Indy 500 100th Running

There’s nothing like winning the Indy 500 from the milk to the glory and bragging rights. Alexander Rossi found that out first hand last year winning the 100th running of the 500 as a rookie. He received his ring for his centennial victory May 3, when Alonso did his Rookie Orientation Program testing. Rossi was […]

For the last 90 laps of the Indy 500, Rossi’s team strategist wanted him to do the impossible—go farther than the fuel he had could take him.

An estimated 350,000 people attended to see Lady Gaga take a two-seater ride with 500 legend Mario Andretti, and to watch Alexander Rossi cross the finish line on fumes then get a tow to Victory Lane.

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.”

“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.

“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.”

Ride-along mechanics were a fixture into the late 1930s, and “Back Home Again” blared over the speakers for the first time in 1946. Point being, the Indy 500 and its traditions have had some tune-ups over the years.