Drifter

なんだか、４月も今週で終わってしまい、気がついたら５月ですね。ってか、毎月の終わりに同じ事を言っているような気がするのは年をとったせいかな？！？（笑）

I can't believe we are already approaching end of April, and will see Month of May in a hurry. Well..I suppose I say this every time towards end of the month so I must be getting old!?!

今週末はカンザスで今季初のオーバルレーすが行なわれますね。ある意味レースがどうなるか楽しみです。同時にインディの方の活動も急ピッチで進めないと・・・。今年も色々と厳しい状況ですが、なんとか乗れる様に全力で頑張りたいと思います。

The first oval race for the IZOD Indy Car Series is coming up this week end and I am very excited to see the race. At the same time, Indy 500 is coming up so fast that things are looking very difficult as usual. Having said that, I'll be on sight and ready to drive if any opportunity comes up! Never say Never I suppose...

所で先週、僕の友人が勤めるアパレルブランドのDrifter
に行って、たくさん洋服を貰って帰ってきちゃいました！商品はSaks Fifth Aveとで売っているらしくて、素材も良くて着心地が良く内容は◎です！！！

I went to visit my buddy who works at Drifter clothing and did a quick photo shoot wearing their product. Their product is sold at Saks Fifth Ave, and the material is really comfortable to wear!

かなりお気に入り！ちなみに、クルマのドリフトとは全く関係のないネーミングらしい！最初にブランド名を聞いた時は・・・と思いましたがある意味良かった〜。

I'm actually really enjoying the product and I was surprised to hear that the naming had nothing to do with the Car Drifting. Than god since I prefer to spend less time sliding!?!lol

ロングビーチGP

先週末はロングビーチでのレースでしたね。やっぱり地元のレースは楽でいいですね〜。自宅から通えるし！なんだか、久しぶりにロングビーチのレースに行けたのですが（毎年フェラーリ・チャレンジの仕事があるので）ロングビーチは盛り上がりますね！！

I had a fantastic week end at Long Beach this past week end. It's always great to have a local race especially if you can commute from home. I haven't attended the LBGP for a while since I was always away coaching a driver in Ferrari Challenge this past several years. Long Beach is always packed with people and it's a great race to see!!

息子はインディ大好きなので、妻が頑張って予選日に子供達を連れてきました！さすがに、二人を連れてサーキットに来るのは大変と、妻は嘆いていましたが、子供達がはしゃぐ姿を見ると良かったなと思います。

My son loves Indy Car so my wife decided to take two kids to see the car on Fri. It's certainly handful to carry two kids at the track and my wife had a hard time, but the kids seemed to really enjoy it being there.

息子が喜ぶ様に近い将来、またサーキットでの晴れ姿を見せれる様に頑張らないとっ！

After seeing my son cheering for all the drivers, it's time for me to step up the program so my son my son can cheer for me too!!

息子＆ヒデキ

今日からインディ第３戦ロングビーチGPが始まりました。地元でのレースは、家から通えるからいいですね〜。ちなみに、ダウンタウン〜ロングビーチまでは地下鉄で通っています。市街地レースだと駐車場とかも面倒なので、地下鉄通勤する事に決めました。

I'm here at Long Beach GP this week end. It's good to have a home race since you can stay at your own house and sleep in your own bed. I am actually taking the Subway to the track this week end since the traffic and parking can be hectic for the street races.

家の真下が地下鉄の駅で、ロングビーチの駅はクレデンシャルゲートの目の前なのでけっこう便利です。ダウンタウンに住んでるとやっぱり便利ですね！

Since the Subway station is just below my apartment, and the station in Long Beach is in right front of the credential gate, it is actually not a bad ride to Long Beach. I must say it is pretty convenient living in Downtown LA sometimes.

昨日はコースに行って、かるく下見をしました。ヒデキとも火曜日にトレーニングを一緒にして、息子はその日の夕食でヒデキのクルマに乗せてもらう交渉を成功。早速コースに行って、ヒデキにあってマシンに乗せてもらった息子は大喜び！

Yesterday, I came to the track to check things out and catch up with people. When Hideki came to town on Tuesday, we trained together and went to dinner. My son wanted to sit in an Indy Car so he asked if that would be OK and Hideki happily accepted his favor. When we got to the track, Hideki took my son and placed him in to the cockpit!

ってか目がかなりまじです！本人はインディ・ドライバーになった気分満々でハッピーな一日だったみたいです。（笑）

You can see from his eyes that he is pretty serious about this! He thinks he is an Indy Car Series driver now and was a great day for my son!!lol

バーバー・ミュージアム

今日インディ第２戦が終わりました。今回も両日本人選手は残念な結果に終わってしまいましたが、次回のロングビーチでの結果に期待しましょう！

The 2nd race of the IZOD Indy Car Series race has just finished. It was not a great day for the two Japanese drivers but I'm sure they will do well at the next race in Long Beach,CA.

さて、今回はバーバーモータースポーツ・パークでのレースでしたが、このコースの持ち主はジョージ・バーバーさん。敷地内には世界最大のバイクとロータスのコレクションを誇るモータースポーツ・ヴィンテージ・ミュージアムがあります。

The race at Barber Motorsports Park was exciting, but the Motorspors Vintage Museum just outside the track is just as exciting. It is the largest Motorcycle and Lotus Car collection in the world, and Mr.George Barber owns the whole facility as well as the cars and motorcycles.

この中がまた、すっごいコレクションでビックリです。１台１台のコンディションが素晴らしい上に、ディスプレーの仕方がアーティスティック！クルマやバイク好きにとってはたまらない場所ですね！アラバマ州に来る時は、ぜひ立ち寄ってみて下さい！って滅多にアラバマに来る事なんかないか・・・？！？（笑）

The collection is astonishing! Every car and bikes are in great condition and also displayed artistically! It's a man's dream to own and have such a place like this. Well, if you are ever in Birmingham,AL, this certainly is a must-see spot! That's if you are ever in Alabama....

しかし、これだけの土地とコレクションを所有するバーバーさん。一体何者だと思ってリサーチしてみたら、なんと乳業屋さんでした！？！乳製品ってそんなに儲かるっけ？？？

BTW, I wonder how Mr.Barber became so successful and did some research. I was surprised to see that he owned a dairy business which was his primary business. May be I should start milking cows to go racing!?!lol

アラバマでバーベキュー

今はアラバマ州に来ています。今週末はインディの第３戦。昨日から走行が始まりましたが、両日本人選手（琢磨＆ヒデキ）は好調なので、良い結果が期待できそうです。しかし、相変わらずドライバーにインタビューするのって何だか変な感じですね。（笑）

I am in the sweet home Alabama now. There is the Rd.3 on the Indy Car Series race here at Barber Motorsports Park. The Japanese drivers(Hideki and Takuma) both did well during the practice session yesterday so we are expecting a great results from them. Having said all that, it is still awkward for me to be interviewing the drivers...

昨晩はホテルの側にある、バーベキューレストランに行ってきました。南部のバーベキューは豪快です！しか〜し、昨日はメニューを見て、何にしようか決めている時に油断をしてしまいました・・・。本当にはスペアーリブが食べたかったんですが、メニューにあたかもそのお店のスペシャルと言う感じで、豚マークの品目があったので迷わずそれをオーダー。

We went to this barbeque restaurant last night right next to the hotel we are staying at. The Southern Style BBQ is really good and gotta have some while I'm here. I really love the ribs and was planning to order them but saw this pig mark on the menu which I thought it was the store's favorite...so I ended up ordering that without hesitation.

頼んでフードが出てきたら、な〜んとソーセージでした。Pork Linksって書いてあった様な気はしたので当然の事ですが、豚ちゃんマークだけを見て判断しちゃったんですよね。まっ、ソーセージも好きなので、がつがつ食べちゃいましたが。（笑）明日からダイエットしないとやばいな〜！？！（笑）

Well,,,when the food arrived, it turned out to be Sausages and not ribs. Sorta disappointed but remember seeing something like Pork Links on the menu so no shit it turned out to be a Sausage.lol Anyhow, the food was great and I almost ate the whole thing. I think I'll need to work on my diet when I get home as we approach month of May real soon!?!

明日からバーバー

気がついたら、あっと言う間に時間が経ち、もう４月ですね。先週末はなんだか久しぶりに休みがあったかんじで、もう今週末はアラバマでインディ第３戦が行なわれます。

Well, it's already April as we all know...and time just keeps flying by as always. I had last week end off and was able to spend some quality time with my family before heading to Alabama this week end for Rd.3 of the IZOD Indy Car Series.

バーミンガムに向けて、明日出発する予定です。開幕２連戦で色々と、ハプニングがあったので、今回は普通にレースがスケジュール通りに行なわれる事を祈りたい所です。（笑）

I will be leaving to Barber Motorsports Park tomorrow and am looking forward to seeing the race again. The first two rounds was a bit crazy with weather issues so hopefully we will get through this week end without any issues.

さて、今日はまた週末の間ピットを預かってもらわなくてはいけないので、その前にお風呂に入れないと。出発前は色々と日用品の買い出しがあったり、いつもドタバタです・・・。

Since I will be leaving tomorrow, I need to wash Pit today and drop him off at my friend's who always takes care of him when I am away. Than off to the store to buy stuff for the house so my wife doesn't have to do heavy shopping while I am out of town. Going to be a busy day...

ピットが帰宅

ようやく、フロリダから帰ってきました。先週末のレースは、大雨で月曜に延期となり、滞在が一日延びちゃいました。なんとか予備のパンツとかシャツを持っていてラッキーでしたよ。一緒に同行していたUS Racingスタッフは、洗面台で洗濯をしてました。（笑）

Finally back home from Florida. Since the race was postponed till Monday, it really felt like a long week end to us. Fortunately I brought some extra underwear and shirts, I had no problems staying for another day but my companion, US Racing staff brought just enough till Sunday so he had to wash his cloth in a hotel sink!lol

今週末は、なんだか久しぶりの休みです。とは言っても、もう４月なのでインディ５００に向けてのスポンサー活動を全力でやらないと。インディジャパンの方も同時進行でやらなくてはいけないな〜。色々と大変だけど頑張るぞ〜！！

I finally have a week end off away from the race track this coming week end. Having said that, there are lots to do since Month of May is coming up and will need to speed up the process on the talks with prospects sponsors for Indy 500 as well as the Indy Japan race in September. Things aren't easy but gotta keep trying!!

さてさて、今日はピットが帰宅。ブラジル〜セントピーターズバーグに行っている間は知り合いに預かって頂いていました。久しぶりの帰宅で大喜び！！でも、ピットは子供達が更にパワフルに暴れているので、落ち着かないようです・・・・。

Since I was away for couple of weeks while I was in Brazil and St.Pete, Pit was at my friends house since my wife had her hands full taking care of the kids. I was glad to see Pit, but I think Pit is not so excited being home since the kids are even loud and crazier!?!