d get to ride with a more “household” name. After all, Al Unser Jr., Robby Unser, A.J. Foyt and Geoff Brabham were among those scheduled to participate. Names that, as a very casual race fan, I recognize.
Instead I got Harrington, a guy who failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 six times, including crashing during qualifying in 1997. A year prior he started 32nd and finished 15th, his only time completing the race.
Nervousness. Remember when I said I get uncomfortable riding as a passenger? It’s because I like to be in control of the vehicle. Mainly, I just don’t trust others behind the wheel, unless they are my immediate family members.
Harrington? Yes, he’s a professional driver, but that doesn’t take away from my uneasiness of not having a grasp on the wheel or the situation.
He proceeded to drive into turn 1, accelerating out of it and through a rather large puddle on the track, and went into turn 2. The entirety of the first lap was explaining strategy of the best driving line around the course, and it wasn’t too fast.
How fast can an SUV go anyway, right?
Well with each passing lap, Harrington increased his speed, all the while alternating between having one hand or two on the steering wheel.
Lord help me.
He took the turns tighter, driving over the rumble strips to add to the understanding of driving on a racetrack. At this point, most turns felt like the SUV was going to roll.
The last thing I wanted to do was write a column about being involved in a crash at IMS.
Instead, despite my Fitbit registering a heart rate of 95 beats per minute — my resting heart rate is in the low 50s — I survived.
But as Harrington zipped around the track in the SUV through the rain, there was still a slight chance that something dreadful could happen.
I just couldn’t grip the handle on the door tight enough.