INCOMPARABLE — The Weekly Opine

Unlike any other. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Photo credit Autoblog)

World’s greatest race

Indianapolis. Just as the name Capone summons images of muscular Chicago, the mention of Indianapolis conjures visions of auto racing glory. And no matter how many times NASCAR claims the Daytona 500 is “The Great American Race,” in reality the Indianapolis 500 is unmistakably the greatest American race. The Indy 500 is the greatest auto race in the world. (Kudos to new broadcast partner Fox Sports for displaying reverence showcasing Indy as a major global sports event. In addition to the race, Fox televises all practice sessions, qualifications, produces engaging special interest programming and utilizes innovative, cool camera angles.)

Start with the scale of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. IMS, a National Historic Landmark, is the world’s largest stadium, an imposing 2.5-mile racetrack nearly surrounded by giant grandstands. Three Hundred Fifty Thousand race day fans make the Indy 500 the world’s largest single-day sports event. The huge crowd, eye-popping speed and ear-popping sound of the racecars create a one-of-a-kind experience unmatched by the Olympics, the Super Bowl or anything else on the sports calendar.

The Indianapolis 500 is the last major sporting event of spring, following March Madness, the Masters, the Kentucky Derby and the PGA Championship. Indy is the gateway to summer, the perfect complement to the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

Motor racing came to life in Indy, where super-fast cars captivate fans. Here, technology emerges that finds its way to passenger cars. In 1911, the first 500-mile race was won by Ray Harroun driving a car fitted with a rearview mirror. Harroun’s brilliant, strategic use of technology eliminated the extra weight of a human riding mechanic, carried by the other 39 cars. Riding alone, Harroun used the advantage of a lighter car to win the race averaging nearly 75 mph. All passenger cars are now equipped with rearview mirrors.

Ray Harroun won the first Indy 500 in 1911 driving a Marmon Wasp fitted with a rearview mirror. Tony Hulman commands drivers to start engines. (Photos credit Historic Vehicle Associatioin; Automotive Hall of Fame)

Racing at Indy ceased during World War II and the big racetrack fell into disrepair. It was saved in 1945 when Terre Haute, Indiana, businessman Anton “Tony” Hulman Jr. bought the facility. A dynamic showman, Hulman grandly promoted, publicized and built the Indianapolis 500 into a global event.

No one has ever called out “Gentlemen, start your engines!” with more flair than the late, great Tony Hulman. In 1977, when Janet Guthrie became the first woman to qualify for the race, there was anxiousness about what Hulman would say. The dapper Hulman got it right, saying, “In conjunction with the first lady to qualify, gentlemen, start your engines!”

Nothing like it

The Indianapolis 500 burns into all your senses.

The sight of huge grandstands as you approach the racetrack. Once inside, the size of the racecourse and packed grandstands are staggering. The sight of 33 race machines lined up three abreast, eleven rows deep, creates an adrenaline rush like no other. The touch of handshakes with familiar faces you see every year, handshakes that say, “back home again in Indiana.” The smell from engine exhaust on the track and barbeque wafting from the infield. The sweet, high-pitched whining sound of the sleek cars. And tasting a cold beverage. Indy is blissful.

The race’s “flying start” is breathtaking, truly incomparable in the world of sports. When the green flag flies 33 cars accelerate from 100 mph to 200 mph coming off Turn 4 onto the long main straightaway. The massive grandstands frame the racecars as they blast forward, vying for the Turn 1 groove.

The evolution of Indy race cars. Top L-R: Jim Clark in 1965 and Mark Donahue in 1972. Bottom L-R: Rick Mears in 1988 and Scott Dixon in 2022. (Photos credit Indianapolis Motor Speedway/Indycar)

At Indy, the drivers hail from numerous countries, which gives the 500 an international flavor. However, it doesn’t feel elitist like Formula One. There is room for everybody at Indy. Over the years the crowd has diversified. Many more women and people of all colors. Archaic rules prohibiting women from entering the pits and garage area are thankfully long gone. Last Saturday, Scott McLaughlin’s crew – feverishly wielding tools as they worked to get his backup car ready – included a woman crew member and a Black man crew member also wielding tools. Unheard of 50 years ago.

Speed limit

One thing missing nowadays is annual increases in speed. Qualifying used to attract 200,000 fans hoping to see new speed records. Back in the day, witnessing a driver break the 150-mph barrier and years later break 200 mph during qualifications was thrilling!

But the physics of enclosed racetracks have limits. Indy probably won’t see a 250-mph lap. The fastest official lap was turned by Arie Luyendyk in 1996, a record-setting 237 mph. Since then, safety regulations (and physics) limit speeds. Turning a lap in the low-to-mid 230s is the modern pinnacle. Qualifications are not as electrifying. No longer does the public address announcer boom “it’s a new track record!” The huge qualification crowds of the 20th Century are gone.

The backstretch

Whereas the main straightaway has magnificent, canyon-like grandstands on both sides of the track, there are no grandstands along much of the back straight. A mostly wide-open space, the backstretch appears much as it did 60 years ago.

The old saying “speed thrills” is exemplified on the backstretch, arguably the fastest area of the racetrack, with speeds topping out around 237-239 mph entering Turn 3 during qualifying.

Indy 500 backstretch during the parade lap. (Photo credit 2 IMS)

On race day the backstretch becomes a 3-hour theater of speed. There are no pit stops on the backstretch. Just uncompromising speed as the cars reach peak velocity approaching Turn 3 (our seats are in Turn 3). The high-pitched roar of the machines and breathtaking speed relent only during yellow light caution periods.

Four stages of racing

Stage 1 covers the first 30-35 laps, with drivers trying to survive the 3-abreast flying start, arriving at the first pit stop with nerves and machine intact. Second stage; make it to the halfway mark, lap 100. Third stage, laps 101-150, stay on the lead lap near the frontrunners, while executing smooth pit stops. Then comes the critical final stage.

Around lap 150 you feel a shift. A sharper focus settles over the enormous crowd. Everything becomes more acute. The omnipresent sound intensifies. The speed seems more blistering. There is tense urgency and heightened exhilaration as the cars blow past. You hear it in the public address announcer’s voice. Everyone is swept up in a fury of excitement unique to the Indianapolis 500.

Drivers at the front try to win the race; other drivers try for a Top Five or Top Ten finish; still others try to finish on the lead lap. The late-race frenzy often results in accidents as drivers push to the edge, where a split-second loss of concentration sends racecars into a collision with the concrete wall.

This ferocious dash to the finish is intensified on the backstretch. It’s electrifying watching the cars exit Turn 2, streak down the backstretch, enter Turn 3, hurtle along the short-chute concrete wall, duck into Turn 4 then hustle onto the main straightaway.

Late race intensity as (L) cars enter Turn 3 from the backstretch and (R) exit Turn 3 heading for Turn 4. (Photos credit The Weekly Opine)

Pure relentlessness is an apt description. The constant sound. The sheer speed. Watching to see if your favorite drivers make it around again, hopefully improving their position.

Then, presto! The white flag waves, signaling one lap to go, followed by the checkered flag. Suddenly, the race is over. Sound and speed cease. The huge track goes silent.

The end of the race is a jolt, like being a kid at the county fair when your favorite ride times out. You sit there, not wanting to move. Happy, but wanting more. That’s how it feels when the 500 ends. You hang around your seat, craving more of the ecstasy that is the Indianapolis 500.

Slowly, fans descend from the grandstands, still on cloud nine, heading for makeshift parking lots. And the year-long wait begins anew.

Now, finally, the wait is over. Destination Indianapolis. Anticipation builds this week as 350,000 fans make the annual pilgrimage to the Racing Capital of the World.