by Neither of us is particularly interested in car racing, but I think it’s illegal to come to Indianapolis and not go to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home of the iconic Indianapolis 500.
It was constructed in 1909 and has permanent seating capacity of almost 260,000 – the highest-capacity sports venue in the world!
The track is a 2.5-mile-long oval, essentially unchanged since it was built. The winner of the first race, in 1911, had an average speed of 74.62 mph and took 6 hours and 42 minutes. The 2021 winner finished in 2 hours, 37 minutes, and had an average speed of 190.69 mph!! The fastest lap over the last few decades has been consistently around 40 seconds. 40 seconds to go 2.5 miles!
The original track was asphalt atop 3 million bricks, and because of this the track is nicknamed The Brickyard. A commemorative three-foot-wide strip of original bricks is maintained at the start/finish line, and, since 1996, winners have celebrated by kissing the bricks. Our “Kiss the Bricks” tour included a stop for us all to get out and give the bricks a big smack.
The Indy 500 is a male-dominated sport – just nine women have participated since its inception!
There have been 60 fatalities related to the Indy 500 over the years, including drivers, mechanics and pit crew, spectators, and firemen. Given the speeds they are running, I’m kind of surprised the number is this low.
There’s also a Motor Speedway Museum, which was closed for renovation while we were there – not sure if this was fortunate or unfortunate, given our level of interest.
For those who like to play golf, the Brickyard Crossing Golf Resort has four of its holes in the infield of the track!
