![\"Will](\"https:\/\/ballparksbeachesandbeyond.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Will-Power-and-Scott-Dixon.jpg\")
<\/a>Photo R. Anderson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The race ended with a terrible last lap crash that sent Dario Franchitti to the hospital with a concussion, fractured vertebrae and a fractured ankle. The crash also injured a baker’s dozen of fans and a race official.<\/p>\n
The fencing put in place did its job and prevented more injuries from occurring but it is once again a reminder that racing is a dangerous sport and even races on a flat parking lot can cause cars to become airborne with the right set of circumstances.<\/p>\n
Despite the crash, the weekend started with the promise of two races in the parking lot of Reliant Center.<\/p>\n
That’s right boys and girls they were racing in a parking lot around a football stadium and a concert hall.<\/p>\n
When I first learned that the Indy Racing League was coming to Houston I was excited since I had missed out on covering the Champ Car Grand Prix back in 2007 when they were last here.<\/p>\n I have a picture that was taken of me when I was a freshmen in high school in front of the pace car for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. I would often look at that picture and think how cool it would be to cover the race some time.<\/p>\n A few years ago I was in St. Petersburg for some Spring Training baseball and had the opportunity to drive on a portion of the track. Granted I was going under 50 miles an hour but I can still say that I drove on an IRL course.<\/p>\n So that brings us back to the Grand Prix of Houston and my thoughts that the race would occur in downtown Houston as it had previously been.<\/p>\n But, imagine my surprise when I learned that instead of a race course around Minute Maid Park and other downtown destinations the race would be held in a parking lot around the Astrodome and Reliant Stadium.<\/p>\n To my knowledge this is the first parking lot Grand Prix that has ever been run.<\/p>\n And it was not without its share of bumps along the way.<\/p>\n For starters during practice on Friday a large bump on the track was discovered. After leading to a few wrecks a temporary solution of a tire barrier was added to the track to help slow cars down to avoid the bump in the road.<\/p>\n Friday night there was some grinding on the bump and the temporary tires were removed once the course was deemed smooth enough once more.<\/p>\n I spent most of Friday watching the practice from the grandstand and touring the grounds since I was “on staff” for the event. Unfortunately one thing that I forgot to do Friday was apply sunscreen.<\/p>\n As a result of my lapse in sunscreen application I burned to a little crisp and will soon be greeted by the post burn peeling.<\/p>\n But with two days left in the weekend I was not about to let some sunburn get the better of me.<\/p>\n Saturday included an early arrival to the track and an all day marathon of walking through the Paddock and garage area as well as watching the first race.<\/p>\n As part of working the event as a volunteer, I was given an all access pass for the weekend. Aside from spending some time on pit road on Friday I really did not test the boundaries of all of the areas I could access Saturday and mostly stuck to the areas with the general public.<\/p>\n And might I add it was a very well behaved general public compared to some of the other large sporting events that I have attended.<\/p>\n I can’t say for sure what it was that made this particular crowd so well behaved but I can see that after three days in their midst I did not see a single drunk or unruly fan nor did I see anyone taken away by security for any reason.<\/p>\n Make of that what you will, but if you want to see a well behaved crowd I suggest you try an Indy Racing League event.<\/p>\n Sunday was the final day of the Grand Prix weekend, and as noted earlier it ended with hospital trips for a driver and some fans.<\/p>\n But before all of that happened Sunday was the day that I finally tested what exactly my “all access” pass could do.<\/p>\n Now, I knew that the pass would not allow me to say drive an Indy car, but I figured that there were some cool things that it would allow me to do.<\/p>\n The first of those things was to walk onto pit lane while the track was “hot.”<\/p>\n I spent around 20 laps walking through the pits and was close enough to the action to feel the heat from the cars as they passed.<\/p>\n I saw the pit crews in action and watched the members of the radio and television broadcast teams run from pit to pit to get their stories.<\/p>\n After wandering the pits for awhile I finally settled near the start\/finish line and victory circle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Grand Prix of Houston was held over the past weekend. I know this because I was there. But more on how I was able to be there in a bit. First it is important to mention the lasting visual that made its way across the sports media yesterday afternoon. The race ended with a … Continue reading Grand Experience with Grand Prix of Houston<\/span> <\/a>
Photo R. Anderson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/a>
Photo R. Anderson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/a>
Photo R. Anderson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/a>
Photo R. Anderson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/a>
Photo R. Anderson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n