These numbers make a strong case. (Photos credit: Artnoveltee/Etsy/Orebro/IMS

Do the numbers add up?

Having never visited a tarot card mystic, and just once having sat for a palm reading (on a lark 30 years ago in New Orleans), I am unfamiliar with dabbling in supernatural wisdom. On the other hand, sometimes the numbers add up, such as the few times I’ve played Blackjack at a casino. Today, there is intrigue associated with the numbers 1968, 10, 110, and 68. More about the surprising significance interconnecting those numbers in a moment.

As readers of this column know, if it’s Memorial Day Weekend, I am primed to make the annual pilgrimage to the world’s racing capital to witness the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. My late-spring journey back home to Indiana has been “a thing” for decades; socializing with old friends and witnessing the Indianapolis 500.

But this year the stakes have risen as I ponder retirement from attending the great race.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is easily the world’s largest stadium, with space for 350,000 fans. Most patrons park in far-flung lots that guarantee achieving at least 10,000 steps on race day. Indy is a scene of humanity unlike any other in sports, dwarfing the Super Bowl and March Madness Final Four combined.

Attending my first Indy 500 in 1968 hooked me for life. (L) The 33-car field on the pace lap. (R) The pace car, a 1968 Torino. (Photos credit IMS)

Hovering over this year’s event are important questions: Should I go out on top, while still able to handle the physical demands of Indy? Or, like Muhammad Ali boxing well past his prime, should I keep going until friends have to carry me to and from the giant racetrack?

Breathtaking experience

Like 2026, the year 1968 was a turbulent period. MLK and RFK were assassinated. Riots raged across the U.S. The Civil Rights Movement intensified. Late-1960s counterculture rebellion against authority peaked. The Vietnam War dragged on. And the whole world watched as the Democratic convention devolved into violent chaos in Chicago.

A huge event provided a much-needed distraction that was spellbinding. My dad took my brother and me to our first Indianapolis 500. An amazing, unforgettable experience, especially for a 10-year-old.

In the world of sports, there’s exciting and there’s breathtaking.

The Super Bowl is exciting. The NBA Finals, World Series, Stanley Cup Finals, World Cup, Grand Slam golf tournaments and Grand Slam tennis tournaments generate excitement. March Madness tops the list in delivering exciting performances capped by thrilling, last-second game winning shots.

(L) 1968 Indy 500 winner Bobby Unser. (R) 2025 winner Alex Palou. (Photos credit: IMS)

However, there are two Midwest sports events that are breathtaking.

In Louisville on the first Saturday in May, the Kentucky Derby brings out superlatives, too. Fans watch with excitement as thoroughbreds thunder down the Churchill Downs straightaway past the twin spires. It’s thrilling when the horses gallop around the last turn and head for home. “Down the stretch they come!” exalts the public address announcer as jockeys ask for more giddy up and horses’ jostle for position. The stretch run of the Derby is magically breathtaking.

On the Sunday before Memorial Day, the same sensation occurs 115 miles due north of Louisville.

Seeing 33 tightly packed racecars roar past you at 220mph, during the opening laps of the Indianapolis 500, is breathtaking. Then, excitement builds for three hours as the race draws toward its conclusion. During the final 25 laps, Indy shifts into breathtaking mode again as drivers frantically push their machines to the edge, racing toward the checkered flag. Three hundred fifty thousand fans rise in unison as they watch the intense speed and hear the high-pitched harmony of 700 horsepower engines. It’s incomparably breathtaking.

Storybook numbers

This year, I will experience the specialness of Indy for the 56th time. Enough races that my name appears in the race day program book in the “Valued Ticketholders” section. That’s a heady number, more than half century of Indianapolis 500s. But there are more compelling numbers to assess this year, as I consider retirement from attending motorsports greatest race.

The main entrance at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as it appeared when I attended my first “500.” Will 2026 be my last race? (Photo credit: The Weekly Opine)

My first Indy 500 was in 1968. I was 10 years old. This year’s race will be the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500. I am 68 years old. The numbers are intriguing and worth pondering: First race in 1968, this year’s race I am age 68. First race I was age 10, this year is the 110th Indy 500. Should 2026 be my last dance at Indy? The numbers hint this is the perfect time to hang it up.

While in Bloomington, Indiana, last month I had breakfast at my favorite restaurant, Uptown Cafe. Shannon, the manager, regularly goes to the “500” with her sister and dad. She asked if I would be at the race. I said yes and mentioned possibly retiring from attending the race, explaining the significance of the numbers 1968, 10, 110 and 68. Shannon said it gave her goosebumps.

Will this be my final Indianapolis 500? The numbers suggest that’s a viable choice. Or maybe 1968, 68, 10 and 110 are nothing more than a happy coincidence. So, let’s see how I feel during the pre-race singing of “Back Home Again in Indiana.”

Just in case, I will order tickets for next year’s Indy 500.

LAST CALL?