OUT & ABOUT

Down in the pit just fine for this VIP

Former Lt. Gov. Lonnie Hammargren crashed the pit area at Sunday's race, snagging a pass from an organizer who had recognized him.

He could've been in the VIP section, he said. Instead, he chose the area where the crews did high-speed tire changes and fill-ups.

"I'd rather be down in the pits. That's where I belong," he said.

The 69-year-old retired neurosurgeon had some trouble walking around the course and through the maze of closed streets and pedestrian walkways. So, he said, he bought a bike from someone in the Arts District for $30 and rode it to the race.

Handcuffed man gets the casino tour

Tourists weren't the only ones inconvenienced by the race.

Two plainclothes police officers had handcuffed an apparently intoxicated man with giant spurs attached to his sneakers behind the Golden Nugget. They had to wait about 15 minutes for casino security to escort them through the casino floors. Because of the street closures, they couldn't get outside the track without going through the casino.

Noise? What noise? They sure didn't mind

Jeanne Liebner and her friend, Dee Bissen, from Sturgeon Bay, Wis., sunbathed at the Golden Nugget pool Sunday.

Jeanne: "We were inconvenienced, but not enough to ruin anything. We're on vacation, so we have a little more patience."

Dee: "Jeanne's pretty loud all the time, so we're used to noise."

You think maybe they were preoccupied?

Many businesses approached Sunday said they had seen only a slight uptick in sales as a result of the race.

"It's just not like New Year's, where they just rocket," said Ron Schippert, owner of Discount Custom Apparel, which sells sweatshirts on the Fremont Street Experience. "I think maybe everybody's watching the race. Either that, or they're just buying the officially licensed stuff."

No, parents wouldn't take their kids

Rudy Nino, manager of the Girls of Glitter Gulch on Fremont Street, said business over the weekend had been a mixed bag.

"As soon as the race was over, people came in. Looking at our figures from last year, we beat them on Friday but not on Saturday," Nino said. "It looks to me, out there on the streets, like a lot of family, and that's not our market as a gentlemen's club. I saw a lot of kids."

Seems like way more than 'safety' jitters

Vying for the most nervous observer of the race was Amy Hutchens. Her boyfriend, Alex Figge, was driving in the No. 29 car sponsored by Pacific Coast Motorsports.

"It used to be fun, but now I'm so nervous," she said.

It's "mostly safety" she's worried about. "But I just want him to be happy" with how he finishes, she said.

Figge, a rookie, finished 8th, a great showing for him and his first-year team.

Compiled by Review-Journal writers Corey Levitan and David McGrath Schwartz