My Indy 500 Lap Counting Saga
Okay, so I wanted to talk about keeping track of the laps during the Indy 500. You know, the big race. Watching it on TV is one thing, but sometimes, especially if you’re there, or even just really into it at home, you wanna feel the count, you know? Not just see the number flash up on screen.
My first time really trying to follow along closely, I went old school. Pen and paper. Seriously. I just made little tally marks. Sounded simple enough, right? Well, yeah, until lap 50 or so. Then someone talks to you, you grab a drink, you look away for a second… boom. Lost count. Or maybe I marked one twice? Who knows. It got messy fast. Didn’t really work out, felt kinda frustrating actually.
So, the next year, I thought, gotta be a better way. I looked around for maybe, like, a simple clicker thing? Like those counters people use for counting attendance or whatever. Found one pretty cheap. Just a basic mechanical clicker. Fits right in your hand.
Getting Ready
Race day came. I got my spot on the couch, got the counter ready. Felt kinda official, holding this little gadget.
The Process
- Sat down before the green flag.
- Did a test click. Yep, works. Reset it to zero.
- Green flag drops, cars cross the line for lap 1. Click.
- Lap 2. Click.
- Lap 3. Click.
It was way better than the tally marks. Just a simple click each time the leader crossed the start/finish line. I didn’t have to look down much, just kept it in my hand. Made a satisfying little noise too. It helped keep me focused on the race rhythm.
Of course, it wasn’t perfect. Sometimes during pit stops or yellow flags, I’d have to double-check against the TV graphic just to be sure I hadn’t missed one or clicked an extra time when things got chaotic. But mostly, it kept me locked in. By lap 180, my thumb was a little tired, maybe, but I had a pretty good count going!
Did it Work?
Yeah, mostly! It was way more engaging than just passively watching the counter on the screen or trying to remember tally marks. Comparing my clicker count to the official number at the end, I was usually spot on, or maybe off by one lap if something really crazy happened on track that distracted me. For just wanting a simple, hands-on way to follow the 200 laps, that little clicker thing did the job pretty well. Much better than that messy paper from the year before, that’s for sure.
