INDIANAPOLIS -- Before Buddy Rice took the checkered flag at the Indianapolis 500 Sunday, the rain had scared off about half of Kevin Kuehn's group of friends from Green Bay, Wis.
But Kuehn, sporting a Coors Light hat and a red rain jacket, said after the race that the wait was worth it.
"It's Indy," he said, as the track-side screen flashed a tornado warning. "We'll be back next year."
The day at the track began and ended with ominous storm clouds and downpours, but somehow, amid a windy, stormy afternoon, there was time for 180 laps and an exciting finish -- a payoff for thousands of soggy, but enthusiastic, race fans.