Part 38- My 2008 Magnificent Colossal Indy 500 Photo Blog Thing: Crash And Burn And Terminated?

The quest for speed today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway took an ugly right turn directly into the unforgiving concrete barriers.

Yes.

The IMS cement always beckons, and, unfortunately, several drivers were lured by the Siren's seductive song, and shards of formerly shiny and fast Indy racing machines littered the world's greatest race course.

EJ Viso was the first victim.


EJ made his wrong mistake in Turn Three, backing his machine into the wall.

Thankfully, I can report that EJ is all better now physically, and a quick stroll through the garages near the end of practice revealed that the HVM Racing Team is coming along nicely with repairs and should be running again soon.

Will Power also made an egregious error today at IMS, and it happened right in front of me. Power had been running his fastest laps of the month, 223 mph, when all hell broke loose.


I was sitting in the bleachers between Turns One and Two, minding my own damned business, soaking up some of that rare Hoosier sunshine, and fitfully dozing to the drone of screaming real Indy racing cars.

Suddenly, I noticed a quick drop in revs from one on-track open wheeled racer. Then, I heard a sound reminiscent of two railroad cars coupling together, which is never a good sound to hear at Indy, and I looked up just in time to see Power slam the fence hard with bits and pieces flying in all directions!

Luckily, Power was unhurt.

My final walk-about in the garage area this evening found the Jammy Billson/Kebmoe KelpOven crew hard at work repairing their shattered rig and making great progress.

You remember a long time ago when I said I thought Ryan Briscoe should give some serious thought to joining a labor union?


Of course you do! Stuff I say is memorable.

Maybe.

Anyhoo...today, Ryan Briscoe gave his bosses Roger Penske, Tim Cindric, and Rick Mears, all the ammo they needed to commence termination proceedings, and there ain't a damn thing Briscoe can do about it if he doesn't have the protection of a union.

And, Ryan will never get one of these rare and coveted Teamster Penske Safe Driver Pledge Pin Safety Award Devices to pin on his lapel.


Ryan garbaged another Penske Company Motor Vehicle (Dallara/Honda/Firestone).

By my count, that makes three of them since the season started, violating the following Basic Standards of Conduct which may or may not be part of the Teamster Penske Racing Employee Handbook for non-union employees:

Quote:

The following is not an all-inclusive list, but represents work rule violations that could result in disciplinary action up to and including suspension and/or discharge. Nothing contained herein should be construed as a limitation on the Company's right to discharge any employee without cause or notice. 1. Careless performance of assigned work or poor quality work. 2. Failing to observe and comply with approved safety and health rules and proceedures as set forth in the Teamster Penske Racing Employee Handbook. 3. Failing to observe and comply with traffic and parking regulations on Company premises and/or while operation Company vehicles (Dallara/Honda/Firestone) or equipment. 4. Negligent driving or operation of a vehicle (Dallara/Honda/Firestone) or equipment while on Company business which could involve the Company in a liability action. 5. Involving the Company in any action which damages the Company's reputation or public goodwill. 6. Careless, negligent, or deliberate damage to, or defacing of, property belonging to the Company (Dallara/Honda/Firestone), a customer, or another Company employee. 7. Failure or refusal to perform assigned work or to comply with proper instructions given by a supervisor or others in a position of authority.

So, therefore, you can see that Ryan Briscoe is screwed unless he took my sage and common sense advice.

Briscoe better have his union steward's cell phone number on speed dial too.

I bet Gil DeFerran is the union steward.

...or Paul Tracy. He's not doing much right now, and he loves to stir the pot.

That's what I think.