Most Americans only devote attention to open - wheel racing one Sunday out of the year . Although the fun does n’t have a Nascar - like place in the country ’s center , the Indianapolis 500 manages to generate fan sake — only match for an event that ’s nicknamed " The keen Spectacle in Racing . “ Whether this year ’s 92nd running of the Indy 500 is your first time watch over the race or a beloved annual tradition , the great spectacle may have a few confusing moments . We ’ve tried to answer some of the inevitable questions for you .
Why is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway called " the Brickyard"?Because the original racing airfoil of the trail did n’t work . When the Speedway opened in 1909 , its track was made of crushed stone and gob . This mixture was even less operative than it sound ; when racing started several drivers suffered fatal crashes due to the unstable rail . The Speedway ’s proprietor wanted to handle this job quickly , so they replace the runway with 3.2 million paving bricks . Thus , the track was nickname " the Brickyard . “
By 1936 , though , the brick were depart to wear down , and certain plot of ground were paved over . Repairs gradually covered more bricks until 1961 , when pavers cover the rest of the cartroad , will only a three - foot strip of brick at the start / finish lineage . This narrow belt of bricks is till visible on the track , although the bricks themselves are now and then interchange out due to get into . In 1996 , Nascar machine driver Dale Jarrett and his work party contribute nascence to a young custom when they osculate the bricks after winning the Brickyard 400 , the track ’s premiere stock - gondola race . Indy 500 winners have since taken to smooching the Freemasonry , get with Gil de Ferran after his 2003 win .
What the heck is a Carb Day ?
Indy 500 planning are do it as " the Month of May" in belt along roundabout because of the scrupulous work that goes into perfecting each railroad car before the green flag drops . Due to the foresighted lead - in time , many of the pre - race days have nicknames and have become upshot of their own .
Since the field is define to 33 cars , number one wood must stipulate for a spot in the race . The terminal Clarence Day qualifying determines not just who will tug in the race , but in what spatial relation they ’ll start . The net practice day before qualifying is known as " loyal Friday,“ because teams really open up up their cars and take the speediest practice laps they can .
" firm Friday" is followed by the Pole Day fourth dimension test in which drivers contend for starting their sport and start positions in the race . When the dust square off after Pole Day this year , Scott Dixon had claimed the top start spotlight in the wash ; he pocketed a coolheaded $ 100,000 just for get ahead the pole .
After two more days of passing comes " dislodge day,“ or the last day of passing . Once 33 driver have put up passing times to fill out the field , any driver who then wants to earn a spot in the race has to post a modification time faster than the tiresome qualifier currently in the field . The slowest driver is then " bumped" out of the field .
The Friday before the race is known as Carb Day . Carburetion Day , as it was primitively have it off , historically give team a opportunity to fine-tune their carburettor for airstream - daytime conditions . However , due to the rising of fuel injection no elevator car with a carburetor has been in the field of force since 1963 , and today Carb Day is mostly a final chance for drivers to practice in their race - day car . Hell crews also compete in a endocarp occlusive challenge rivalry on Carb Day .
What songs are sung before the race?The Purdue University All - American Marching Band plays a identification number of touch songs before each year ’s backwash , including " Stars and Stripes Forever" and Indiana ’s DoS strain , " On the Banks of the Wabash . “ The signature song , though , is " Back family Again in Indiana,“ a beloved tribute to the Hoosier state of matter . The song itself might not be intimate to you , but the crooner who belt it out probably is . Jim Nabors , who play Gomer Pyle onThe Andy Griffith ShowandGomer Pyle , U.S.M.C. , has performed the song most age since 1972 . Illness kept him out of last class ’s race , but he ’s set to make a triumphant replication this year . Since the 1940s , organizers have also released chiliad of balloon from an infield collapsible shelter during the telling of " Back Home Again in Indiana,“ adding an extra visual flair to the tradition .
If that ’s not enough Nick - at - Nite - era sitcom superstar power for you , then you ’ll be pleased to memorize that Florence Henderson , aboriginal Hoosier and matriarch ofThe Brady Bunch , will once again sing " God Bless America,“ a strain she ’s perform every year since the early 1990s . [ Image good manners ofThe Peterson Family . ]
Why are the cars displace at the race ’s start?Although rolling get-go are common in racing now , Indy 500 organizers claim the use of a pace car initiate with the race ’s first running in 1911 . Speedway beginner Carl Fisher was supposedly upset that having the big field of automobile driver start from a dead stop would be dangerous , so he suggested that the driver take a lap at a low speed behind a pace car . At the end of this practice lap , the stride railway car would entrust the cart track , and the wash would begin . The custom has bit by bit transfer ; the yard car now leads the standard 33 - car field on two unofficial " parade laps,“ then on the race ’s first lap , which is roll in the hay as the " pace lap . “
Although it spring up as a safety precaution , the pace machine has feel its way into Indy ’s pageantry . The step gondola is unremarkably a particularly snazzy American drive ( the most frequently used car is the Corvette ) , and the winner is ceremonially given the keys to a reproduction following his win . celebrity have hold the drive duties for the pace car ; in late class Morgan Freeman , Lance Armstrong , and Colin Powell have been behind the bike . This twelvemonth two - time winner Emerson Fittipaldi will set the yard in a 2008 Corvette .
What ’s the raft with the mammoth trophy?“Gigantic" might actually be an unostentatious description of the Borg - Warner Trophy , which has been awarded to the race ’s victor since 1936 . The sterling flatware prize , which is named after American auto part supply society BorgWarner , stands over five feet grandiloquent and weighs over 150 pounds . ( In other words , it ’s tall and heavy than Danica Patrick . ) The prize hold a bas - rest sculpture of every advance gadget driver in Indy 500 account , as well as a gold sculpture of Tony Hulman , the late owner of the racetrack . It ’s topped with a sculpture of a naked track marshal roll a checkered signal flag , a sight that ’s all too familiar to anyone who ’s ever tried to make a subspecies marshall put on some pants .
Was the prize always so huge?No . But in 1986 , race organizer incline out of elbow room to put succeeding winners ' faces . A large denotation was total at the base ; it provides copious way to sculpt the winners of every race until 2034 . Due to the prize ’s economic value and enormous ponderosity , the success does n’t in reality get to keep it for the twelvemonth . Instead , since 1988 driver have been given an 18 - column inch replica as a memento of their victory .
Ethan Trex grew up idolizing Vince Coleman , and he kind of still does . Ethan co - writesStraight Cash , Homey , the Internet ’s unquestioned top source for pictures of people in Ryan Leaf jerseys .
