How do we describe our event at the Indy 500...amazing, fantastic, and unreal are just some of the words that come to mind. We were honored to be asked to perform for the Andretti Green Racing Team and their sponsors the night before the Indy 500. The show was held in the "garage." When I say garage, imagine the size of a Costco with ceilings twice as high and racing cars suspended from the ceilings. The past few years the party has seen such performances by Cheaptrick and Smashmouth. For 2009, it was Jeff & Rhiannon. Pretty darn cool.
We arrived the day before for "Carb Day" at the racetrack. We were given VIP passes and a private tour of the cars and garage. Below are some photos from Carb Day:
Here we are in Danica's dressing room. I sooo wanted to snag one of her uniforms so I could be her for Halloween.
Jeff posing with Danica's car just before he touched it...the car, not Danica.
Another picture of Danica's car.
Posing with Tony Kaanan's car. He was a favorite to win the race, but got taken out early.
The inside of the cars are so small. The blue button on the steering wheel is the water button. During the race if the driver needs some H20, they push the button and a tube squirts water into their mouth. This is much needed as during the pit stops as the cockpit reaches temperatures of 140 degrees!
This is me in front of Hideki Mutoh's car shortly after meeting him. Per an inside joke, during our show, I told him that I would be his sugar mama. I don't know if that translates into Japanese very well.The night of our show was just as amazing. We performed a 30 minute teaser before our main show and then they did a big announcement of the drivers:
The four drivers of the Andretti Green Racing team. From left to right: Hideki Mutoh, Danica Patrick, Marco Andretti, and Tony Kaanan.Below are some videos from both Carb Day and the night of the show:
The hardest part of the whole experience was that we were unable to stay for the race! We had a gig in Tampa, FL Sunday night (which was great). So the team has invited Jeff & I to be guests at the race in Sonoma, CA at the Infineon Raceway. We are going out a couple days before the race for a party at Mario Andretti's winery (!) and hang out with some of the crew. We get to watch the race from the luxury box and maybe even from the pit!
We are still reveling in the whole experience. Everyone there was so gracious and nice. They loved our dueling pianos show. I think that because in the past they have just had concerts, they were blown away with how unique we are and how interactive the show is.
Thank you Andretti Green Racing for allowing us to be a part of this spectacular event!
Posts
