Sports

At age 48, Lazier has the most experience of anyone in the race. However, team owners are not interested in signing him to drive for their team. Rather, team owners are on the lookout for the youngest talent they can find.

“I’m ready to go,” Karam says. “I’m starting 23rd—but I don’t think I’m going to be there for long.”

While some drivers put in headphones and get themselves pumped up before a race, Hinchcliffe likes to crack jokes with his team until they put him into the car.

“All I can compare it to is going down a ski slope. You’re making those long, winding turns. You feel the skis about to lose their grip, getting away from you—but not quite.”

“I found that as soon as you sit inside and dwell on the fact that you’re ill and could die, that’s when it could get to you. But I just put that behind me.”

“The car can’t tell what color it’s painted, it can’t tell what color my helmet is, and it can’t tell what gender I am when I’m driving it,” says Mann. “I’m just one of the drivers in the race.”

The race and related on-track activities have claimed the lives of at least 54 drivers, mechanics, IMS workers, and spectators since 1911. But innovation in safety procedures and technology have tempered the tragedy.

You’re fighting for fractions of a second all the time out there. That isn’t even a blink of an eye, but at the speeds you race at, that turns into footage. Half a car length, a car length—whatever it was. In my eyes, it was a mile.

In one image, a sampling of the 80,000-plus spectators take in the action from the fourth turn, some in the north grandstands and others from their own vehicles. Some fans appear somewhat more debauched—particularly the gentleman to the right of the rutted roadway who appears to be unconscious.

Pick your favorite decade. A look at every Indy 500 winner and their average speeds.

The Arts Council commissioned 33 artists to turn the usual signs into works of art. The artists were instructed not to focus on incorporating race imagery or colors, but on delivering the welcome message in their own style.

“Since I’ve been over here for a year and a half, I’ve had more success on ovals than I’ve had on road courses,” says Chilton. “Hopefully that pays dividends come May 29.”

You need a code to even browse tickets online for the hottest party on race weekend. Luckily, we have it.

Driver Charlie Kimball has diabetes, but if anything in his blood is driving him to win, it’s not glucose. It’s the mystique of Indy.