May Madness

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.”

“I’ve sprained a wrist; I’ve separated cartilage between a rib,” says Hinchcliffe. “Even when I flipped a car, I walked away. This has been by far the most dramatic accident, I guess.”

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.

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

It’s still the Month of May and it’s still IndyCar. It’s just not the Indianapolis 500.

Guests included two toques of TV fame—chef Vic Vegas, who appeared on Food Network’s Next Food Network Star, Chopped All-Stars, and Food Truck Face Off; and Spike Mendelsohn of Bravo’s Top Chef Chicago.

“Star-Spangled Banner” performances have become something of a cottage industry for upcoming Indy 500 singer LeAnn Rimes. Here are some of our past faves.

“He’s pretty quiet on the radio. If he starts talking a lot, that usually means something has gone wrong.”

Pretty in pink, IndyCar driver Pippa Mann stooped down for a conversation with a similarly dressed 7-year-old fan.

Since the first time Nabors faced an Indianapolis 500 crowd in 1972 and crooned the lyrics from notes scribbled hurriedly on his hand, we have embraced the Southern-bred baritone as one of our own.

Why race fans will spend up to $1,100 for a four-night stay in a tent.

Month of May festivities will ramp up to performances by rockers Sammy Hagar and Sublime With Rome, followed by the eardrum-shaking beats of NERVO, Dillon Francis, and Hardwell in the infield during the Indy 500 race itself.

A web- and app-based photo album of nearly everything imaginable was born, including images of glittery nails, inebriated couples smooching (Snakepit, ahoy!), and one Mike Tyson holding an “Indy 500 or Bust” sign.