Top 10 Thursday: Top 10 Indy 500 Traditions
With 100 years of racing on Memorial Day weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, there's sure to be great traditions. I have accumulated a list of the top 10 traditions of the Indianapolis 500. I put them in order from 10th to first on my list, but obviously they can be debated.
Sit back, relax, and enjoy a stroll through the history of traditions in the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing."
10. Yellow Shirts
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Leading the list off with the tenth best tradition is the yellow shirts. You can always count on these men and women to stand out in their bright clothing.
The yellow shirts idea started off in 1945. Tony Hulman purchased the track, and his advisor, Joseph Quinn, who worked for Clabber Girl Baking Powder Company, set up a Board of Safety. The board gathered ideas and input from the local law enforcement agencies. In 1948, the track had it's own safety patrol established, but they wore dark blue long sleeved wool uniforms. They were extremely uncomfortable, and made for a long day when it was a hot or even rainy.
With the uncomfortable conditions, the speedway in the early 1970s decided to switch some of the senior staff members to short-sleeved yellow shirts on weekends. By time 1975 came around the blue long sleeved shirts had been retired and the yellow shirts became a mainstay.
These yellow shirts have been worn by safety patrol ever since, and became a speedway tradition.
9. Winner's Wreath
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No. 9 on the list is the winner's wreath. The winner's wreath is the wreath worn by defending Indy 500 Champion Dario Franchitti in the picture.
The first year the wreath was used in the 500 was the 1960 race won by Jim Rathmann. He wore a wreath consisting of dark-yellow and brown flowers.
In 1961 and 1962, A.J. Foyt and Rodger Ward wore wreaths similar to today's style. There's consisted of white and red carnations.
The wreaths were created by a guy named Bill Cronin, who was an Indianapolis florist. He was, at one time, a floral consultant for parades at the Rose Bowl, Cotton Bowl, and the 500 festival.
Bill died in 1989, but for the last 30 years the wreath featured 33 ivory-colored cymbidium orchids with burgundy tips and 33 miniature checkered flags mixed with red, white, and blue ribbons.
You will see that very same wreath on this year's Indy 500 Champion.
8. Balloons Before the Start of the Race
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The most colorful part of the race is the balloons released after "Back Home Again in Indiana."
The first year the balloons were released was in 1947. Tony Hulman's wife, Mary Fendrich Hulman, made the suggestion to release the balloons on the final note of "Back Home Again in Indiana."
That is still the tradition to this day.
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7. 'The Greatest Spectacle in Racing'
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This tradition is a unique tradition—it's not something that is done, but it's something that is said. Every time I hear this said on the radio broadcast, I get chills.
This phrase was born on race day in 1955. It was made famous by chief announcer for the IMS Radio Network Sid Collins. Although he made it famous, it was actually a young lady who coined the phrase.
Going all the way back to the 1920s, radio broadcasts of the Indy 500 consisted of a few minutes of live coverage at the start and the finish, with brief updates in between every 15-30 minutes.
The track created it's own network in 1952, but it wasn't until the next year's race in 1953 that the race was covered in it entirety, with no breaks, except commercials.
With the race now being broadcast in it's entirety, the number of listeners skyrocketed. The stations got feedback from the listeners and workers for the stations, and the most common request was that the engineers could be alerted to an impending commercial break by use of an "out cue."
That request was given to the sales staff of a local Indianapolis radio station called WIBC, which was when a young female copywriter in her 20s named Alice Greene suggested the phrase "Stay tuned to the Greatest Spectacle in Racing."
To this day, throughout the month of May on WIBC, you will hear the phrase "Stay tuned to the Greatest Spectacle in Racing."
6. The Gordon Pipers
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It’s not the month of May without seeing our favorite band at the speedway, The Gordon Pipers. Normally the sound of bagpipes stings the ears of those around, but on those May practice days, the bagpipes and drums coming from The Gordon Pipers is music to my ears.
After Tony Hulman heard The Gordon Pipers perform in 1962, he invited them to perform at the speedway for the 1963 race, and they haven’t missed a race since. Back then, they were known as “The Gasoline Alley Gordon Pipers.”
Every race, four bagpipers play in victory lane of the 500 during the traditional drink of milk celebration and the Borg-Warner trophy presentation. The four represent the winning car coming to victory lane with four wheels intact.
5. Bump Day
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Bump Day is one of the most exciting days in May, falling second only to race day itself. Bump Day is the last opportunity for drivers to qualify for the race, and it is held the Sunday before the Indianapolis 500.
Prior to World War II, Bump Day was called “Crowded Out.” It’s theoretically the day in which the field is full of all 33 cars, and drivers not yet in the race, attempt to make their way into the field, or in other words, bump their way onto the field.
This year's Bump Day will be spectacular. There are 40 cars on the entry list, and with only 33 open spots, seven cars won’t make the Indianapolis 500 in the centennial year.
4. Carb Day
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Carb Day is the final practice session, running 11 AM to noon, for the Izod Indy Car Series at the speedway for the month.
For many years, Carb Day, which used to be known as Carburetion Day, has always been a staple at the Speedway. Carb Day got its name from the cars use of carburetors in the early years of the race. On this day, adjustments were made to the carburetors before race day on Sunday.
The last time a car used a carburetor at the speedway was in 1963 when the Ford-powered Lotus cars of Jim Clark and Dan Gurney raced in the 500. Even after the introduction of fuel injectors to the Indy Cars in the 1940s, the term “carburetion runs” was still used.
Not only is there the final practice, but the Firestone Freedom 100 (Firestone Indy Lights race) takes place after practice is over, followed directly by the pit stop competition on the main straightway. While this is going on, there is a DJ mixing songs over the PA system to make it more of a party atmosphere. Following all the action on the track, at 3:30 PM, there’s always a concert in the infield of the speedway to close out the eventful and fun day.
Carb Day is now a huge event at the speedway. It is a place where race fans and party people come together to produce the second biggest crowd during the month.
3. The Borg-Warner Trophy
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The Borg-Warner trophy goes to the winner of the Indianapolis 500. This trophy is one of the most prestigious trophies in all of sports.
This has been the trophy awarded to the winner of every 500 since 1936. This trophy is made in Chicago and is crafted from sterling silver. First unveiled at a dinner in New York in February of 1936, it features sculpted faces of every 500 winner, and the new winner has been added to the trophy every year since. It has made the term “The Face on the Borg-Warner Trophy” what it is today.
In 1986, Bobby Rahals’ face became the last face on the original design of the Borg-Warner trophy. They ran out of space for any additional faces, so their solution was to add another base to the trophy’s structure in 1987. It wasn’t until 2004 that they added and even larger base to the famed trophy. There is now enough space to last until the year 2034.
Want an additional fun fact about the trophy? There is one face featured on the trophy that does not belong to an Indy 500 winner. Former speedway owner Tony Hulman was added in 1987, and is featured in gold on the base of the trophy.
2. The Glass of Milk
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The glass of milk is a tradition that’s been around since 1936. Three-time winner Louis Meyer drank buttermilk regularly on a hot day, due to advice his mother had given him as a boy. It was after his 1936 win that milk was introduced to victory lane.
A dairy industry executive came across the photo of Meyer drinking the milk in the following day’s newspaper. That executive fought for a glass of milk in victory lane to become a tradition at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
There were a few races where milk wasn’t consumed in victory lane after the race. From 1937 to 1941 milk wasn’t brought to victory lane. In 1946, following World War II, it was brought back for one year and disappeared once again during the years between 1947 and 1955.
The tradition actually started back up again in 1956 and continues to this day. Emerson Fittipaldi is the only driver since 1956 to not drink the milk. He drank his native Brazil’s drink of choice, orange juice, in victory lane in 1993. That would be Emmo’s second, and final, 500 victory, and he has been chastised ever since by the fans for the selfish moment.
1. Back Home Again in Indiana
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If there were an anthem for the speedway, this would be it. It brings goose bumps to all 350,000-plus fans each year on race day.
The song was published in 1917 and was originally called just straight up “Indiana.” It was played track-side by a brass band in the final few laps of the 1919 race, as hometown Hoosier Howdy Wilcox won the race.
It wasn’t until 1946 that the beloved tune was actually sung. James Melton did the first rendition of “Back Home Again in Indiana,” while the Purdue University band played in the background. The crowd clearly loved the singer, so the speedway brought him back the next year to do it again. Due to the song’s success, in 1948 it was moved to its current slot just prior to the starting of the engines.
There have only been a few lucky individuals to sing “Back Home Again in Indiana” throughout the history of the Speedway. Mel Torme, Vic Damone, Dinah Shore, Ed Ames, Peter Marshall, Dennis Morgan, Johnny Desmond, and the most popular and current singer, Jim Nabors, have all sung this song in its current slot.
"Back Home Again in Indiana” came in at No. 1 due to its popularity and familiarity. When you think about the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, you think about this adored song.
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