Race Day

Today is the running of the big race--the Indy 500. They say it is the single-day event with the largest attendance in the world. For some reason, the organizers of the event never reveal the actual attendance each year, but estimates of spectators range from 300,000 to 500,000. I've been once (see my blog of May 25th), and it was fun, but I think once is enough. I don't like to be around that many people and sitting out in the sun all day. I'd guess that over half of them have had too much to drink. So watching the race is only part of the fun; you get to watch lots of drunk people stumble around and see some who are passed out under the stands in the shade. I guess they wake up after the race and ask "What happened?" The race isn't televised live, here in Indianapolis, anyway. We like to watch the race in the evening, after it is all over, and you know who the winner is. It's still fun to watch. But you don't get the complete experience of going out to the track with the crowd. Since I'm not a big car racing fan, watching it on TV on tape delay is just fine.

The Indy 500

The big race is coming up this weekend. I am not a big car racing fan, but I have lived in Indiana for the past ten years so I have gotten somewhat interested over the years. I follow the Indy 500. Not interested in NASCAR. Two years ago my wife's sister and my brother-in-law Arnold were visiting from Mexico. Arnoldo loves cars and car racing. So I took him to Carb Day (Friday before the big race) and the Indy 500. It was a great experience for the both of us. I think it was a highlight in Arnoldo's life, being able to go back to Mexico and say he had actually seen the Indy 500. We sat on Turn One (the cheap seats), the area they used to call the "Snake Pit," because people went there to do everything except watch the race. We didn't see much of that, except excessive drinking, and people passed out under the stands. We saw a couple of crashes, but nobody got hurt. We had a great time and the next day we went to the Museum inside the Speedway. Arnold was like a little kid looking at all the cars. He knew a lot about the different kinds of cars and engines, too. We spent most of the day there. I would have spent about an hour in the museum if I had been alone. That might be the only Indy 500 I will ever see live. Since I'm not a racing fan, I think once is enough. But I'll bet Arnoldo would like to see another one.