In 1997, through a series of coincidences, I wound up in the owner's suite of Arie Luyenduk, a top race car driver at the Indianapolis 500. He won that year--but I didn't get to see it.
Reading this brought up many incredible memories for me, as well. My aunt used to work for Detroit Diesel Allison, her family lived in Speedway, so we'd stay there and walk to the track. I'd bring lots of college friends who's dream was going to the Indy 500. They just couldn't believe it! We'd all gather every year for pre-race, race and post-race excitement, picnics, stories, & share out perspectives from every view of the track afterwards. We would re-live the whole race over & over again. It's really impossible to describe unless you've been to the Indy 500. When I'd hear Mary Hulman say, "gentlemen, start your engines", everyone around me would be in tears. I am right now just thinking about it. When that pace car would leave the track and the field would attain full speed...the sound of those engines would send shivers up my spine. My Dad's friends worked in the control tower, so we had the privilege of going to Gasoline Alley and meeting some of the drivers & crew during Qualifications. One year I recall Jim Neighbors did not sing, "Back Home Again in Indiana". When the guy started to sing, oh my gosh, the entire crowd at the track booooed and chanted, "Give us Gomer! we want Gomer!" Thanks for the memories. I could go on forever.
I remember those days. When I see the race I get a little homesick to Indy myself after living there for 30+ years. We are so happy for you now, you can't even imagine. I wish your Dad could read your articles now. He is waiting every day for his brain to be normal again. He would be so proud of you.
Great article. I'm 66 yrs old. I've done a number of things in life, both from a vocation perspective, as well as an avocation perspective. And I've experience the flow state in a number of activities. I first experienced it in sports, where most guys call it, being in the zone, so that's what I've always called it. I played a game called broomball, it's basically ice hockey, played with special made brooms, a small inflated rubber ball, and in special made shoes. I played many positions but most often as goalie. When I'd manage to get in the zone, or flow state, I'd always have a shutout. It was a weird feeling, a state of hyper focus, but also of calm and relaxation. Later I experienced the same thing playing indoor soccer. And when I took up racing cars I found this state to be essential both for safety as well as performance. At one point I owned my own speed shop and I would sometimes get into the zone when working on cars as a mechanic (I once worked 36 hours straight on a friends racecar and I was stunned when I was finished and found out how long I'd been working), or designing racing parts for cars. I worked as a technical editor for a number of automotive magazines over the years and when working on an article, I could loose 10 hours easily, sitting at that computer researching and writing. And I have always enjoyed building computers, which is another area where I can get in the zone and just loose myself for hours. My wife hates it when I get in the zone because I will work for hours on something, sometimes days and I am often oblivious to everything but the work. She was a 911 dispatcher/call taker for 23 years. That's a heavily multitasking job, which she was great at (she was selected to work the Winter Olympics just after 9/11). She has always had a hard time with me when I am in the zone, because I am pretty much the exact opposite of multitasking, being hyper focused on just the one thing I am doing. I've never talked much about this, but reading your article helped bring the concept into focus for me.
I am a free subscriber and this is the second article that I just happened to stumble across. I got no e-mail notification on either. I tried subscribing again in case something happened but it just tells me I'm already subscribed. PS: We lived for 20 years in Mooresville IN. Race days at our house sounded like giant bees humming even though we were probably more than 10 miles away. I worked for a company that was loosely affiliated with Roger Penske and we had many functions at the track.
Thank you for the reply! Sometimes I write posts on substack and only post links to it on Telegram and Truth Social to avoid cluttering people's inboxes. What I'm planning to do in the near future is write a 'digest of recent articles' and email that in one go.
I lived in Indy for about 8 years, all of high school and 4 years of college. But I've been in California (commiefornia?) since 1989.
What a great story. Although, I have never been, I feel closer now than ever. I would like to say that I was not suprised to realize that you might be the only other person on Earth who understands fully the second definintion of ARTIST: a person whose work shows exceptional creative ability or skill... and certainly lives it! Your story does more than introduce the amazing world of the Indianapollis 500 it also inspires people to elevate their everyday lives through dedication and hard work to maybe someday get into that flow zone. I applaud your work ethic and your ability to tell a great story and what you are doing for this movement. You are an ARTIST. I see it, not just as an engineer but as a writer, and a PATRIOT. Thank you.
One of Stephen King's novels - I think it is Misery- the protagonist talks about getting into the zone and that when writing, a hole in the paper would open up and everything would just flow.
I have a music background - flute and voice- but at 30, I picked up drums. My teacher taught me to play by instinct which initially was difficult because previously, I followed a structured environment of notes on a page and a conductor's interpretation; I didn't trust myself to just let go with my own interpretation. But eventually I found 'the hole in the drum' (and it does become a hole, it is odd) which was the point where everything just flowed and my playing became exponentially better. It is hard to explain. But when it happens, I am reminded of the passage in the novel. Your essay does this too. It is a great place to be.
This concept dovetails with a post I've been struggling to write. I want to tie in "flow state" with the rest of the piece now. Maybe I'll find the inspiration to finish it this weekend.
As a NE side Indy native (also 30 years old in 1997, btw) I can attest to your description of this race. I’ve been once and it was spectacular, but strangely, I really missed the pomp and circumstance of the radio broadcast. For those not from here, the race is not broadcast live so the radio was your only connection to the live action. One of my favorite yard work days of the year is Race Day when the adrenaline of listening amps my productivity on that single day at least 2x. Btw, Race Day is a proper noun in Indy. It’s one of those IYKYK things. I still live in the area and admittedly, things seem different than when I was a kid, but it’s still a tremendous event that even the mildest motor sports fan should experience at least once in their life. Thanks for a great read. C.Syrus, Fishers, IN
I meant to add that I grew up in Terre Haute, Home of Clabber Girl and the Hulman Family. Going to the race was just in our blood.
Reading this brought up many incredible memories for me, as well. My aunt used to work for Detroit Diesel Allison, her family lived in Speedway, so we'd stay there and walk to the track. I'd bring lots of college friends who's dream was going to the Indy 500. They just couldn't believe it! We'd all gather every year for pre-race, race and post-race excitement, picnics, stories, & share out perspectives from every view of the track afterwards. We would re-live the whole race over & over again. It's really impossible to describe unless you've been to the Indy 500. When I'd hear Mary Hulman say, "gentlemen, start your engines", everyone around me would be in tears. I am right now just thinking about it. When that pace car would leave the track and the field would attain full speed...the sound of those engines would send shivers up my spine. My Dad's friends worked in the control tower, so we had the privilege of going to Gasoline Alley and meeting some of the drivers & crew during Qualifications. One year I recall Jim Neighbors did not sing, "Back Home Again in Indiana". When the guy started to sing, oh my gosh, the entire crowd at the track booooed and chanted, "Give us Gomer! we want Gomer!" Thanks for the memories. I could go on forever.
I remember those days. When I see the race I get a little homesick to Indy myself after living there for 30+ years. We are so happy for you now, you can't even imagine. I wish your Dad could read your articles now. He is waiting every day for his brain to be normal again. He would be so proud of you.
Great article. I'm 66 yrs old. I've done a number of things in life, both from a vocation perspective, as well as an avocation perspective. And I've experience the flow state in a number of activities. I first experienced it in sports, where most guys call it, being in the zone, so that's what I've always called it. I played a game called broomball, it's basically ice hockey, played with special made brooms, a small inflated rubber ball, and in special made shoes. I played many positions but most often as goalie. When I'd manage to get in the zone, or flow state, I'd always have a shutout. It was a weird feeling, a state of hyper focus, but also of calm and relaxation. Later I experienced the same thing playing indoor soccer. And when I took up racing cars I found this state to be essential both for safety as well as performance. At one point I owned my own speed shop and I would sometimes get into the zone when working on cars as a mechanic (I once worked 36 hours straight on a friends racecar and I was stunned when I was finished and found out how long I'd been working), or designing racing parts for cars. I worked as a technical editor for a number of automotive magazines over the years and when working on an article, I could loose 10 hours easily, sitting at that computer researching and writing. And I have always enjoyed building computers, which is another area where I can get in the zone and just loose myself for hours. My wife hates it when I get in the zone because I will work for hours on something, sometimes days and I am often oblivious to everything but the work. She was a 911 dispatcher/call taker for 23 years. That's a heavily multitasking job, which she was great at (she was selected to work the Winter Olympics just after 9/11). She has always had a hard time with me when I am in the zone, because I am pretty much the exact opposite of multitasking, being hyper focused on just the one thing I am doing. I've never talked much about this, but reading your article helped bring the concept into focus for me.
Thank you for sharing your story! Those who have experienced flow state know exactly what it feels like. You had an interesting career!
I am a free subscriber and this is the second article that I just happened to stumble across. I got no e-mail notification on either. I tried subscribing again in case something happened but it just tells me I'm already subscribed. PS: We lived for 20 years in Mooresville IN. Race days at our house sounded like giant bees humming even though we were probably more than 10 miles away. I worked for a company that was loosely affiliated with Roger Penske and we had many functions at the track.
Thank you for the reply! Sometimes I write posts on substack and only post links to it on Telegram and Truth Social to avoid cluttering people's inboxes. What I'm planning to do in the near future is write a 'digest of recent articles' and email that in one go.
I lived in Indy for about 8 years, all of high school and 4 years of college. But I've been in California (commiefornia?) since 1989.
What a great story. Although, I have never been, I feel closer now than ever. I would like to say that I was not suprised to realize that you might be the only other person on Earth who understands fully the second definintion of ARTIST: a person whose work shows exceptional creative ability or skill... and certainly lives it! Your story does more than introduce the amazing world of the Indianapollis 500 it also inspires people to elevate their everyday lives through dedication and hard work to maybe someday get into that flow zone. I applaud your work ethic and your ability to tell a great story and what you are doing for this movement. You are an ARTIST. I see it, not just as an engineer but as a writer, and a PATRIOT. Thank you.
One of Stephen King's novels - I think it is Misery- the protagonist talks about getting into the zone and that when writing, a hole in the paper would open up and everything would just flow.
I have a music background - flute and voice- but at 30, I picked up drums. My teacher taught me to play by instinct which initially was difficult because previously, I followed a structured environment of notes on a page and a conductor's interpretation; I didn't trust myself to just let go with my own interpretation. But eventually I found 'the hole in the drum' (and it does become a hole, it is odd) which was the point where everything just flowed and my playing became exponentially better. It is hard to explain. But when it happens, I am reminded of the passage in the novel. Your essay does this too. It is a great place to be.
This concept dovetails with a post I've been struggling to write. I want to tie in "flow state" with the rest of the piece now. Maybe I'll find the inspiration to finish it this weekend.
As a NE side Indy native (also 30 years old in 1997, btw) I can attest to your description of this race. I’ve been once and it was spectacular, but strangely, I really missed the pomp and circumstance of the radio broadcast. For those not from here, the race is not broadcast live so the radio was your only connection to the live action. One of my favorite yard work days of the year is Race Day when the adrenaline of listening amps my productivity on that single day at least 2x. Btw, Race Day is a proper noun in Indy. It’s one of those IYKYK things. I still live in the area and admittedly, things seem different than when I was a kid, but it’s still a tremendous event that even the mildest motor sports fan should experience at least once in their life. Thanks for a great read. C.Syrus, Fishers, IN