This month’s Daytrippin’ is truly not a Day Trip but a multi-day trip. If you are a racing fan this is a must do at least once, The Indianapolis 500. This is the largest single day sporting event in the world. Held on Memorial Day weekend each year with the exception of war years during WW1 and WW2 when the track property was used by the military for war preparation, this year was the 108th running of the race.
The track is located in Speedway, Indiana which is just west of Indianapolis. The complex is enormous. It’s large enough to have part of a golf course in the infield. There are a number of events leading up to the race. This will give you time to enjoy the track with less crowd than race day. Some of the events include a shopping area with DJ’s, driver meet and greets, and exhibits from sponsors. Another area of the track is turn 3 also known as the snake pit. This is a concert venue and continuous party. We arrived early as the morning of the race is filled with events and traditions leading up to the green flag. About an hour before the start of the race, the drivers are introduced, the National Anthem is played, a prayer is given and Taps is played to honor the military. They have a flyover, this year it was the Airforce Thunderbirds, and just before command to start the engines they have the singing of “Back Home Again in Indiana”. This was sung by Jim Nabors (Yes, Gomer Pyle) until 2014. James Cornelison sings the song currently. The absolute quiet at the enormous venue during the ceremonies is something that you need to experience to feel the power of the event.
One of the more interesting events at the track is the parade of vintage race cars and pace vehicles that they drive around the track. These are housed at the Track Museum which is a very large complex with a vast collection of cars and exhibits. They also have a track tour. The museum is better to visit when it is not race weekend, you can avoid the crowds.
Once the command is given to start the engine the 11 rows of 3 cars roll out and the 200 lap, 500 mile race is running.
This is a large event with seating for over 250,000 people in the stand and over 100,000 in the infield. In addition to spectators, track workers, race teams and officials and media from all over the world. The attendance is well over 500,000 people.
Unlike most races in this area, it is not possible to see the entire track, so they have monitors around the speedway to watch the race. You can listen to the drivers on a scanner and the broadcast on radio. This makes the event easier to follow. We were seated behind pit road. I compare the 500 to the Masters, as people have had the same seats for years and to get some of the premiums seat locations, patrons have to give up the seats which is rarely done.
The race lasts about 3 hours and after the checked flag, there are more ceremonies for the winner as they move the care into the winner’s circle. The winner drinks the milk from an Indiana dairy, they place the wreath around the driver’s neck. They also take the winning crew and driver down to kiss the yard of brick at the start/finish line. The yard of brick is a tribute to the early years of the speedway which was paved with bricks originally. You should stay and watch the celebration as the crowd is enormous leaving the venue, so the extra time will give them time to file out of the speedway.
We have been to many races, both NASCAR, Indycar, and local tracks. From Darlington to Charlotte and Texas to Richmond. This experience was like no other. Some of the things we learned, getting to the track we used the Waze app that the track furnished. This brought us to the parking area with little or no wait. The track like many sporting venues today is cashless. Be prepared to walk. We were in a track owned paid parking area and had a 2-mile walk. Shop after the event so you do not need to keep up with things. Bring sunscreen even on a rainy day and be very patient. It is said that you are not a true Indy 500 fan until you have endured a rain delay. Well, we are true fans. We had to evacuate the stands about an hour before the race, we had a 3-hour rain delay, and they were able to dry the track in about an hour. The race stared around 4pm and ended around 8pm. After leaving the track we waited in the parking lot for about 4 hours for the traffic to start moving.
This was a Daytrip like no other, again I would recommend it as a one-time experience but try to scope out the area before. My wife Sonya and I have been married 30 years and got married on Memorial Day as the race was running, so as a 30th Anniversary Celebration it was nice to actually get to the track for the race. We are still trying to decide if we will do it again as we have learned a lot of lessons but as an experience, it was great.
If you have never been to an auto race, it is something to try. There are many tracks withing driving distance; Charlotte, Atlanta, Darlington, and even Daytona.
So pack your earplugs, find a driver to support, and get ready to eat some race track food with a sprinkle of tire rubber mixed in. You might just like it.
