THE GREAT SPECTACLE — The Weekly Opine

The incomparable front stretch at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Photo credit: 10best.com) — The incomparable front stretch at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Photo credit 10best dot com)

Thrilling sights, speed and sounds beckon at the Brickyard.

Indianapolis. Hear the name “Indianapolis” and one thing is almost certain to pop in your mind. Same as how the name “Capone” summons images of brawny Chicago, the mention of Indianapolis conjures up images of racing glory, which is on the menu every spring at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS).

And no matter how many times Fox Sports calls the Daytona 500 “The Great American Race,” the fact-of-the-matter is, the Indianapolis 500 is The One. The greatest race in the world.

The imposing IMS racetrack is nearly surrounded by giant grandstands. The size of the race day crowd is unparalleled. The eye-popping speed and ear-popping sound of the cars unmatched. And the strategic subtlety of the racing is punctuated by razor sharp pit stops.

No single-day sporting event in the world matches the scale of Indy.

Before moving on and putting them in our rearview mirror, it should be mentioned that Fox Sports also erroneously claims the day of the Daytona 500 is the biggest day in motorsports. Uh, wrong. Motorsports’ biggest day is the last Sunday in May. A day on which the Indy 500, Formula One’s Grand Prix of Monaco, and NASCAR’s Coca Cola 600 race – all on the same day! Unquestionably, the biggest day on the motorsports calendar.

Indy resides on the calendar as the last major sporting event of spring, which opens with March Madness and includes the Masters in April and the Kentucky Derby the first Saturday in May. Indy is the gateway to a summer filled with cookouts, baseball, sailing and lounging in a hammock.

The truth is, Indianapolis is where motor racing came to life, where super-fast cars still captivate fans. Where sometimes taken-for-granted technology, like attaching rearview mirrors to vehicles, emerged.

In 1911, the first 500-mile race was won by Ray Harroun, who attached a rearview mirror to his racecar. That brilliant, strategic use of technology eliminated the extra weight of a human riding mechanic, which the other 39 cars carried. Riding alone, Harroun used the advantage of a lighter car to win the race with an average speed of nearly 75 mph, securing his place in sports history.

In the beginning

It was the spring of 1909 when Carl Fisher and his venture partners, James Allison, Arthur Newby and Frank Wheeler, built the racetrack in Speedway, Indiana. Referred to then as a “motor parkway,” the track is located just five miles from the downtown center of Indianapolis. (Indianapolis’ center is literally a circular street with a gallant military monument surrounded by the round street. The area is called “Monument Circle.”)

During 1909 and 1910, the track was used as a common testing facility for the local automotive industry. Along with private testing, occasional automotive racing events were held.

An Indiana native, the industrious, visionary Fisher played a lead role in developing South Florida swampland into exotic Miami Beach. Some referred to Fisher as the “Father of Miami Beach.”

At Indy, the crowds for testing and racing in 1909 and 1910 fell short of Fisher’s expectations. The 50,000 seats were sparsely filled. After huddling with his partners, Fisher made the bold decision to increase seating capacity to 80,000. And he decided to hold just one race a year – a 500-mile contest. As they say, the rest is history.

Racing at Indy stopped during World War II. The big racetrack fell into disrepair. It was saved in 1945 when Terre Haute, Indiana businessman Anton “Tony” Hulman, Jr. bought the facility. A wealthy, dynamic showman, Hulman is rightfully credited with grandly promoting and publicizing the Indianapolis 500 into the global event it is today (with a big assist from 3-time race winner Wilbur Shaw).

No one has ever called out “Gentlemen, start your engines!” with more gusto and flair than the great Tony Hulman. When Janet Guthrie became the first woman to qualify for the race in 1977, there was some concern about what Hulman would say. The suave Hulman got it right, segueing to, “In conjunction with the first lady to qualify, gentlemen, start your engines!”

Just a few months later, in October 1977, Hulman passed away at the age of 76.

Inaugural Indy 500 winner Ray Harroun in his single-seat Marmon Wasp. Tony Hulman gives the command, “Gentlemen, start your engines!” (Photo credits: Historic Vehicle Association and Automotive Hall of Fame)

The greatest spectacle

No other sports event burns into all your senses like the Indy 500.

The sight of the huge grandstands as you approach the racetrack on 16th Street is awe inspiring. Once inside the track the visual scale of the racecourse and grandstands is staggering. There is the touch of handshakes, fist bumps and high fives with familiar faces you see each year in your seating section, that say “back home again in Indiana.” The smell of exhaust and sight of 33 race machines lined up three abreast, eleven rows deep on the pace lap is an exciting adrenaline rush. Hearing the unmistakable, high-pitched roar of the sleek cars when the race starts is unforgettable. And tasting a cold one is part of the tradition.

Indy’s “flying start” is like nothing else in sports. Thirty-three racecars accelerate from 100 mph to 220 mph coming off Turn 4. The massive front stretch grandstands framing the machines as they blast forward, vying for the Turn 1 groove. It is breathtaking!

Over the years, the Indy crowd has diversified. Many more women and people of all colors. Archaic rules prohibiting women from entering the pits and garage area are long gone. Now everyone can experience Gasoline Alley, which is another cool experience.

At Indy, the drivers come from a variety of countries, which gives the 500 a more sophisticated, international flavor. Not in the occasionally elitist Formula One manner. There is plenty of room for everybody at Indy.

The Indianapolis 500 plays out inside the world’s biggest stadium, in front of 300,000 race-day fans. On Sunday, for the 50th time, I will be part of the massive crowd. Comparatively, NFL stadiums hold around 80,000 fans. NBA/NHL arenas 20,000. Baseball 50,000.

The 2.5 mile racetrack is unique. Two long straightaways, 5/8 of a mile in length, referred to as the main straightaway/front stretch and back straightaway/backstretch. There are two short straightaways, each 1/8 of a mile in length. And four turns, each a 1/4 mile long. The rectangular oval is a relatively flat track, with the turns banked only 9.2 degrees compared to Daytona International Speedway’s steep turns that are banked 31 degrees.

Several years ago, I had the good fortune to ride around the track with driver Jamie McMurray during driver introductions for the Brickyard 400. It was a way cool experience. The viewpoint on the track, from the back of a pick-up truck, was surprising. Because of the length of the banked turns, the sensation felt like we drove around in a circle more so than a rectangle, kind of spinning around the track. I cannot imagine doing it at 230 mph.

Speed limit

One thing missing at Indy these days is annual increases in speed. Day One of qualifications used to draw 200,000 fans hoping to see new speed records. Way back when, to witness a driver break 100 mph, and then years later someone break 150 mph, and then someone do 200 mph during qualifications was almost as thrilling as the race.

But enclosed racetracks can only handle so much. The reality is Indy may never see 240 mph or 250 mph. The fastest official time was turned in by Arie Luyendyk in 1996. Luyendyk set a one-lap record of 237 mph during qualifications. Since then, safety rules have slowed the cars down. Turning a lap in the low 230s is now the upper limit. Hence, qualifications are not quite the same. There are no more “it’s a new track record” announcements over the public address system. The big qualification crowds of the 20th Century are gone. Too bad.

For perspective, when I’ve attended NASCAR’s Brickyard 400, the stock cars appear S-L-O-W. At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indy cars turn a lap in 39 seconds at 230 mph. A stock car needs 48 seconds to complete a lap, at a speed of 188 mph. Despite rules to control speed, Indy car chassis designers, engine manufacturers, tire companies and fearless drivers coax 230 mph out of the fastest cars during qualifying.

The backstretch

The old saying speed thrills is exemplified on Indianapolis’ backstretch, which is the fastest part of the track. During qualifying backstretch speeds top out at 237 mph, compared to 233 mph on the front stretch.

On race day the backstretch becomes a three-hour speed blitz, accompanied by the high-pitched roar of the machines. There are no pit stops on the backstretch. Just uncompromising speed as the cars reach peak velocity approaching Turn 3.

Whereas the main straightaway has magnificent, canyon-like grandstands on both sides of the track, there are no grandstands along the backstretch. A wide-open space, the backstretch appears much as it did 60 years ago.

Having sat all around the track over the years, there is not a bad seat. And regardless of where fans are seated, the race can be divided into four stages:

For the first 30-35 laps drivers want to survive the start, arriving at the first pit stop with their nerves and machine intact. Next goal; make it to the halfway mark, lap 100. After that, the key for the next 50 laps is to stay on the lead lap, in touch with the leaders while executing smooth, efficient pit stops. Then, around lap 150, you begin to feel it. A sharper focus settles over you. Everything becomes more acute. The omnipresent sound intensifies. The speed is more blistering. There is palpable urgency and heightened exhilaration as the cars blow past.

You can hear the tension in the public address announcer’s voice, sorting out track positions. Even the cars farther back, with little chance to win the race, are swept up in a fury that is unique to the Indianapolis 500. This furor sometimes results in a crash as drivers push to the edge, where even a split-second loss of concentration can mean a collision with the concrete wall.

This frenetic dash to be the first (or fifth or 10th or 20th) to cross the yard of bricks for the 200th time is intensified on the backstretch. Drivers on the backstretch have a singular objective; get to the front stretch start/finish line as quickly as possible, thus completing another lap.

Racing in Turn 3, the short chute, and Turn 4 during the furious late stage of the Indy 500. (Photo credit: The Weekly Opine)

Watching the cars come off Turn 2, streak down the backstretch, enter Turn 3, glide along the short chute concrete wall, duck down into Turn 4, and start up the main straight is an electrifying experience. Yet, there is a blazing serenity in the relentlessness of it all. The constant sound. The sheer speed. Checking to see if your favorite drivers made it around again. (From most seats you cannot follow a car on its journey all the way around the huge racecourse.)

And then – abruptly - it’s over. Sound and speed cease. The huge track goes silent.

Back in the day, when the winner took the checkered flag, cars not on the lead lap were permitted to race for five additional minutes, adding to their lap total. This also enabled fans to soak in a bit more of the specialness of Indy. But now, the white flag signaling one more lap for the leaders means one more lap for every driver.

When the race ends it is jolting, like being a kid at the county fair and your favorite ride times out. You come to a stop and sit there, not wanting to move, happy but wanting more. And the ride operator makes you get up so he can load in the next group of thrill seekers.

That’s how it feels when the Indy 500 ends. You sit in your seat for a while, craving more of the intoxication that is Indianapolis.

Slowly, fans descend from the enormous grandstands, making the trek to wherever they parked. Some buzzed, some inebriated, most all satisfied.

And the year-long wait begins anew.