Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

So I guess I'm going to the Indy 500 next year. 

Questions:

Where did you stay? thinking Air BNB

Did you catch a wingless race Saturday night, if so where?

Things to know before arriving at IMS?

Thank you in advance. 

Keep It Real

I'm a seven year Indy 500 attendee (went to my first two with the Bryan Clauson Indiana Double group). The where to stay question depends on what you're planning to do prior to the Indy 500 and where you plan to sit at the Indy 500. I usually grab an AirBnb north/northeast of Indy as I can usually find a bargain and it puts me in a good location for the Little 500 in Anderson on the Saturday night before the Indy 500 and then BC's Indiana Double in Kokomo on Sunday night. Plus my seats are in Turn 3, so coming in from the north makes it easier to park on the north side of the track.

Saturday Night

There's typically two races you can go to on the Saturday night before the Indy 500, the Little 500 in Anderson or the MSCS non-wing sprint car show at Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville. Anderson is 40 miles away from IMS, while Putnamville is 45 miles from IMS. My recommendation is the Little 500 because you will NEVER see any other sprint car race like it. Get this, it's a paved, high-banked, tight quarter mile track. Earlier in the week they hold Little 500 qualifying and qualify the cars just like the Indy 500: average speed over 4 laps and there is bumping, which sets a field of 33 cars.

On Saturday night, those 33 cars lineup in 11 rows of 3 and start the race just like the Indy 500. And then they race for 500 laps WITH green flag pitstops. There's about 10 to 15 push trucks that can come through the infield to refire the cars while the race is still going on. Some of the teams have airjacks like an IndyCar, while some just use a standard floor jack. Some teams have professional fueling rigs, while some teams just have a 55 gallon barrel of fuel on a ladder with a hose running from it. It's the God damndest thing you'll ever see. Lincoln Park will give you a hell of a non-wing show, but you'll have to sit through several classes of doorbanger heat races, so I think a race fan would be better off seeing the spectacle of the Little 500.

Have you put any thoughts into selecting your seat for the Indy 500 yet? 

The main thing I always tell first timers is to thoroughly research the seating options. You can ask individuals where they like to sit and you'll get a different answer from every person you talk to. Each section has its own merits and characteristics. You'll definitely want to determine what kind of view you want to have while watching the race (while taking other factors such as shade and video screen placement into consideration), but there truly isn't a bad seat in the house because just being in the vicinity on race day is like a religious experience.

When researching your seats, I recommend using the following links:

Tips on where to sit: http://indymotorspeedway.com/500sit.html

A full seating chart with tips on individual sections and photos from different sections: http://indymotorspeedway.com/idx-standmap.html

3D Seat Map with virtual views from different sections: https://www.seats3d.com/racetracks/indianapolis_motor_speedway/1/#/

Things To Know Before Race Day

IMS allows fans to bring in their own food and drink into the Speedway. You can bring in alcohol (as long as it's not glass) as well. I'm not much of a alcohol guy, so I always bring in two soft sided coolers that fit in my backpack, one cooler has my lunch (I typically grab some sort of a deli wrap from a local grocery store on Saturday with some additional snacks) and the other cooler is packed with frozen water bottles. The frozen water bottles will melt and allow you to have a constantly cool beverage on a hot May Sunday. 

You also need to figure out parking well before you head to the track on Sunday. If you're capable of a walk, it's actually better to park further away from the track because traffic gets gridlocked the closer you get to the Speedway both on the way to the race and when trying to leave the race. I park two miles north of the track and make the hike back and forth each year. I can walk faster than the traffic moves out of the speedway and by the time I reach my car, the roads are fairly clear and I can get my ass to Kokomo for BC's Indiana Double. There will be plenty of yards to park in on the roads leading into the track, pricing generally starts at $10 and will become more expensive as you get closer to the facility. 

How many days will you be in Indy?

From Wednesday through Monday night, a person can attend a race every night. As of 2023, USAC sprint cars will race at Terre Haute (if they can find a promoter...) on Wednesday night and at Circle City Raceway on Thursday night. USAC has had some schedule changes for their Wednesday and Thursday shows over the past couple of years, so it's hard to tell what races they will have in 2024. 

Friday night has a couple of racing options. The Carb Night Classic at IRP includes the USF Pro Championships (formerly known as the Road To Indy), Pavement Midgets, and the USAC Silver Crown Series. The other Friday night race is the Josh Burton Memorial down in Bloomington, which features the MSCS non-wing sprints. Saturday night has the aformentioned Little 500 in Anderon and the MSCS in Putnamville. After the Indy 500 on Sunday, you can head north to Kokomo for BC's Indiana Double (named after Bryan Clauson) for their local sprint car show. Kokomo is one of the raciest tracks in the nation and is well worth the trip. And then depending on what way is home, a guy can head 100 miles southeast of Indy on Monday to watch the World of Outlaws race at Lawrenceburg Speedway, which is an amazing facility and a hell of a racey track.

Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll be glad to give you some more info/advice.

One last thing, going to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum is a MUST while you're in town. It has some of the most important cars in the history of auto racing and is an absolute joy to explore.

Ask Frank

I agree with ColtanW. You need to see the Speedway Museum. I always take first-timers there and they all love it. I also recommend going to Carb Day on Friday. You can get oriented to the track and see the cars at speed. Not sure if there's still a junior varsity race that day. Anyway, it's a big ol' party and afterward you can head to a short track. 

The Larson Indy 500......lol

But I bet he wins!

I'm as big of a fan as there is of Kyle Larson, but I don't know if he can win it as a rookie. I think he'll have a damn good run and learn how the car races in the first year and then really have a shot at the win in following attempts.

But as always with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the track chooses the winner. Maybe it'll choose Larson on the first go around.

Ask Frank

ColtonW hit it out of the park.   

Just to add a couple more items,  it is hard to understand as a first time attendee, but your view of the track is very limited.   You can see what happens in front of you and that is basically it.   As ColtonW said, do some time on researching where you want to sit.   If you pick a corner seat, you can usually see them coming to you and then going away from you.   You also want to pick a place that has a video screen in front of you.   

As stated above, the museum in a must.   

Finally, they have an Indy500 parade in downtime Indy the Saturday before the race.   I am a complete sucker for a parade, and it was one of the  better ones around.   

Have Fun.

JonR

Is there wifi such that you can see the race on an ipad whil you are there?

Within hearing distance of Tri City Speedway

So this past race they were bragging about having WiFi and 5G towers all around the Speedway courtesy of Verizon. I have a Verizon phone and on race day, I couldn't connect to any WiFi in Turn 3 and too many people overloaded those 5G towers. I think I finally got a bit of signal in the last half of the race probably due to some people leaving early to beat the traffic. So definitely get a seat with a view of a screen.

One thing I forgot to mention in my original post was to bring a radio! Either a scanner or a standard FM radio that can tune-in to the race broadcast will be fine. The announcers on IMS Radio are incredible and they're a tremendous help for fans to keep track of the stories, pit strategy, and running order of the race. Sitting in Turn 3, I always know of any penalties or pit lane drama before anyone else sitting near me because I'm listening to the radio broadcast.

Ask Frank

If I remember correctly, you can pick up the TV broadcast on the scanner which means that when you are watching the large screens, it is in sync.   I found that helpful when they had a wreck and wanted to watch the replays on the large screens.   I could then figure out what was happening.

Yep, there is a frequency that picks up the TV broadcast and there's another that has the PA. I typically switch between the radio and TV broadcast depending on which one is in a commercial.

This site has a list of frequencies associated with the Speedway as well as the driver frequencies, which will update once the season gets started.

http://indymotorspeedway.com/scanner-freqs.html

Ask Frank

Thank you for all the suggestions. 

Keep It Real