The Sports Fan Project

Event 18 – When Daddy and Daughter Did the 109th Indy 500

^{It was Daddy-Daughter Day (at least for us) at the 109th Indy 500.}

Doug and Helena at the Indy 500 — ^{It was Daddy-Daughter Day (at least for us) at the 109th Indy 500.}

The Written Word

The Greatest Spectacle in Disjointed Racing

Still Photos

Gate 2 at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The IMS Museum.

The newly remodeled interior of the IMS Museum.

A collection of Indy 500 pins in the Museum Gift Shop.

One of the original bricks is displayed in the Museum Gift Shop.

Coming or going, there was a crush of people moving through the tunnels.

IndyCar legend A. J. Foyt has a street named after him in the infield.

Helena and I snapped an ussie with the famous IMS Pagoda in the background.

Turns out Marco didn’t need this pit spot for too long:-(

Members of the Purdue Marching band guard their drum.

Friend Evan Jewson is a member of the Foyt Racing Team. He’s an engineer on Santino Ferrucci’s car.

A look jup at the Tower Terrace section we sat in.

There were actually two pre-race flyovers.

A look toward the Start/Finish line from our seats.

A look back toward Turn 4 from our seats.

This video monitor across from us proved invaluable for keeping up with the race.

During the pace lap, cars were bunched three across.

This fan was excited to see some racing.

Santino Ferrucci’s No. 14.

The view from our seats.

Jack Harvey’s No. 24 in for a pit stop.

Another ussie, this time down near the pit wall.

The IMS Pagoda with the final results.

A car caught mid zoom by.

2025 Indy 500 winner Alex Palou took a victory lap in the bed of a F-150.

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Video

^{Views under the Tower Terrace.}

^{A portion of “God Bless America.”}

^{“The Star-Spangled Banner.”}

^{“Taps” is played pre-race.}

^{“Back Home Again in Indiana.”}

^{The command to start the engines.}

^{“The Lap for America” featuring Black Hawk helicopters during the second parade lap.}

^{An Indy 500 pace lap.}

^{Going to green flag racing.}

^{Opening of pit lane.}

^{A Jack Harvey pit stop.}

^{A look at some live racing.}

^{The final lap of the Indy 500.}

Audio

^{Doug and Helena share their reflections following their day attending the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.}

^{Related episode from S:3. A Conversation with Evan Jewson who works as a race team engineer.}

Fun Facts

Traveling Party – Doug and his daughter, Helena
Last Time Visited – Doug had been to IMS as a child for a time trial and has been to the track during a non-race day one other time. Helena had never visited.
Bring it On, er In – As long as it wasn’t glass, an aerosol can, and was smaller than an adult pool float, it seemed as though just about anything could be brought through security into Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Perhaps that’s a gross exaggeration, but it didn’t seem that far from the truth. Beer? Bring it in. Wine? As as it was in a can, box, or bag, bring it in. Flags? Sure. The full list of permitted and not permitted items is found at this link. We took advantage and brought in some food and drink in a small cooler to cut our food cost. We did see a family of five get stopped at the security checkpoint because they were rolling in one of those massive coolers. Part of me wanted to stop and see what became of it … the other part of me won that internal struggle;-)
In the Event of a Next Time – I’d probably rethink my seat location if I were to attend again. While it was nice to see the cars at top speed heading down the main straight as well the entrance to pit lane, I think a better spot would be to get closer to the Start/Finish line or to move into a turn where there’s perhaps, a bit more racing action occurring.
Funny Shuttle Bus Moment – On our way to the track aboard the shuttle, our driver was airing an Indianapolis sports radio station that was breaking down all things Indy 500. As occurs during broadcast radio, there were commericials. The first commercial we heard (and one that was repeated no fewer than three more times during our 35-minute ride, was for vasectomies. The fella seated next to mean leaned over and cracked, “Well, at least they know their audience.”
Running List of States Traveled To/Through – Alabama, California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, & West Virginia
Running List of Countries Traveled To/Through – Canada (Ontario & Quebec), England, Japan, Korea, Scotland, United States, & Wales
Distance Traveled – 644 miles roundtrip.
Cumulative Distance Traveled After 18 Events – 43,608 miles
Up Next: The Men’s College World Series in Omaha, NE; a visit to “The Field of Dreams” movie site in Dyersville, IA; the 120th Midnight Sun Game in Fairbanks, AK; and rodeo at Frontier Days in Cheyenne, WY

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