5/22/2015
Boston MA
The Memorial Weekend is almost up on us. It is usually the time to catch up with friends and family, travel and enjoy some warm weather; and it also time for Indy 500 car race. Last year when I lived in Chicago I thought it was my chance to catch some Indy action if I could. So I set out to go see it.
Many consider Indy 500 car race as the greatest spectacle in racing and Indianapolis Motor Speedway claims it is the racing capital of the world.The open-wheel car race has such a phenomenal fan following today but it was born out of humble beginnings. In 1909 the city of Indianapolis built a tar-and-gravel track and hosted the first race which was a 100-lap 300 mile contest won by Bob Burman during the Memorial Day Weekend. So a racing tradition was born. The track was rugged and dangerous in today's standards. The first "500 mile" event was hosted in 1911 and Ray Harroun an American racer won the inaugural competition.
Many consider Indy 500 car race as the greatest spectacle in racing and Indianapolis Motor Speedway claims it is the racing capital of the world.The open-wheel car race has such a phenomenal fan following today but it was born out of humble beginnings. In 1909 the city of Indianapolis built a tar-and-gravel track and hosted the first race which was a 100-lap 300 mile contest won by Bob Burman during the Memorial Day Weekend. So a racing tradition was born. The track was rugged and dangerous in today's standards. The first "500 mile" event was hosted in 1911 and Ray Harroun an American racer won the inaugural competition.
Over the years the sport went through lot of changes, improvements, growth and had its share of tragedies on the track. In the current climate of racing it is bigger than ever. An extremely popular female driver Danica Patrick who started in 7 Indy 500 races, brought a new breed of female fans to the sport and propelled the event to unimaginable popularity. One racing fact worth noting is the difference between NASCAR and Indy Series. NASCAR uses stock cars - they look like the normal cars you and I drive. Indy Series uses open-wheel-single-seater-driver-open-to-air modeled after Formula One cars.
On May 25 in 2014, the race day, I drove from Chicago where I lived at the time to Indianapolis to see the race except I had no tickets. The drive took longer than expected and traffic was bad around Indianapolis due to the race. I ended up listening to the race commentary on my car radio and by the time I made it near the Speedway the race was over. An American racer Ryan Hunter won the race. I had to park a couple of miles away from track and walk towards the famed Indy grounds. Crowds every where, people all over the place walking in all directions. Seemed like all the racing fans in the world congregated in one place.
As I got near the track I saw people camped out in the grounds near the Speedway and tons of trash strewn everywhere. I am walking along the side of the mile-long track(with a lap of 2.4 miles). I got to the other end of Speedway where main entrance is located and noticed the staff were cleaning empty the grandstands and they kept the gates open. So I sneaked in through an open gate and took some pictures. It was nice to see the giant posters of past champions and some big names in Indy racing : Scott Dixon, Helio Castroneves etc.
The Indy 500 is an American tradition and a premier sporting event and a crown jewel among all car races. Next time I go to Indy 500 race I would make sure I get there a bit early and armed with tickets.
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