A long road to my first Indy 500
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May 1991 – Indianapolis, IN
I took a trip with my Scout Troop – Troop 322 – to Indianapolis in May.
Indianapolis + May = well, you probably know what that means. Right? The city’s eyes turn towards the giant oval in the tiny town of Speedway, Indiana.
That’s right. May means racing in Indianapolis. So, it was only fitting that we visit the home of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing while we were in the Circle City. But that’s not all we did.
We camped on the Indiana School for the Blind campus. We played games with some of the students, including a modified version of Capture the Flag and a game with a beep ball – I think it was either soccer or volleyball. I’m sure something from that experience probably met some requirement for one or more merit badges. If hanging out at the School for the Blind was all we did that weekend, it would’ve been a memorable campout.
But we were in Indy, baby.
As a teenager, it was a big honkin’ deal to visit the capital city from little ol’ Evansville, Indiana. So we made the most of it.
On Saturday, we visited The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. It was the first time for most of us, since Evansville pre-Interstate 69 was such a haul. And we had a blast.
But since May means racing in Indy, there was one other thing we had to do: the Indy 500 Time Trials.
We walked the Infield. We toured garages. And I remember walking by Bobby Rahal’s garage. We might have seen his car. We might have even seen Bobby himself, I’m not sure.
I do know, though, that I became a big Bobby Rahal fan that day. I’m not gonna lie. My friend Andy had a whole lot to do with that. He’d been to the track many times. He was a big Indy car fan. He even thought Evansville should scrap Thunder on the Ohio and invest in bringing a street race to the River City. Considering how it’s been more than a dozen years since those hydroplanes raced along Evansville’s banks of the Ohio, maybe he was on to something.
But I digress…
Anyway, Andy argued that Bobby Rahal was one of the good guys. He was a competitive driver and he owned his own team. And it’s a pretty big deal to be an owner-driver.*
So Andy convinced me. I became a Bobby Rahal fan on the spot. He qualified fourth and started on the inside of Row 2. Finished in the middle of the pack. Rick Mears won his fourth Indy 500 that year. The four-timers club is some pretty rarified air. And even though Bobby didn’t do so hot, it was all OK. I was a fan for life. Shoot – even though he’s not driving anymore, I’m still a fan of his racing team.
I also became a big fan of the Indy 500 that day. And I hoped to be able to watch the race live and in-person some day. But that was going to have to wait a while.
April 2005 & March 2006 – Bristol, VA
That’s right. Bristol, baby!
Back when Christy and I were in grad school in Tennessee’s fair eastern mountains, Aiden and I had the opportunity to go to two different installments of Busch Series races at Bristol Motor Speedway – the Sharpie 250 and the Sharpie Mini 300.
We were right on top of the action. You could hear the cars bump into each other. You could smell the burning rubber. And since Bristol Motor Speedway is only a half-mile, you can basically see all of the race, all of the time. Even from the lower seats like we had.
Bristol was fun. It was a great memory for both of us, although Aiden claims that all he remembers was feeling like his hands were frostbit after he played with the hail that came down during the 2006 race.
Bristol gave me a taste of real-live racing. And I knew what I had to do.
But it took a few years…
May 2022 – Indianapolis, IN
I’ve kept a list for a while. I’ve never really liked calling it a “Bucket List,” but…let’s face it…that’s really what it is. And so, thanks to Christy’s cousin, I was finally able to scratch the Greatest Spectacle in Racing off my bucket list.
As we walked to the Speedway, Christy kept saying that she couldn’t wait for the green flag. The experience is unlike anything else. I’m pretty sure she had an extra bounce in her step on the way to our seats. This place is truly special. For Indy. And her family.
We found our seats and enjoyed all of the pomp and circumstance that goes with the lead up to the race. We brought my favorite cooler, which perfectly fit within the Speedway’s cooler requirements, and shared a few drinks and some snacks while we waited.
And then the big prerace stuff began. The driver introductions. The National Anthem. I’m not going to lie, I got a little misty-eyed during the singing of Back Home Again in Indiana.
Oh goodness. It was almost too much.
Then the famous command: “Drivers, start your engines!”
And the parade laps.
And the green flag. Oh, the green flag.
Christy was right. It. was. amazing.
And the clip I shared doesn’t really give the experience justice. The roar of the cars is so loud. The excitement of the crowd is contagious. I could feel the whole experience in my bones. It lit the darkened corners of my soul.+
Man. I still get chills just thinking about it.
I turned to Christy after they entered Turn 1 and were halfway to Turn 2 and said,
“This ain’t no Bristol!”
-Me
And it wasn’t. It wasn’t no Bristol. That was for sure. Don’t get me wrong. Bristol is great. But Indy 500? It’s a whole different level
Oh, and did I mention this place is fast? It is. Ridiculously so.
Remember that the track is a 2.5 mile oval. Watch how quick they travel that distance:
A long time coming
It took a long time to cross the Indy 500 off my Bucket List That I Don’t Like Calling A Bucket List. And I hope it doesn’t take another three decades for me to return to the Indy 500.
Because it’s pretty stinkin’ awesome.
Endnotes
* That wasn’t enough of a reason to turn me into a fan of Michael Andretti (sorry, Kevin), but it is one of the many reasons I’m a fan of Ed Carpenter.
+ OK…that might be a bit of an exaggeration. But you get the idea. Right?
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