FOR THE BETTER part of two decades, from the mid ’90s through the aughts, I spent the Sunday of each Memorial Day weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway absorbing the sights and sounds of the Indianapolis 500. While I dreaded waking up around 5 or 6 a.m. to pack up necessities for the day—food, drinks, sunscreen, and seat cushions—I learned quickly that the best way to avoid race-day traffic is to arrive at the track early and go home early. My group tailgated for breakfast and exited the bleachers immediately when the checkered flag dropped. Everything that happened in between made up for the drowsiness and naps that would inevitably follow in the late afternoon.
There is nothing like being at the IMS on race day, surrounded by hundreds of thousands of spectators. Everything is amplified. You can feel the roar of the engines in your bones and smell the tires spinning out on the pavement. The pre-race program elicits a range of emotions, from marveling at police officers standing up on moving motorcycles to tearing up during the playing of taps and the ensuing airplane flyover in recognition of Memorial Day. Following all the starts and stops on the track turns the event into an all-day roller coaster.
I haven’t attended the race in over a decade, but last year, freelance writer Tony Rehagen inspired me to start a new tradition: listening to the radio broadcast of the 500 in my backyard. In our May issue, Rehagen goes behind the scenes with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing as the team develops its strategy for the 108th running of the race. We also get a peek at some cool car collections and a nostalgic look back at the early days of the IMS Museum while the site undergoes a transformative $89 million renovation.
Cheers to the past, present, and future of The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
Andrea Ratcliff
Editor-in-Chief
