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2007 Indy 500 - My 8th Straight Year did not disappoint.
By robertearl | June 1, 2007
Just got back from the Memorial Day tradition that is the Indianapolis 500. The 91st Running marked my 8th straight year of attending the event. Add Dario Franchitti to the list of Indy 500 winners (Click here to see my collection of photos of the winners over the years) that I have had the fortune of seeing. Starting with Jaun Pablo Montoya in 2000, prior to his taking on Formula 1, and now racing in Nascar, to the Back to Back victories for Helio Castroneves. The continued mastery of Indy by Roger Penske with the 3rd straight for Team Penske and Gil de Ferran. The 2004 tornado that brought Buddy Rice to victory lane for Rahal Letterman Racing. The 2005 history making run of Danica Patrick, being the 1st woman to ever lead a lap at Indy to the victory for Michael Andretti’s car and Dan Weldon. 2006’s come from behind run for Sam Hornish, Jr., edging out Marco Andretti at the line.
Although this years race was cut short by rain, it was one of the most dramatic that I have seen over the last 8 years. Seeing how my blog is called The Earl of Success, let me take a moment and explain why this was so and some of the Success Points that meant the difference between being successful by winning and running second place.
- The race was in question because the car and engine package was equal across the board. Entering the race, nearly 1/2 the field had a legitimate shot at winning. This put more control in the hands of the drivers and the teams during the pit stops. The drivers that were running close to the front at the end were very versatile drivers, meaning that they run good on short tracks, large tracks and road courses.
- The ultimate winner, Dario Franchitti, was on a different pit sequence than all of the other drivers. Why? Not because of some master planning by the crew or driver, no, it was because his car had had a flat tire earlier in the race and this forced him to pit out of sequence. This is the 2nd straight year that the eventual winner has had to overcome obstacles, dealing with the actual circumstances and not wish it was the way it used to be or that the mis-fortune had not happened. Just taking the situation and making the best of it. (There are so many lessons that can be learned from this and applied to selling a home in Northern Virginia that I could do multiple other postings on this one subject, but I will stick to the Indy 500 for this posting.)
Being out of sequence meant that Dario Franchitti did not have to pit just before the last rain shower, leaving him in the lead when the race was stopped. So was the cut tire a problem? I don’t really think so. And he did not luck into it either. He had run up front all day, and was in or near the lead when the cut tire occured.
- The winner made over 1.6 million dollars. 2nd place took home a little over $600,000. Plus, you don’t get your name or picture on the trophy for finishing 2nd.
- The top teams most always win out over a single car operation. (Again, I feel that this applies to real estate, that is why I formed The Earl of Real Estate Team)
So, Congrats to Dario. And let the countdown to 2008 and the 92nd Indy 500 begin.
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