May Madness

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.

“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 can looks like one you might’ve seen at the track back in the day. It might be a conversation starter with some of the old-timers.”

“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.

“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.”

The IMS has aged gracefully, aided by a few facelifts along the way. Take a look at some of the biggest upgrades over the years.

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.

“It is a team very hungry for victories,” Aleshin says. “It feels good to be back, and these guys mean a lot to me.”

Pine is the latest addition to a 2016 roster of Indy 500 celebrities that so far includes Keith Urban, Darius Rucker, and homegrown Voice champ Josh Kaufman.

“We’re starting all over again,” says Castroneves. “Just because we won three times, it won’t be easy, and it won’t be the same as the times before. Every year, it changes.”

“The princesses have an unofficial motto: ‘Don’t sleep until the Month of May is over,’” DeWitt says. “But it’s totally worth it.”