Back Home Again in Indiana: The 500 Still Brings Joy To Some

I decided to spend my Memorial Day as most would across America. It's a day where we can all relax and share memories with family and friends, and cherish the time we have together.

There's always good food, cold drinks, plenty of laughs, and enough heart warming stories to make anyone smile.

A portion of my family's traditional Memorial Day celebration begins and ends in Indianapolis, IN, for an adventure to the annual Indianapolis 500 in nearby Speedway.

I currently reside in Cincinnati, OH, so the trek up Interstate 74 was an easy one for me. However, my family comes six hours away from NE Ohio for the race, a trek that many people have made and continue to make every year.

Cars from all over the country end up in Indy. In fact, I became friends with a guy from New Orleans this weekend, who has been coming to the race for 30 years.

For those who have never been to Indy for the race, it's something that truly cannot be described but only seen.

Have you ever imagined gathering with close to 500,000 people in a 10-mile radius for three days? Yeah, I didn't think so.

It's probably not even that large of an area, which is the scary part.

Have you ever thought about how fast 230 mph actually is?

It's amazing how slow these cars look when they go 60 mph, which is pretty fast for us normies on the highway.

Did you ever think you would see a pit crew member land on his head (without a helmet) and still live? Well, I have.

That was my first Indy 500 memory.

In the 1999 version of the race, Steve Fried, Chief Mechanic for rookie driver Robby McGehee, was struck by another car driven by Jimmy Kite in the pit area.

Fried flipped over the front of Kite's car several times before landing on his head and chest. He sustained critical injuries, but lived and eventually worked in racing again. This injury helped usher in the use of helmets for all pit crew members. My aunt and I will never forget the blood running down pit road, then being sprayed off with a hose.

I don't even recall what happened in the race, honestly. I think Robby Gordon was winning but had to pit late because he was running low on fuel. Wikipedia says that Kenny Brack won the race...who knew?

The weird thing is, as horrific as that accident was I found myself wanting to come back every year.

I didn't get the chance again until 2004, which saw a rain-shortened race turn into a Buddy Rice win.

Who? Yeah, I thought you knew him too. Oh...and did I say rain-shortened? I really meant tornado-shortened. The race had already been delayed once for rain, which meant that we fans had to run for shelter under a nearby tree outside the track.

When the race finally resumed, everyone knew that there was more rain coming, possibly even thunderstorms. I really thought the whole race was going to be run until lap 180 when the rain hit again and lightning was spotted over the horizon.

This officially ended the race and handed Buddy Rice his jug of milk.

While we were attempting to leave the grandstands, longtime Indianapolis Motor Speedway announcer Tom Carnegie came over the loudspeaker and says, "A tornado has been spotted, and is headed for the stadium. Please exit as quickly as possible."

A Chinese fire drill ensued. Amazingly, my friend from Ohio University and I actually drove back to Athens that night in the storm.

Why? I'm still not sure, but my windshield wipers on my car were destroyed making the trip.

With bad moments there are always good, though.

I witnessed the 2005 race which saw the beginning (and probably the beginning of the end) of the Danica Patrick-era.

I have honestly never heard the Indy crowd so loud than when she took the lead away from eventual winner Dan Wheldon late in the race. It didn't matter who you were really cheering for that day, because everyone was cheering for the little girl who drove for Letterman.

This past Sunday marked my fifth Indy 500, and it gets better every time I go. Whether its the Saturday night stroll down Georgetown Road to witness the chaos that is Speedway, IN, the night before the race, or the singing of the national anthem that is followed by an amazing flyover, Indy never gets old.

And I guess the whole point of this article is that it makes me sad that the Indy 500 will probably never be the same again as it used to be.

I love hearing stories about the race from people who been there for the past two, three, or even four decades. They've seen it all: The Andretti family's failures, A.J. Foyt pounding on his own car with a hammer in the pits just to put it back on the track, Gordon Smiley's horrific crash, Little Al winning by a nose in '92, and many more.

The race used to play host to between 250,000-400,000 fans every year. Now, its lucky to get 200,000.

It's almost gotten to the point like the Kentucky Derby, where you come to Indy just for the party but don't watch the race. I was amazed at how many open seats there were in the grandstands down the frontstretch.

I guess I can thank the former Indy brass for that, because when the series split after the 1995 season, it essentially marked the downfall of open wheel racing in America.

The two series, the IRL and CART, are officially back together, but the damage has been done. NASCAR has stolen all the thunder that those 33 cars provided each May in Indy.

Seriously, how can an everyday stock car that goes 180 mph compare to a sleeker, cooler-looking Indy car that goes 230? I don't get it, but that's just me I guess.

Remember that guy from New Orleans I talked to? He told me he's been to Talladegha and all the other major NASCAR tracks, and admitted that he would love to see the IRL venture down there. The cars would probably go "too fast," he later said.

So what should the Indy officials do to improve the sport?

Well, we can start by putting more ovals on the schedule. Show off the amazing speeds that these cars can reach, dangerous or not it's the best weapon you've got. 

After that, you need to market your best drivers...cough...cough...not Danica Patrick. I realize she sells a lot of merchandise, but she's won a total of one race in her IRL career. One.

An Indy 500 attendee should never have to think about who won the race that year. Changes need to be made, and made fast because the economic downturn has not helped the situation either, but I'm not getting into that.

My aunt cries every year at the Indy 500, which may sound overly dramatic to some, but I understand.

The emotions that come from hearing Jim Nabors sing the state song, the troops walking down pit road, the balloons being let out, and especially Mary Hulman George saying those most famous words in racing are something that everyone should have a chance to take part in.

People show up each year who don't even like racing all that much, but they love Indy.

I love Indy. Others love Indy. How can you not love Indy?