Indianapolis Motor Speedway

“I’m trying not to be too emotional, or I’ll gargle the song,” Nabors said.

Superstition runs rampant in autoracing. Some teams never wear new clothing on race day, others always put a certain tire on first before mounting the rest.

Whatever “it” is, every year it captures the imaginations of the 33 drivers who compete for the Borg-Warner Trophy. And they all have this in common: At one point in their lives, something drew their attention to the Indianapolis 500.

Why did Villeneuve decide to return to Indy after all these years? “That’s the question I get the most,” he says. “And, you know, why not?”

Yesterday morning, Julie Vance was visible through the front windows, piecing together the intricate wreath that Sunday’s Indy 500 winner will wear on the victory podium—as every champion has since 1960.

They’ll start the race behind everyone else. As an added insult (literally), they dutifully attended the Last Row Party—an annual Indy tradition that returned yesterday evening after a hiatus last year.

The Voice winner and Indy resident will join made-for-TV couples for the Memorial Day Weekend festivities.

Busch is attempting to join an exclusive club of drivers to complete “The Double,” the feat of racing, on the same day, in the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600.

Check out Shoup’s photos for up-close looks at some of IndyCar’s biggest stars—Helio Castroneves, Marco Andretti, James Hinchcliffe, Simon Pagenaud, Bronte Tagliani, and more.

No. 9: “Be open to meeting new people. We are Hoosiers with hospitality. And if you lose a flip-flop, don’t stress. You will probably find one as you’re leaving.”

When he has downtime, Newgarden says, he likes to annoy his engineers in the garage area while they work on his car. When not at the track, he likes to watch movies—most recently Dumb and Dumber with Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels.

Thackston is the newest member of the public-announcer crew at IMS—and only the third woman in the track’s 100-plus-year history to hold such a position.

The threat of rain might have sent partygoers under the cover of tents during the weekend’s Rev festivities at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But spirits were not dampened during the evening party.

There was plenty to see on Saturday at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s inaugural IndyCar road race.

Via @colefarrell: “Walking downtown, I heard an older man refer to the farmers market as ‘that weekly veggie festival.’ I’m into it.”