Arts & Culture

On Sunday night, close to 12 miles away from the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, another spectacle played out at a more-modest racetrack across town: the First Annual United States Figure 8 Championship 90-minute World Figure 8 Enduro race at Indianapolis Speedrome (802 S. Kitley Ave.), on the edge of the eastside Irvington neighborhood.

 

Top Indy 500 drivers—and their fans and arm candy—descended on downtown’s Sensu late Sunday night for the "Big Finish" party. First-time 500 driver Wade Cunningham hosted the affair, where dance songs zoomed by as uproariously as an Indy car, and where the day's big winner himself elected to celebrate race night.

It was a race to remember, with Indianapolis 500 darling Dario Franchitti winning his third Borg-Warner Trophy and embracing both his wife, actress Ashley Judd, and his friend Dan Wheldon’s widow, Susie, with warmth to match the day’s second-hottest temperatures on record, 91 degrees.

The sun-drenched and sweaty masses came out for international DJ and electronic artist Benny Benassi in this morning's Snake Pit, that patch of grass in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's Turn 3 infield where revelers take in thumping beats and cans of beer.

Indy 500 Winner's Circle

The 500 fun should continue well into the night on Sunday, with rookie driver (and May Madness guest blogger!) Wade Cunningham and friends hosting an after-party blowout at Sensu downtown (225 S. Meridian St., 317-536-0036).

Bicycles have become a ubiquitous part of life in Indianapolis of late, and the trend is finding its way to Indianapolis Motor Speedway. May Madness reported last week that pedicabs are giving foot-weary walkers relief inside the IMS confines, and, with the Pedal and Park program, race-goers are finding bikes to be a good way to cut out parking hassles and/or long slogs from distant parking spots.