The Indianapolis 500, known as "the 500" or "Indy 500", is an American automobile race, held annually over the Memorial Day weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana.

The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, is one of the oldest motorsport events, and is considered one of the three most prestigious motor racing events in the world. While the official attendance is not disclosed by Speedway management, with a permanent seating capacity for more than 257,000 people and infield seating that raises capacity further to an approximate 400,000, it is the largest single-day sporting event in the world!

The race has been broadcast live on the radio in its entirety by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network since 1953. It was televised live from 1949-1950 on WFBM-TV. During parts of the 1960s and '70s the race was broadcast on closed-circuit TV for viewing in theaters and sports venues. From 1965-1985, ABC Sports, now known as ESPN on ABC, broadcast the race via tape delay. Since 1986, ABC has televised the race live in its entirety (although live coverage is blacked out in the Indianapolis market). In 2007, the race was first broadcast in HD.


Will's take on the Indy 500
Its something you have to experience at least once in your lifetime as a race fan. Now I just don't say that for any old event trust me there is a reason its the greatest spectacle in racing. History, tradition, world's best drivers, best track, great people, great city, makes for a weekend you'll never forget.

I've been to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway more times than I can count on all my god given limbs and it honestly never gets old. I still get goose bumps walking through the speedway. Make sure you are on the front stretch for the start of the 500, the traditional ceremonies are a not to miss. One of my favorite spots in the speedway is the museum area during the race. Hope you visit this beautiful city and can experience the Indianapolis 500 for yourself!

Louis Meyer requested a glass of buttermilk after winning his second Indy 500 race in 1933. After winning his third title in 1936, he requested another glass but instead received a bottle. He was captured by a photographer in the act of swigging from the bottle while holding up three fingers to signify the third win. A local dairy company executive recognized the marketing opportunity in the image and, being unaware Meyer was drinking buttermilk, offered a bottle of milk to the winners of future races. Milk has been presented each year since then apart from 1947-1955. Modern drivers are offered a choice of whole, 2%, and skim.

Throughout the years the race has used a number of qualifying procedures. The current four-lap (ten-mile) qualifying distance was first introduced in 1920, and has been used each year since 1939.[3] For most of the post war era, each car, regardless of driver, was allotted three qualifying attempts to make the traditional field of 33.

Drivers line up by speed rank in the order of the day they qualified. Currently, four days of time trials are used: the Saturday & Sunday two weeks before the race, and the Saturday & Sunday one week before the race. The fastest qualifier on the first day of time trials (nicknamed "Pole day") wins the pole position. The polesitter at Indianapolis is held in high prestige and is normally determined 15 days before the race. Drivers who qualify on the second day of time trials line up behind the first-day qualifiers. Third day qualifiers line up behind the second day qualifiers, followed by the fourth day (nicknamed "Bump day") qualifiers. Once the field is filled to 33, the slowest car, regardless of the day it qualified, is "on the bubble." If another car qualifies faster, he/she will bump the slowest driver out of the field.

Since 2005, the four days of qualifying have been split up to generate bumping on all four days:

• On pole day, positions 1-11 are open for qualifying
  
• On the second day, positions 12-22 are open for qualifying
  
• On the third day, positions 23-33 are open for qualifying
  
• On bump day, bumping begins immediately once the field is filled to 33 cars.

From 1994–2004, several NASCAR drivers were able to compete in both the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in the same day. Since 1993, the Coca-Cola 600 has been scheduled in the evening the same day as the Indy 500. The effort has been known as "Double Duty."

At the conclusion of the Indy 500, drivers would catch a helicopter directly from the Speedway to the Indianapolis International Airport. From there they would fly to Concord Regional Airport, and ride a helicopter to the NASCAR race. John Andretti, Tony Stewart, and Robby Gordon, attempted the feat. In 2001, Tony Stewart became the first and only driver to complete the full race distance (1100 miles) in both races on the same day.

For 2005, the start of Indianapolis was pushed back to 1 p.m. EDT to improve television ratings. This significantly closed the window for a driver to be able to race both events in the same day.

Two drivers, Mario Andretti and A. J. Foyt, have won the Indianapolis 500 and have also won NASCAR's premiere event, the Daytona 500.

The race was originally advertised as the "International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race" from 1911-1916.
However, from the start the race was known as the Indianapolis 500 or, more simply as the "500."

In 1919, the race was referred to as the "Liberty Sweepstakes" following WWI. From 1920-1980, the race reverted to the "International Sweepstakes" name, or slight variations such as "International Sweepstakes Race, Distance 500 Miles." Following WWII, the race was commonly recognized as "The 500", The 500-Mile Race," "Indianapolis 500," or "Indy 500," and usually the ordinal (e.g. "50th") preceded it. Often the race was also advertised on the radio as the "Annual Memorial Day race," or similar variations.

For the 1981 race, the name "65th Indianapolis 500-Mile Race" was officially adopted, with all references as the "International Sweepstakes" dropped. Since 1981, the race has been advertised in this fashion, complete with a unique annual logo and the ordinal always included. Around that same time, in the wake of the 1979 race entry controversy, and the formation of CART, the race changed to an invitational event, rather than an Open, rendering the "sweepstakes" description invalid.

The Borg-Warner Trophy, introduced in 1936, proclaims the event as the "Indianapolis 500-Mile Race," with no reference at all to the name "International Sweepstakes."

As a gesture to the nostalgic Centennial Era celebration (2009-2011), tickets for the 2009 race donned the monikor "93rd 500 Mile International Sweepstakes." It is the first time since 1980 that the "Sweepstakes" title has been used.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway complex was built in 1909 as a gravel-and-tar track and hosted a smattering of small events before the promoters decided to focus on just one major event. The track was then paved with 3.2 million bricks, urged by principal owner Carl G. Fisher after several deaths related to the unsteady racing surface.

The creation of a 500 mile (805 km) race allowed the track to rapidly acquire a privileged status for automobile races. The first "500" was held at the Speedway on Memorial Day, May 30, 1911, with Ray Harroun piloting a Marmon "Wasp" — outfitted with his invention, the rear view mirror. Harroun was declared the winner, although Ralph Mulford protested the official result. 80,200 spectators paid $1 admission, and an annual tradition had been established.

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Indianapolis Motor Speedway
4790 W 16th St.
Speedway, IN 46222
Museum Phone: (317) 492-6784
Official Site: Here

Main Page	Indianapolis 500
Media	Regulations
Directions	Tours
Camping	Facts
Tribute To Jim Nabors

Listen to Jim Nabors sing "Back Home Again In Indiana", military taps, flyover, Jewel sing the National Anthem, the green flag start to the finish, great stuff, turn it up!

Permanent Seating: 257,325	Shape: Oval
Completed: 1909	Banking: 9° turns
Distance: 2.5 Miles	Banking: 0° straights
Frontstretch: 3,330 Feet	Backstretch: 3,330 Feet

Indianapolis Convention Center
Verizon Wireless Music Center
Indianapolis State Fairgrounds
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Indiana State Museum
Eiteljorg Museum
Indianapolis Art Museum
Lucas Oil Stadium
Conseco Fieldhouse
Downtown Indianapolis
Indianapolis 500
Allstate 400 at the Brickyard
Yellow Rose Carriages
Circle Centre Mall
Indianapolis Zoo
Victory Field
NCAA Hall of Champions
Indianapolis Colts
Red Bull Moto GP
Gen Con
National FFA Convention
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Tribute to Jim Nabors - A Stirring of My Heart
By: Susan N. Beranek

When May arrives each year, for those of us who live in a part of the country that is not known for great weather most of the time, it is almost like we Hoosiers are let out of a cage. Spring is here, summer can not be far behind. And it also means that the (30 days of May) have arrived. When I was a much younger person, I started listening to the Indianapolis 500 each year on Memorial Day. The race was changed from Memorial Day to the Sunday, however, has no bearing on what the opening ceremonies mean to me, or the way they emotionally move me to tears...