Comments on: A Chat With Ed & Sarah

By: Rick

Rick — Thu, 26 May 2011 06:10:51 +0000

More me-too, here, but I like your perspective of “one of us” meeting and speaking with the sport’s personalities. I like hearing that others still get excited about meeting their heroes.

By: Paul Dalbey

Paul Dalbey — Thu, 26 May 2011 04:59:39 +0000

Great stuff, GP! I literally LOL’d several times at your sense of self-deprecating humor!

You hit the nail on the head about Ed Carpenter. I had the joy of flying back from St. Pete with Ed and his family. Ed probably knew my name from times we had talked in the past, but if I’d have walked up to him to start a conversation without introducing myself, he wouldn’t have know me from Adam. However, I had sent a tweet prior to getting on board saying that I was apparently on the flight with them. I guess that jogged a memory in his mind because he appeared to recognize me as his family boarded and sat right behind me. I kid you not, it was like carrying on a conversation with an old high school buddy. Ed and Heather are two of the most down-to-earth people I’ve ever met in racing and if there is such a thing as a “workin’ man’s driver” IndyCar, there is no doubt that Ed is that guy. There isn’t a bone of pretension in that man and I really respect him for that.

Anyway, that’s my stupid Ed Carpenter story. Great stuff again. And thanks for coming on our podcast this week. I hope that being the interviewee was easier for you than being the interviewer.

By: carburetor

carburetor — Thu, 26 May 2011 00:58:34 +0000

George, I greatly appreciate your posts and insights–especially those on race weekend. I also greatly appreciated Susan’s post last weekend as your posts allow me to greatly get a sense of what it must be like to attend qualifications, practice and the race in “person.” I have followed the Indy 500 every year but one, on either the radio or television (usually both at the same time!) since I was a young boy in 1960. However, I have never attended a race there in person. After 47 years, I was able to visit the race track one day while in Indianapolis on business several years ago. It was a moving experience for me to say the least.

When I saw Susan’s photos, I could roughly get a sense of the day’s activities and the fun you all must have had. Thank you very much for that, as most bloggers would not bother. I married not long ago, and my wife had never paid much attention to Indy car racing. However, I am steadily making her a convert–and the photos you all posted last weekend were very interesting to her as well.

I agree with many of the preceding posts–you may not consider yourself a journalist, but I far would prefer reading your column, and greatly value your insights into my beloved sport. Thank you for your blog and keep up the great ‘work.’

By: Jim Gallo

Jim Gallo — Wed, 25 May 2011 23:56:00 +0000

Thanks again George for this great post and all those over the past weekend. SRF and Ed are on my wish list for the win this year.

By: The Speedgeek

The Speedgeek — Wed, 25 May 2011 19:52:30 +0000

George,
Self-deprecation or not, you’re dodging the greater question: you know where Roy is, don’t you? I can only assume he got hauled off within seconds after that picture of you, him and Pressdog was taken, I imagine because he was probably trying to steal paintings off the suite walls to put them on eBay, or to sell them out of his trunk on Georgetown Road on the night before the 500. Only problem is, his rap sheet is too long to allow him to just be dealt with by the Yellow Shirt Brigade. In that case, I fear that the FBI may now be involved, and a possible deportation may cause him to miss the race, which would be, in the words of Ryan Hunter-Reay, “not ideal”. How much of this is true, approximately? 40%? 90%? 120%?

By: Ron Ford

Ron Ford — Wed, 25 May 2011 19:06:06 +0000

Color me old and old fashioned, for I am both, but I really dislike the word “blog”. So I will refer to this as your column. George you consistantly do a very fine job here which is why so many of us click on Oil Pressure first.

What is not to like about Ed and Sarah? I wish them all the best of luck. Their story along with Tags, Simona, and others this May has put the excitement building for Sunday’s race at a fever pitch. I hope and pray that none of these fine teams will have their hard work, dedication, and skill diminished or destroyed by some accident or random incident.

Happy landings for your future bytes George.

By: Edward

Edward — Wed, 25 May 2011 18:37:12 +0000

Thank you, George. This is why Oilpressure is the very first INDYCAR blog I read and why it’s the one I like the most. There’s no artifice, no pretention. I never feel as though I’m reading something, but rather having a conversation with you.

I’ve been a fan of Sarah Fisher since she made it to INDYCAR and I’m even more of one now for the way she handles herself on and off-track. I admit I wasn’t a huge Ed Carpenter fan-based primarily on his background and the belief that the only reason he got his ride was nepotism-but I have gained a great deal of respect for him in the last two years. Here’s hoping that Ed and SFR do extremely well this week.

One last comment. You mentioned at the start of your post that you are not a journalist, just a fan. That, to me, is a GREAT thing. Your points of view are not the talking points and spin of a PR department being regurgitated like some other bloggers, but are the views and opinions of a person who loves INDYCAR racing just as much as much as your readers do. If there were such a thing as a Pulitzer Prize for bloggers, I believe you would win one.

By: Oilpressure

Oilpressure — Wed, 25 May 2011 17:30:17 +0000

Andy, I tend to have a self-deprecating sense of humor. I know I have a lot of strengths and I also know that interviewing famous people is not one of them. Thanks for the kind words, though. – GP

By: billytheskink

billytheskink — Wed, 25 May 2011 16:21:32 +0000

I don’t like to throw a “me-too” on a pile of compliments, but I’m gonna have to on this post.

Posts like this are why I read Oilpressure first, and the other blogs off your blogroll.

By: The Speedgeek

The Speedgeek — Wed, 25 May 2011 14:30:36 +0000

“…it was a nice friendly exchange between a neophyte and two professionals…”

Oh, stop that stuff George. You’re either the master of false modesty or you truly don’t see that you’re in that top 10% of bloggers who could so seamlessly pull of on impromptu interview with a couple of IndyCar’s top personalities. This is why people read you. Well, that and the constant slaps at Hobbson. By the way, any idea if he’s going to be around for the rest of the week or is he in the Speedway pokey by now? Will we be able to stop by his holding cell under the Hulman Suites and feed him pieces of Track Dogs through the bars, petting zoo-style?