In late February we visited the IRL testing at Homestead Florida. It was our first visit to this facility and it certainly will not be our last. We had never given the track much thought because it is so far from almost everyone but it is a terrific facility. You can see the entire track from almost every seat and there are no huge stairs to climb; the stands are low and long.
Katrina and I find that we are partial to the shorter 1.5 mile or shorter tracks. This track is a 1.5 mile and with the banked turns the IRL cars really look good.
There was also a lot a filming going on at the track prior to testing and we managed to get a few photos of the camera car. These things always intrigue me. Ugly as sin but they are relatively fast and maneuver around the race cars for action shots with what appears to be little difficulty. Considering all the misplaced weight and contraptions hanging on the car that says a lot about the builder of such vehicles.
The following are some shots you might enjoy. Missing from the IRL lineup again this year is one of the sports true stars, Paul Tracy. For the life of me I can not figure out how some of these drivers find a team and sponsor when drivers as capable as Tracy sit on the sidelines. If you want to know more about Tracy and what he is up to when he is not racing keep checking this blog; we will have an interview with him shortly!
Now for the photos of Homestead IRL testing.
This is a view of Homestead from the top of the stands near the start/finish line.
Marco Andretti # 26 and Danica Patrick #7
Stanton Barrett #98
Dan Wheldon #4
Dario Franchitti #10 (He’s Back!)
Graham Rahal #06 and Vitor Meira #14
Penske Team but no Helio
Jaime Camara #34
Milka Duno #23
Ed Carpenter
On track camera car.
Tony Kanaan #11
How would you like to have every move you make photographed just before or after you jump into a race car! Danica seems to not even notice.
