Vacation is over. It’s time to go to Indy.
I think anyone who’s ever raced has dreamed of racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The place is iconic.
When I was growing up, I used to always look forward to watching the Indy 500. In those days, the race was shown on tape delay. It wasn’t even broadcast live.
In my late teens or early twenties, I started going to the race. A friend worked at a newspaper and got free tickets every year. We’d get up early on race day and drive to Indy from our homes outside of Chicago. When we first started going to the race, we’d watch it live, then get home in time to watch it on tape-delay at night.
The famous “spin to win” by Danny Sullivan happened right in front of us in 1985. It was exciting, but it was the only exciting thing that happened in the race that year. If I remember right, we went one more year after that. In 1986, ABC started carrying the race live, so we didn’t have the same desire to be at the track.
IMS was famous, partly because it was exclusive. The Indy 500 was held there, and nothing else. When NASCAR started running at Indy in 1994, the exclusivity went away, but the profile of the track grew because NASCAR was so popular back in the mid-90s. Formula 1 began racing on the road course (Grand Prix course) in 2000, which gave the facility an even higher profile.
Today, the track—both the oval and the road course—are used much more frequently, and by a wide range of racers. I had the opportunity to run a race on the road course in 2019, but decided against it. Ever since I stopped racing a few years ago, I’ve had trouble staying away. For a couple of years, I’d do a race here or there, but finally decided I was done. I’ve been tempted a few times since then, but, so far, have stayed “retired.”
Of course, sim racing doesn’t completely satisfy the racing bug, but it helps. And sim racing at Indy isn’t the same thing as being there, but for now, it’s going to have to do.
