My Experience at the Indianapolis 500

The Indianapolis 500 is one of the most renowned and historic races in the entire world. The event itself has been running since 1911 and its popularity has only continued to grow as the years have gone on. With the capacity to hold more than 300,000 fans, the Indy 500 is officially known as the single largest sporting event in the entire world. This surpasses the Super Bowl, the Masters, and depending on the race, even surpasses the WEEKEND attendance for a Formula 1 race!

It was incredible to see, first hand, what this event meant to the fans, drivers, teams and anyone else involved. People have been coming back to this race for 30+ years, dedicating their May to supporting their favorite drivers and teams. This event is more than just a race, it’s a tradition that people have embedded into their lives and have passed on to generations. The FanAmp team did not take for granted this opportunity and it wasn’t lost on us how special it was to be a part of the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500!

Arriving in Indianapolis

We arrived in Indianapolis on the Tuesday before the race weekend. Although the track itself doesn’t open up for the fans until Friday, we had some media commitments that granted us access ahead of the scheduled festivities.

Landing at the IND airport was nothing short of exciting. The arrival gates were decked out in racing memorabilia and it was so special seeing how every single person in the airport was embracing the fact that they were in the homeland of the greatest spectacle in racing. We were welcomed with banners printed with: Welcome To The Racing Capital Of The World and the airport even had their own merchandise pop-up stand so that no fan missed out on opportunities to be sporting the Indy 500 merch.

Tuesday through Thursday at the track consisted of Greg, Claudia, and I working through some content for our social pages as well as connecting with the drivers during media day to capture some fun clips to share with our audience. It was such an amazing experience to be able to sit down with some of the drivers and ask them questions about why they think the Indy 500 is so special and their favorite parts of the month of May.

Getting to the track itself was fairly simple. Claudia and I were staying in an airbnb located about a 15 minute drive from the circuit, so we opted to take Ubers there and back for the duration of our stay. They ranged from $12-15 USD per trip but we split them so it wasn’t really too expensive. We had some friends rent cars, but unless you have a guaranteed spot to park, the traffic and chaos near the circuit during the weekend can make it more difficult than if you were to just get dropped off by a Lyft or Uber driver. 

Friday - ‘Carb’ Day

Carb day. The day we were all looking forward to! Short for Carburetion Day, this long standing tradition has become a staple in motorsports history and is something that all attendees, race fans or not, look forward to. Carb day is held on the Friday before race day and is the last day that teams can get out on track for practice or make any changes to their car. Traditionally, it was coined ‘Carb’ day because it was the last day that teams could tune their carburetors on their engines. The cars no longer have carburetors on their cars, but the tradition is still there and carb day will forever be known as the Friday before the race day.

Greg, Claudia, and I arrived at the track earlier in the morning as we had to do the Formula 1 practice results for the Monaco Grand Prix. It felt pretty surreal reporting on the Monaco GP and being present for the Indianapolis 500. Being somewhat involved in two out of the three triple crown races was definitely a pinch me moment. Standing in the media center looking out at the empty track felt pretty tranquil… but the peace and quiet didn’t last long as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS)  became FLOODED with fans by the time the gates opened at 8:00AM.

Fans poured into IMS and didn’t stop coming until the gates closed later in the evening. Besides maybe Halloween, I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed so many people dressed up for an event! It’s almost an unspoken rule of carb day that you have to come in your most outrageous racing inspired outfit to fit the chaos and excitement at the track. 

It may have been 8:00AM, but that didn’t stop the drinks from already starting! People came prepared with their coolers filled to the brim with beer, jello shots, coolers and more. To me, it wasn’t the fact that everyone came prepared with something, it was that fact that people were so quick to offer to share with complete strangers. There was such an understanding of the camaraderie and excitement around the day, that people felt so inclined to make friends and be cordial to any one they encountered.

There was a band playing near the main fan zone area and all of the merchandise and food stands were open for the fans. The atmosphere was buzzing and it felt like IMS had just come alive!

Carb day had lots to offer the fans as there were cars on track for the final practice, drivers competed in the annual pit stop challenge, and for the first time ever, there was the Oscar Mayer Wiener 500 which featured six MASSIVE hot dog cars racing around the circuit. This was genuinely unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. The hot fogs are ripping around IMS with the fans cheering each dog on and placing their bets for who would take the win. Slaw Dog was victorious and took the win only inches ahead of Chicago Dog after a late surge on the final straight. It was comical but such a great way to get the fans excited about some on track action ahead of the actual 500 race.

Josef Newgarden and his pitstop team took home the win for the pitstop challenge ahead of his teammate, Will Power. Select drivers from each team went head to head to compete in the challenge that ultimately helps them fine tune their pit stop skills and give fans a closer look at the technicalities surrounding pit stops that take place in the race. The winner of the pitstop challenge receives a $50,000 cash prize and the runner up receives $25,000 along with pit lane equipment from different prize donors.

To end the day, there is the annual Miller Lite Carb Day concert located at the Snake Pit. This year, the All-American Rejects headlined the concert alongside country artist, Bret Michaels. Unfortunately we didn’t make it out to the stage on Friday, but there were crowds of people enjoying the live music. It’s quite a unique experience to be able to enjoy a live concert INSIDE the track after enjoying cars practicing, pitstop challenges and wiener dogs all day long!

Saturday - Legend’s Day

After the chaos on Friday, Saturday felt like a quieter day at the track. Once again, we arrived slightly earlier than when the gates opened to the public. I was personally very excited for Saturday because it was the day of the Driver autograph session. Although this didn’t last for long, it was so heartwarming to see the drivers interacting with their die-hard fans.

This truly is something you don’t get to see or experience in the F1 world. IndyCar makes everything so accessible for their fans and it brings them closer to the sport while creating more of a connection between the drivers, teams and their fans. At one point, Claudia and I were near Rinus Veekay, Josef Newgarden and Will Power as they were signing merchandise for fans when a young boy was reaching over the fence to get Will’s attention. Without a second thought, Will grabbed the merch from the boy, signed it, answered some questions and ultimately made that kids day! I can imagine that it gets overwhelming sometimes with the drivers constantly being bombarded by people and media, but it’s very special to witness them interacting with the people who continue to support them. 

Once the autograph session concluded, the drivers headed to the track where they were then escorted to trucks to take them downtown Indianapolis for the annual Driver’s parade. The FanAmp team didn’t attend the parade but from what we heard, it was such a fun experience and a great way to see your favorite drivers and teams up close. Most of the drivers brought their loved ones on the trucks too, so it was amazing to see them with their personal support systems while being cheered on as they made their way down the streets of Indy.

Greg, Claudia and I ended up heading over to Lot 1, the infamous Coca Cola lot for some fan interactions. Now this was something nobody could have prepared us for… What we walked into was a COMPOUND! There were people everywhere set up with lawn chairs, bathing in the sun, enjoying the festivities taking place and indulging in some refreshments that may or may not have been alcoholic.

We came to find out that this Tiki Bar set up has been the stomping grounds for the Fowling Tournament that has been happening for the past 30 years. What is Fowling you might ask? It’s a combination of bowling and football where participants throw a football down the lane and aim to hit as many bowling pins as possible. If you hit the bowling pin with the red solo cup on it, then you have to chug a beer before you can make your next throw… sounds easy right? Well after a few too many drinks, I think it starts to get harder to aim!

Although this is such a fun and light-hearted vibe, it was actually quite touching to learn that people have been coming back here for decades, to see and hangout with the same people each May. Not only is there a cash prize for the winner of the tournament, but the founders also help fundraise for different people who attended the tournament. For example, there were girls looking for support to raise money for a service trip they were trying to go on and the tournament put a portion of the funds towards helping them reach their goal. Although from the outside it looks like just a drunk activity, it actually means so much more to the community and provides people with a sense of belonging. 

Sunday - Race Day

Everyday we’ve arrived at the track, we’ve gotten there early to avoid traffic and make sure we had time to prepare for any of our commitments. Race day was no exception… but arriving early meant getting to IMS by 5:00AM! Every person we chatted to in the media center advised us to get to the track no later than 5:30AM as it is nearly impossible to avoid crowds of 350,000 people trying to get to the track.

At 6:00AM on the dot, a cannon goes off to signal the start of race day, followed by a series of breathtaking fireworks. The gates open to the general public and Sunday has officially begun, hours before any on track action even starts! There was such an indescribable buzz in the media center as people were piling in from 5:00AM onwards, making sure their cameras were set up, their writing stations were ready and that they were prepared for one of the most busy and important days of the whole season.

The cars started getting out onto the track around 11:00AM as the fans continued to pile into the grandstands. This was the first year in almost a decade that IMS was completely sold out of their grandstand tickets! To look outside and see a stadium FILLED with over 350,000 fans felt almost overwhelming. The amount of support and love that people have for this specific race is unmatched and it was in that moment that I finally understood why people come back year after year. The experience is unlike anything else and it genuinely lived up to all of the expectations. 

Claudia and I had the privilege to be able to get on track for the grid walk ahead of the race. We got to see the teams prepping the cars in their grid spots and be in the same vicinity as the family members of the drivers. Not to mention the celebrities who were in attendance! This is definitely where we started to fan-girl a little bit. I never imagined that I’d be standing next to Keanu Reeves during the National Anthem watching the infamous flyover right beside him.

The driver walkouts and introductions were so much fun to watch. They came out in three’s, organized by their grid positions and every single driver received a roar of cheers as their name was called out. Some of the drivers brought out their kids, and Scotty Mac even brought out his 6 month old daughter!

As the grid began to clear, Claudia and I found a spot by Alex Palou’s pit box to watch the start of the race. The Black Hawk helicopters accompanied the cars as they began their pace laps and the excitement just continued to build! Chaos ensued from the very first lap of the race and it didn’t stop until the checkered flag was waved.

Alex Palou claimed his very first Indy 500 race win, not to mention his first ever oval win, with Chip Ganassi racing! This is a race where there really is only one winner, and to quote the famous Ricky Bobby, if you ain’t first, you’re last. Unlike the other Grands Prix, there is no podium celebration for second and third, so the sting of finishing runner-up is so evident with any of the drivers and it puts into perspective the relief that Alex Palou looked to have as he was celebrating with his teammates and family.

We got to watch him drink the infamous milk on the podium as he wore the winning wreath around his neck. My favorite part out of the entire day would have been watching Palou kiss the bricks with the Chip Ganassi team. The pure joy and excitement at getting to take part in a century old tradition was something any fan could pick up on as they watched Palou celebrate his dominant win. 

The day wasn’t over for us yet as we had the chance to sit in on the press conferences of the top three drivers. As the grandstands started to empty out and IMS fell quiet again, there was a feeling of exhaustion but also melancholy. The entire weekend was a blur and the adrenaline was running high, but we were so thankful to be able to take part in such a pivotal tradition in so many people’s lives. I’m already counting down the days until next May!

Looking for more on the Indy 500?

Check out our other articles for inspiration on how to plan your trip to IMS! (coming soon)

Curious on where to sit? Check out our seating guide for details on the best places to view the greatest spectacle in racing! (coming soon)