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Fastest seat in sport provides Indy 500 joyride

By Steve Keating INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) - It is billed as the 'Fastest Seat in Sports' and after a breath-taking 180 miles per hour (290 km per hour) two-lap tour of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) with Mario Andretti behind the wheel, there is no evidence to dispute that claim. For over a century the Brickyard has been a magnet to motor racing giants and novices eager to test their skill and bravery on the sprawling 2.5 mile oval. This week in the build-up to Sunday's 100th running of Indianapolis 500 thrill-seekers were given the chance to experience the same heart-bumping, high-speed rush. Andretti was once famously quoted as saying, "If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough". That sounds very much like something a former Indy 500 winner would say and totally reasonable until you are being tightly strapped into a $500,000 carbon-fiber missile with a 76-year-old grandfather at the wheel. Of course Mario Andretti is not your average senior citizen out for an afternoon spin in a family Prius. One of motorsport's iconic figures, Andretti remains the only driver to win the Indianapolis 500 (1969), Daytona 500 (1967) and the Formula One World Championship driver's title (1978). His racer instincts seem intact. Loading into the car, Andretti stares straight ahead looking out at the pit exit as if taking on four tires and fuel rather than a fumbling passenger being squeezed into a seemingly impossible small slot behind him and locked into place by a five-point harness. Riding along with Andretti in an IndyCar at the Brickyard is like getting invited to play a round of golf with Arnold Palmer at Augusta National, taking batting practise with Hank Aaron at Wrigley Field or swimming with Michael Phelps. Over a century of racing at the Brickyard there have been 42 driver deaths and even two-seater joyrides are treated with professional respect and legal seriousness. There are liability waivers to be signed, blood types to be identified, next of kin and emergency contacts to be noted -- just in case. You are then fitted for a race suit, handed a fire retardant head sock and gloves and a crash helmet. The anticipation is electric but contained. Then everything changes in an instant. A flick of the accelerator triggers a sensory overload. The engine screams and you are pushed back into your seat as you accelerate out of pit lane. In an instant the Brickyard's infamous walls fill your vision and G-forces push your head into your shoulders. You are still building speed through notorious Turn One where many an Indy 500 dream has come to a crashing halt and then quickly into Turn Two where local driver Ed Carpenter got airborne and slammed into the wall destroying his car in 2014. On the long back stretch you catch your breath, just as the drivers on Sunday will, and then a second later you are diving into Turn Three where Canadian James Hinchcliffe lost control last year and slammed hard into the barrier and watched the race from an Indianapolis hospital fighting for his life instead of battling for victory. Then almost instantly it seems you are storming into Turn Four where Pippa Mann, the only woman in this year's race, has crashed twice during practice. Now the famed timing tower comes into view as you rocket into the home stretch and the massive empty grandstands that on Sunday will be filled with a sellout crowd flash past in a blur. Familiar points of reference are spotted and gone in a flash. Then it is over, two laps, five miles. You glide into the pits; Andretti hits his marks and the pit crew goes to work with another lightning-quick passenger change. You scream, "Thanks Mario", and he acknowledges with only a courtesy nod. Andretti's focus remains unbroken as he roars out of the pits before you can get your helmet off. Andretti raced in 29 Indy 500s and the thrill continues. Despite the demands on him, he still finds time to put in laps around the Brickyard whenever possible. "It is still a thrill," Andretti later told Reuters as he stripped out of his driving suit and ran to a waiting police car to take him to the Indianapolis 500 parade. "I love doing it myself and I enjoy that the people really get a kick out of it and experience something that is not always possible." (Editing by Andrew Both)