A Trip Down the 500 Memory Lane

Jay Love — Tue, 26 May 2009 12:37:00 GMT

It is the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This is quite a milestone and actually makes it one of the oldest sporting venues in the country. A great little video history is here.

I was just six years old when I attended my first 500 race in 1960. I tagged along with my Uncle "Junior", a name he liked much more than Clyde. It was quite an event for me because my uncle owned a convertible and we drove all the way from Muncie to Indianapolis quite early on that May morning to his coveted seats in the first turn with the top down. I remember, to this day, Junior tipping the parking lot attendants so he could have a little extra space on either side of his flashy convertible. He worked in the boiler room section at the huge Borg Warner plant in Muncie, so he always had a new car every other year and kept them in perfect shape.

We walked briskly to our seats so he could start talking with all of his once a year friends in the surrounding seats. Many of them had had tickets there since World War II. They truly lived for Memorial Day weekend in Indy. Many traveled from the East Coast or from the far South to be there.

I had no idea what to expect, but Junior kept telling me it was far better than a baseball or football game and I would want to come back every year. I did make it back several more times with him and had to admit I grew to enjoy the stories that I heard from all of the folks around us. I also saw numerous great races and innovations like the turbine car.

I later moved to the infield during my college years at Butler. That was an entirely different experience and always made for some interesting, if not odd entertainment. The Speedway was so close to Butler that we actually journeyed a few times earlier in the month for qualifications and "Carb Day".

After college, my wife and I started attending with a dozen other couples. We had now moved to the main stretch of track with the start/finish line and all of the pits in full few. We had worked hard to garner that group of 25 or so tickets. Like so many regulars, the week after each year’s race we dutifully mailed in check for the next year’s race. Some of that same group still attends together 33 years later.

The Speedway has meant so much to our city of Indianapolis. For so many years it was the way people knew about Indy in other parts of the world. I recall speaking at Fundraising conferences in the Europe or in Australia and people asking me about the Indy 500 race. Nobody can really imagine that huge number of people assembled for one sporting event. Even the soccer crazy folks were stunned when I told them number of people who attend. In some years it has been nearly 500,000 who have attended.

So if you are at the race or will be watching/listening to it like so many millions do, think of that wide eyed six year old boy with the new 500 baseball cap soaking it all in when they sing "Back Home Again in Indiana" or if you would like to see and hear yourself.

The Jay Love Blog : Indy 500

A Trip Down the 500 Memory Lane