Indianapolis 500

"I just wanna go fast" - Rickey Bobbie

Rating:

Full six-pack after mowing the lawn, frosty and satisfying!

The pits are busier than a one legged cat in a litter-box and the cars go faster than the last piece of cake at a weight watchers meeting! Now we want y'all to know that we were not race fans going into this, didn't even know a driver's name, but we were fans by the time we left. This race was a "bucket list" item for both Randy Randerson and Barbra Jean Jo Barbara and it did not disappoint. With 300,000 fans in seats and another 100,000+ fans on the infield, it made this a people watching extravaganza! Everyone seemed genuinely happy to be there so it was hard not to fall in love with this event. We don't know how the race organizers accomplished it, but we never stood in line for a bathroom or for food for more than 5 minutes - more than 400,000 people and we never felt crowded.

Plan ahead

This is a week long party in Indy. Buy your tickets and make your camping reservations a year in advance. Seriously, call the day after the race and book it! Stores sell out of essentials, gas stations sell out of gas, it is like the apocalypse but with fewer zombies.

Reservations

We found that calling the track ticket office really paid off. You can book everything online, but we found that the helpful race staff had some excellent advice and got us some truly great seats, they also helped with the camper reservation, and a ton of invaluable advice. This is the Midwest after all, so people are still helpful and friendly for no good reason. :-)

Traffic is insane.

The raceway is a little off the beaten path and there are a lot of ways to get there, but all are crowded. Bring your patience and go pee before you get on the road.

Camping

The famed "Coke Lot". This is a durable crowd. They don't need showers, toilets, or food. They seem to run on some mixture of grain alcohol, beer, and more beer. They are the salt of the earth... at least I (Randy Randerson) think it was salt, or maybe sulfur,... it definitely smelled "earthy" anyway. They put the campers on one side of the creek and the tents on the other. The tent camping is literally thousands of tents and it is party central. The camper area is a party place too, but there is some sleeping time allowed. Seriously, YouTube "coke lot". A word of advice, don't leave anything outside your camper. Our neighbors for the night had their still burning bbq stolen. Still, it was the best party we have ever been to.

**A side note about the guy with the flag in the photos above... We had a storm blow through and in fact was a small tornado. That guy stood on the truck and held that flag in place as the winds topped 80mph. We watched this redneck Iwo Jima take place and could not be more proud to be 'Mericans! The short video is HERE

Seating

Whats important to you? Shade, seeing the entire track, party atmosphere, or family-friendly?

These factor into where you want to sit. First rule of thumb for any race is the higher the seat, the better. Unlike other sporting events, sitting in the lower rows of a section is very limiting in regards to what you can see, due to the fencing and how the track is positioned.

The absolute best place to sit is in one of the Penthouses on the front stretch. These are sold out... forever, so let’s move on. The next best location is the north end of the track. These tickets go fast in the higher rows, but you can still find a seat or two in the lower rows close to race day.

North Vista offers fans a great scene. If you sit up high enough, you will be able to see cars on the last ¼ of the backstretch, through Turns 3 and 4 and the first ¼ of the front stretch. The South Vista offers a similar view as well. These are great options if you want to see all of the action, as the majority of the passing happens in the turns. These seats are in the sun, so hats and cooling towels are a must!

Many people sit in the infield because they either want to save some money or they are looking to party. If you are looking to party, head to Turn Three of the infield. If you want to watch the race from the infield, head to the mounds in Turn Two or the South Terrance Grand Stands, both of which are great, family-friendly locations for general admission ticket holders.

Randy Randerson and Barbra Jean Jo Barbara are both "princesses", shade was a must, so the start/finish line is what we could see. The race day experience is Midwest friendly and great anywhere you are around the track.

Dress comfortably

This race is at the end of May and you can expect it to be very hot and occasionally wet. Outfits are patriotic or just fun. A lady walked by us wearing a skin colored top that was printed to look like a man's hairy chest and back. Nearly anything goes if it is fun. Wear shoes that you are comfortable walking miles in. Nothing is close and this place is huge.

Bring a cooler

That’s right, folks, you can bring your own food and drinks into the track, including alcohol! VERY family-friendly and what a money saver, right? Food – sandwiches, fruit, cookies, chips, Lunchables, and Drinks – WATER! Lots and lots of water, soda, juice boxes for kids (or adults), beer, wet wipes – and sunscreen – keeping sunscreen in the cooler makes it easier to put on in the hot sun.

Here are the cooler rules:

All coolers and bags must be 18”x14”x14” or smaller, but hard and soft coolers are both allowed. Drinks, whether they are alcoholic or not, must be in aluminum cans and/or aluminum or plastic bottles. Hard liquor must be in the plastic bottles. NO GLASS.

Keep up with the race

It’s always a great idea to pick up an IndyStar Race Day Newspaper the morning of the race. They are everywhere and are in bins outside the track. Inside you will find the race’s starting lineup, including pictures of the cars and drivers. This will keep you in the know about who is who and which car belongs to which driver and team.

Want to have a play by play of the race streaming? Bring some headphones to plug into your phone. The INDYCAR Radio Broadcast can be found on the IndyCar mobile app or you can tune into local coverage on radio stations 93.1 FM/107.5 FM/1070 AM. Since it’s impossible to see all the way around the track, tuning in will keep you up to speed the entire 500 miles.

PACK HEARING PROTECTION

Pack enough for all members of the family and an extra set. These cars are incredibly loud. You can also ignore any child asking repeatedly "who is winning?" because you can't hear them when you are wearing them. :-)

Time Of Arrival

If you are camping, you will want to arrive a day or two early. The spots go early in the week to the early-birds and any late arrivals go to the tent camping lot, expect issues. The morning of the race, people will start heading towards the gates about an hour before they open.

This is an actual zombie walk, eerily quiet except for the occasional groan or belch. These people have been partying all night. The first concession you may encounter as you enter the gate is the Bloody-Mary booth - no joke, these organizers know their audience!

Gates open at 6:00 AM, and many are already waiting in a long line. Try to get to the track no later than 8:00 AM if you want to experience all of the events or walk around and see everything.

Places To Park

Most parking within a mile of the track sell passes and are sold out months before the race, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t excellent, alternative parking spots in neighborhoods surrounding the track. Typically these spots are residents’ yards, and can go for $15-$30 each. Bring cash for easy payment.