As I’ve said previously, attending the Indy 500 was one of the first events to make my list of 80 as I began the process of determing where in the world I’d go and exactly what I hoped to see during my Around the World in 80 Sporting Events project.
And, to be clear, as lovely as central Indiana is on Memorial Day Weekend, it was not about visiting Indianapolis. I’ve been there plenty and I’ve no doubt I’ll be back (maybe even for next spring for the Men’s NCAA Final Four).
The reasons to include the 109th running of the Indy 500 were twofold:
- One, it’s the self-proclaimed “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” and not without reason. The Indiapolis Motor Speedway is massive. It’s a 2.5-mile circuit that could afford a spot for both the Pope and POTUS to live and still need to take a short walk past the Statue of Liberty to visit each other. It also brings together 300,000 people for its showcase race, annually. It most assuredly is a spectacle.
- Two, I’m an Indiana native. With all due respect to however good the Notre Dame football team or the Indiana Pacers or either Indiana University or Purdue University’s hoops team may be, the Indy 500 is – and always has been – the big kahuna of Hoosier-state sporting events. It’s what I grew up knowing and, on a more sentimental note, was one of my late mother’s favorite days of the year.
Such were the circumstances when my daughter, Helena, and I headed to Indiana for our first-ever 500 experience on a bright, sunny Memorial Day Saturday. We laid our heads that night in a hotel in Kokomo (about the only place within an hour’s drive that wouldn’t cost either one of us a mortgage payment … or a kidney) and agreed to venture out the next morning by 7 a.m.
In honor of my daughter’s affinity for the long-running series “Law and Order” … “these are our stories.”
The IMS Parking Conundrum
I’ll take full responsibility for snoozing on securing a parking pass near the Speedway when I first purchased my race tickets. Totally my fault, but I knew there was a shuttle from off-site lots and I figured, no big whoop, right?
Well, partially right.
When 300,000 folks converge on a venue there are going to be parking challenges. I’d had luck before with shuttles at major sporting events such as the U.S. Open, The Open Championship, the Solheim Cup, the Presidents Cup, and the Egg Bowl, so I was not terribly concerned about doing the same for this one.
Knowing what I know about greed (it’s still undefeated, right?) I shouldn’t have been gobsmacked when I saw the fee for the shuttle was $60 per person – not per vehicle – but per person. Yet, I was. Add to it $20 to park your vehicle downtown (we chose here rather than the airport because going to the airport would actually take us past the Speedway and traffic) and it was a costly oversight on my part.
And about the parking lot … yeah, it wasn’t so much a parking lot as it was a waste area near Lucas Oil Stadium that had only recently been clear cut by the city to create a spot for vehicles to park.
And the shuttle itself? No, we weren’t treated to a luxury motor coach or even a city bus No, $60 got us a rather cramped spot on an non-air conditioned school bus for the half hour ride to IMS.
Suddenly that ticket price of $115 to see the race wasn’t quite the bargain I thought it was. Though, in fairness, we did have a bit of a show on the return trip as our driver went off-script and took a variety of backroads to shave time off the trip. He even cut off a couple of his fellow shuttle drivers in the process:-)
The Size and Splendor of IMS
Clockwise from upper left, when you win the Indy 500 four times like A. J. Foyt has, you wind up with a street named after you in the infield; the atrium of the recently remodeled IMS Museum looks incredible; race fans outside the Museum; one of the original bricks is on display in the Museum Gift Shop; as is a pin collection from the races; the backside of the famed IMS Pagoda.
I’d attempted to prep Helena for the magnitude of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but like many things in life, it needed to be seen to be understood.
As the shuttle bus pulled in across the street of the Speedway, I could tell Helena’s anxiety might be rising a smidge. Co-opting the words whispered to his assistant coach by actor Gene Hackman‘s Coach Norman Dale from the movie, “Hoosiers,” after he showed his Hickory Huskers’ basketball team Butler Fieldhouse for the first time, “It is big.”
The shuttle dropped riders off near Gate 2, which meant we’d need to walk through the tunnel to get to the Indy’s legendary infield in order to make our way to our seats which were located in the Tower Terrace (along the main straight and pit road). I can only estimate the walk at between half and three-quarters of mile, but we broke it up with stops at the IMS Museum Gift Shop so we could look over the merchandise offerings.
As we continued our walk toward our Tower Terrace seating, we had many good looks at the size of the infield parking lot (where Helena’s friend Hannah and her father, Tim, were due to park, but traffic snarls outside proved problematic), the Indiana University Medical Center, the phalanx of emergency vehicles that dispatched about the time we arrived and prevented us from crossing Hulman Boulevard for a good bit, the garage area (collectively known as Gasoline Alley), and the iconic IMS Pagoda standing sentry near the start/finish line.
As we got closer to our seats we encountered the throng of fans near the Midway area and, at one point, I think both Helena and I were crawling out of our skin by the sheer volume of human beings in one space.
What we weren’t able to see was the area known as The Snake Pit which is, essentially, a full-on outdoor concert venue where, throughout the race, an Electronic Dance Music (EDM) festival occurs. Yes, you read that right, there’s bloody music festival occurring while the race is running. Folks paid $80 for a general admission wrist band to gain admittance; that price excluded admission to the race. A combo would set you back $140.
Pre-Race Traditions
Part of the spectacle and pagentry of the Indy 500 is the pre-race pomp-and-circumstance. If I’m being honest, I was as eager (if not more so) to witness all of it in person than I was to witness the race.
- The Purdue Band playing “On the Banks of the Wabash”
- The bugler playing “Taps”
- The singing of “God Bless America”
- The singing of “The Star-Spangled Banner”
- The command to send drivers to their cars
- The singing of “Back Home Again in Indiana”
- The command for drivers to start their engines
These were all events I’d viewed on the television or listened to on the radio countless times. To be among the quarter-million plus spectators in the venue to hear it live … well that was goosebump inducing stuff.
Note that I said “hear it live” and not “see it live.” That’s because, for the most part, due to the expansive size of IMS you’re not able to actually see many of these traditions unless you’re seated along the main straight near the start-finish line. In this regard, many are best viewed from the comfort of one’s easy chair. The energy level and emotionality of it all, however, cannot be equaled from your home.
And Then a Wet Blanket, er, Rain Cloud
All of the pre-race activities build to a crescendo where a second flyover – yes, a second flyover! – occurs at the conclusion of Jim Cornelison‘s singing of “Back Home Again in Indiana.” Drivers are already in their cars and, at this point, the command for drivers to start their engines is traditionally made.
But along came Mother Nature who was spitting some rain at various points around the track. (Did I mention how big this place is? Yes, there might be precipitation in one part of the track but totally dry in another.)
Anyhow, after all of the hullabaloo leading up to what should have been the start of the Indy 500, the festivities came to a faster stop than a driver nailing his marks on pit road when a weather delay was announced.
Forty minutes later when team owner and IMS owner, Roger Penske, was given the microphone and uttered the famous command, “Drivers, start your engines” it seemed rather anti-climactic.
As the cars began the Parade Lap (think low and slow) then came something new, the “Lap for America” which featured a pair of Blackhawk Helicopters flying over the field during this pace lap.
Then, no sooner had the helicopters given way and several of the Corvettes left the track, there was an accideent … on a pace lap! Driver Scott McLaughlin lost control of his ride while warming up the tires and – bang! – the race started under yellow.
Following a clean up between the start-finish and Turn 1, they tried to begin racing again. And, again, an accident just after the green flag flew. This time it was Marco Andretti, of the famed Andretti family, who got loose and into the wall on Turn 1.
Eventually, there was racing … and a winner. In this case, a first-time Indy 500 winner, Alex Palou. He didn’t take the lead until 14 laps remained and held off a final lap charge from Marcus Ericsson. It was a final lap, by the way, that saw another accident (Nolan Siegel) so the race finished the way it began … under a yellow flag.
And, just for fun, following a post-race inspection, Ericcson (along with two other drivers) was penalized and sent to the back of the race standings for using an aillegal Energy Maintenance Systems cover.
Other Race Day Observations
What was this Like a Generation Ago
the rest of the race course.
As previously noted, this place is massive. Which begs the question, what was it like attending a race 30 or 40 years ago?
And I ask that not because the pagentry and excitement would be appreciably different, but rather I wonder what staying connected to the race was like.
During our experience this year we sat directly across from a sizable video monitor that afforded us views of the racing when it wasn’t directly in front of us. There was, essentially, in-house play-by-play throughout the race via the public address system. There was also the ability to either rent or own headsets and receivers to listen in to the race call or team communications. And, of course, folks had the ability to follow the action via their mobile devices as well.
But what was it like, in say, 1984? How did fans discover there was an accident outside of their viewing area? Did they just happen to notice that Driver A’s car was no longer passing by every 45 seconds and used deductive reasoning that something must’ve occurred?
Skin in the Game
His assignment this season is the No. 14 car driven by Santino Ferrucci.
Never in my wildest imagination, would I think I’d have a personal connection to one of the cars running the Indy 500. So you can imagine my surprise as I learned that I had connections with six cars, including winner Alex Palou‘s.
One I’d known about for some time. Evan Jewson, a childhood neighbor’s son, is working this season as an engineer for the A. J. Foyt Racing Team’s No. 14 car, driven by Santino Ferrucci. I was able to get down to pit road for a quick pre-race visit with Evan, who’s a former guest on Conversations with Sports Fans (S:3, E:49). He expressed optimism abour Ferrucci’s chances in the race and, it turns out, for good reason. Ferrucci finished fifth while Foyt teammate David Malukas claimed second.
During a family wedding a couple weeks prior to the race, I was chatting up my cousin, Nick, whom I knew to be a big IndyCar fan. What I did not realize, was that a Facebook Group he’s a co-administrator for (Elite IndyCar) actually crowdfunded enough money to have a small sponsorship in the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports entries (Ryan Hunter-Reay and Jack Harvey).
Harvey actually led for three laps mid-race when drivers were forced to begin pitting under green and he, through attrition, moved to the top of the table and Hunter-Reay for 48 laps. A pretty surreal moment to know a family member – at least in some small way – helped make that possible.
Then, on race day during a text exchange with my longtime friend, Tom, I re-discovered he was instrumental in the development of Ridgeline lubricants, a Parkland-owned brand, which is one of Chip Ganassi Racing‘s major sponsors. CGR fieled three Indy 500 qualifiers: Kyffin Simpson, Scott Dixon, and a fella named Alex Palou.
It’s nuts to think I had a direct connection to 18% of the Indy 500 cars zooming by all afternoon.
FOX Sports … Grrr:-\
I know the post-race viewership numbers were magnificent for first-year broadcast partner, FOX Sports. Nielsen’s Fast National ratings showed a 40% increase in viewership from 2024 (when it was on NBC) to 7.05 million; the most since 2008.
What FOX Sports brought with it, however, was a parade of its on-air talent: Fox NFL Sunday studio host, Michael Strahan, was behind the wheel of one of the Corvette pace cars pre-race. NFL analyst, Tom Brady, rode along with retired driver, Jimmie Johnson, in an IndyCar 2-seater during parade laps. And MLB on Fox studio hosts, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, gave drivers the command to head to their cars.
I know it’s become the norm from whomever the broadcasters of major sporting events are, but it seems an egregious usurpation of the event’s autonomy over who it believes would be the appropriate people to perform these functions. None of Fox’s personalities, for example, have any direct connection to Indiana, Indianapolis, or auto racing. Jeter growing up Kalamazoo, MI, is probably the closest any had to a link.
A Few Final Shots
Clockwise from upper left, an excited fan waves his hat as the cars speed down the main straight; the No. 14 of Santino Ferrucci featured an American flag color scheme; driver Alex Palou took a victory lap in the back of a truck to salute the fans; Helena and I at the Indy 500; the crush of people to exit the infield following the race; a look at the Tower Terrace seating, our vantage point for the 109th running of the Indy 500.