Trip to Indy Speedway provides bonding time for dad and son

Last Sunday was Mother's Day, and it was wonderful. But last Saturday was Father's Day - actually Father-Son Day, and it was pretty great, too.

That was the day my husband and son traveled down from our home in Michigan to Indianapolis for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's opening day. They watched the cars, ate a few track dogs, did a lot of walking and shopping and most importantly, spent a lot of time talking

The drivers were onsite, and my normally shy son ran here, there and everywhere gathering signatures in his autograph book from everyone - including his favorite driver, Will Power, who was nice enough to pose for a picture. It's one of my favorite photos - my boy looks absolutely thrilled.

It was the first time my little boy, an avid racing fan, had been to back to the track since seeing the televised fiery wreck in Las Vegas that killed Indy 500 champ Dan Wheldon. I was glad he could go there with his dad and talk about it, glad they could spend the day together just hanging out and having fun.

Father-Son day is almost as good as Mother's Day. Almost.

Vroom, Vroom! - May means racetime

May is here, and the celebration has begun. The decorations are up, the flags are hanging and the excitement is palpable.

It's racetime - and that's a big deal at the Majeske household. The Indianapolis 500 is just around the corner, and for the men in the household, big and little, the excitement is almost too much to bear.

Conversations revolve around Will Power and Dario Franchitti. There's analyses of who might win, who will do well, who will make the race and who won't. The boys huddle together, studying the up-and-coming drivers and debating who needs to hang up the helmet. Sorry, Mom. No girls allowed.

It used to be just my husband who was a fan of Indy racing. For years as a sports editor, he covered practice, qualifying and the 500, enjoying every minute of it. But now, as my son has grown, he's become a race fan as well. And now, at the tender age of 8, Sean will be going to his very first race. He already visited the track once this year - charming the drivers and getting more than a few autographs.

One of those autographs came courtesy of Paul Tracy, who didn't make last year's race. As Tracy bent down to sign an old program, Sean said, "Sorry you didn't make the race last year." Tracy's reply? "That's OK. We'll get them this year."

The big prize, however, was the autograph from Will Power, Sean's favorite driver. Thanks to Merrill Cain, a very nice representative of Penske Racing, who saw Sean adorned in a Will Power hat and a Will Power T-shirt, Sean had his new Hot Wheels car autographed by his hero.

It made Sean's day, month, year and probably decade. He said loved it so much, he'd take into heaven with him.

I've never truly understood the allure of the race. But I don't have to. Just watching these two is enough.