Our 500’s Weekend
 

Going as a first timer to the Little 500 Saturday and going to the Greatest Spectacle in Racing on Sunday and hoping to hit Kokomo on the way home. We should be in Anderson at around 3pm. Looking for any tips or pointers that would help us enjoy the events. Hopefully see a couple of you fine folks. Thanks

Re: Our 500’s Weekend
 

Originally Posted by flagboy55:
Going as a first timer to the Little 500 Saturday and going to the Greatest Spectacle in Racing on Sunday and hoping to hit Kokomo on the way home. We should be in Anderson at around 3pm. Looking for any tips or pointers that would help us enjoy the events. Hopefully see a couple of you fine folks. Thanks

I am assuming that you are familiar with the big 500, and how early you have to hit the road to fight the traffic. Enjoy the Little 500. I love that race, and love to shoot it. In fact, I have shot every one that I have been to.

Re: Our 500’s Weekend
 

Umbrella and sun block for the weekend. If you get to Anderson early enough for practice go up in turn two stands and sit in shade for a bit. You'll want to get a couple pops or whatever and used the restrooms about 20 minutes prior to start of little 500. Lets just say, once the race starts, that's where you'll be for three hours..

The little 500 will start with about 7-8 cars that break away and start racing thru the back of the pack in a few laps, keep track of them and look back from time to time for drivers you're interested in. see if they can keep from being lapped.

Pit stops, You have to take two. One before lap 250 and one after. it's insane.

You'll probably want to have race monitor or whatever they're using. The only thing there is a scoreboard that shows the top five and lap number. But third place could be a lap down and forth and fifth two or three laps down. near the end of the race.

It thins out about lap 350 instead of 33 out there. there might be 15-20 So a good pit stratagy by third place and they may fly thru the field. unlap themselves or something.

Have fun.

Cmakin, when you say early to the speedway, what are you thinking? I’ve gotten that advice from others as well. With advice from Merrillville Al, our seats for Anderson are in turn 1.

Re: Our 500’s Weekend
 

Originally Posted by flagboy55:
Cmakin, when you say early to the speedway, what are you thinking? I’ve gotten that advice from others as well. With advice from Merrillville Al, our seats for Anderson are in turn 1.

Hi,Bhu Abhilekh
Getting to the speedway early typically means arriving well before the event starts, giving you time to settle in, explore, and soak up the atmosphere. With seats in turn 1, it's a great opportunity to catch all the action up close.

Re: Our 500’s Weekend
 

I think what he means by IMS getting there early is paramount they start lining up about five am. If you show up at 11. Your screwed as far as finding parking. getting into and around the huge grounds to wherever your seat is. We're talking 350,000 people here tons more than a Wolverines game.

And yes, they're all coming in at different times. But they all leave at the same time. Suggest a cooler with drinks in the car and plenty of patience.

Re: Our 500’s Weekend
 

Originally Posted by Charles Nungester:
I think what he means by IMS getting there early is paramount they start lining up about five am. If you show up at 11. Your screwed as far as finding parking. getting into and around the huge grounds to wherever your seat is. We're talking 350,000 people here tons more than a Wolverines game.

And yes, they're all coming in at different times. But they all leave at the same time. Suggest a cooler with drinks in the car and plenty of patience.

I have always had parking set ahead of time. Depending on where you are staying, I would leave toward Speedway no later than 6AM, and even that might be too late. Many times I parked at a friend's house on Auburn. That was nice because we could hang out there until closer to race time (and watch the Monaco Grand Prix). Other times I have gotten to the parking lot (prepaid) and taken a nap in the car. Not sure if they still do it, but for my first couple of 500s, I used the Indianapolis bus system and parked downtown and rode the bus in. Goes pretty quick in the morning, but after the race, it can be a real cattle call.

Re: Our 500’s Weekend
 

Take some seat cushions to Anderson, those seats get mighty hard after a few hours!

I'm envious, been covered up with chores as I lost the month of April to illness.

Everyone enjoy this weekend, Freedom is not FREE

God Bless be Safe

A couple of observations from our great weekend in central Indiana. I always tell folks the Indianapolis 500 is something you have to experience at least once. I will amend that to say every so often you should do it again just to validate the initial experience. It’s been somewhere around 18 years since I attended my previous 500, and needless to say it reinforced all the things I already know and love (and a couple things I don’t) about the event. In my opinion, there’s nothing on earth quite like the Indy 500. I also enjoyed the Little 500 for the first time ever. Thanks to the Brent Funk trio for coming by and sharing some stories with us while we were tailgating. You could feel the atmosphere held a special vibe as folks converged on the facility. The race was mired in the early stages by incidents that caused any type of rhythm to be scarce. All in all, I’m glad I went, but it didn’t make it to my “can’t miss” list. I understand why folks feel that way because there’s more moving parts than a Rube Goldberg machine. And that’s why I am led to this proclamation. The Little 500 is not a Sprint Car race, it’s an enduro for Sprint Cars. All that said it was a great father/son weekend even with the weather delay in Indy. I hope all of you enjoyed your weekend as much as we did!

Re: Our 500’s Weekend
 

Yes, the Little 500 got off on a bad note and IMO was made worse when Hamilton Jr. crashed removing a couple of front runners from contention. Welpot had a heavy hand in the outcome of the race as well. It was not the most exciting Little 500 I ever saw but I was pretty entertained.

It is an endurance race and one of the hardest races to score by hand I have ever experienced. I don't mind saying I have never been able to keep up with more than three or four cars on paper. It is crazy the amount of laps that click by.

DirtVision did a good job of covering the race IMO, I subscribed in order to watch as I could find no takers with the weather here in Indy willing to risk the drive.

Re: Our 500’s Weekend
 

I think there should be a minimum speed in the little 500 If the leaders are dong 12.2 and someone's out there getting lapped every five laps doing 15s or higher throw the black flag. they get one chance to return and be within say 2.5 second speeds.

I've attended three and will attend more. Two of the three were highly entertaining. the third was a Swanson ass kicking. It also sucks if one of your favorites is out early. Grand didn't make the 100 lap mark.

Re: Our 500’s Weekend
 

The thrill of winning it is TREMENDOUS

I was buddy's with Jack French and that guy worked his tail off on a special car every year. Eric Gordon won a couple with Banjo Enterprises (that was the sponsor when I was around, they won several) also Jacob Wilson took the checkers and I have been there with him when he got knocked out early.

It's a special deal. There are a ton of secrets to winning the thing.

Re: Our 500’s Weekend
 

Originally Posted by LeviTaylor:
Hi,Bhu Abhilekh
Getting to the speedway early typically means arriving well before the event starts, giving you time to settle in, explore, and soak up the atmosphere. With seats in turn 1, it's a great opportunity to catch all the action up close.

Hello everyone, I am a new member here. I want to ask you why is it important to arrive early at the speedway, especially with seats in Turn 1 for an event like the one at Anderson? How does arriving early enhance the overall experience, and what are the benefits, such as settling in, exploring the venue, or enjoying the atmosphere before the event starts? Additionally, are there any specific activities or sights near Turn 1 that make arriving early more worthwhile, according to the advice given by Merrillville Al and others?

Re: Our 500’s Weekend
 

Getting to any race track early and setting up your tailgate affords you the absolute pleasure of sitting on your ass enjoying a cold beverage and watching the late arrivals scramble :32:

Not to mention the connection to the rump rump of the engine to the alcohol in the tank, the cam in the engine makes the rump rump of the engine and the alcohol makes the smell in the air, and a bit of Uplon in the tank insures the engine is getting better cylinder lube than just the dry alcohol

Re: Our 500’s Weekend
 

That's such a vivid and heartfelt reflection — sounds like an unforgettable weekend! You captured the essence of both events really well. That part about needing to re-experience the Indy 500 every so often “just to validate the initial experience” hits perfectly. There really is something about the pageantry, the sound, the sheer scale — it’s like stepping into a different world.Up Bhulekh

Re: Our 500’s Weekend
 

Ear plugs a must!

Getting to Anderson around 3 is perfect. They do a brief hot lap session around 4:30 or so, 1/2 the field at a time where everybody runs on full tanks of fuel and usually does a live practice pit stop. Buy some Little 500 or team merchandise before it sells out and hit the driver autograph session under the Pavillion. Grab a tenderloin sandwich from the turn 1 concession stand. Leave you ear protection off for the first 5 laps or so there is no other sound quite like it! Good advice on having the race monitor app on a phone or iPad and turn one seats are great as the sun sets behind you. Enjoy IMS and Kokomo!