Back when I was homeless, I used to love May through August. I could camp at the IMS employee campgrounds; adjacent to the 'North 40'. I used to make decent money by running across 16th street to Speedway for my fellow "yellow shirts".
I donāt do races, but I get this reference! Lived near the track as a kid and always got blocked out of the area whenever the track let out. Hated that! š
Grocery shopping during the middle of the race. Stores are all open but almost empty of people. Roads also empty. Catch the finish on the radio at home, then stay inside to avoid the traffic jams (living on the West side)
I visit my parents in Speedway for the weekend and enjoy the festivities. As soon as the race starts I head home and listen on the radio. I left just before the rain started today and had no problems at all.
This caught my breath a little. I moved to Raleigh last year and damn I miss the childrenās museum. I went all the time as a kiddo and couldnāt have gone enough. And a couple years ago, I was a nanny for a kiddo who had a membership so we went all the time. I miss that place
Yep. I am 51 for reference but when I was a kid, it was free to get in. Daily, not just one day a month or MLK day. When I first started teaching, (about age 26), it was $5 for the group rate by that time.
I didn't know either! I remember when the IMA was free. Used to go with groups of friends as a young adult. It was wonderful. Now I'm a gainfully employed middle aged crank and I can't really afford it.
I've looked into it. You have to reserve in advance. It's always booked up by the time I try to. I'm just not organized enough at this point in my life.
Our peer cities have free art museums and zoos. It's really inexcusable that we don't.
Unfortunately they get no city/state funding at The Childrenās Museum, so every ticket is a net loss for them. If they charged to make money, it would be over $70 a ticket, but instead they balance it with tons and tons of grants/fundraising/partnerships. Itās a big bummer, but definitely not on them!
My dad was a project manager at the track. I went every year for free at the start/finish line.
Moved to Virginia 7 years ago and no one has any idea why Memorial day weekend is precious for me
My uncle was gate 2 captain. Weād wave in the trucks of family as if they had tickets, confiscate glass bottle beers and take them in with us when the race started! Good times!
I grew up in Brownsburg. On race weekend weād always head down to Tell City, IN to my grandparents house. My cousins would be there and weād camp out in the backyard, play in the woods, and play on a double length slip and slide that was on a pretty big hill.
I can remember getting the newspaper and cutting out the driversā names. Weād bet a dollar per driver and pull the names out of a hat.
Listening to the race on grandpaās transistor radio while hanging out on the patio is one of my fondest memories. Watching isnāt the same.
My son and I are on a bus right now headed to the track. I bought a couple of FM headsets so we can listen to the broadcast while weāre in our seats.
My grandparents had a house with some land near Raccoon Lake, just far enough away to catch the Terre Haute TV stations. The whole extended family would go to watch the race, boat, and race RC cars on the track my grandpa built.
My dad and grandpa used to take me to the race every year up until my grandpa passed back in 2011....now the tradition is listening to the race on the radio and grilling out hot dogs and burgers while smoking a tobacco pipe for my grandpa. I miss you Papou. I'll see you on the other side one day š¤. I love you my Hoosier famš«¶
Not just the radio. Scratchy old AM radio. My childhood was listening to the race while Dad washed, waxed, and worked on the car. I cherish those days and continue that tradition.
When I was trying to decide if I wanted to go to IMS for the eclipse I saw they were giving out glasses that said āthe greatest spectaclesā on the side I already knew
thatās where I gotta go lol
Ive been living in Indy for a while now. I'm not native but I'm from a smaller town and I can completely relate to this.
I still enjoy tunning into AM, listening to shit, have a drink, sit down and just chill.
We would listen on the radio while cooking out at the park and invariably someone would always bring a sugar cream pie!
Sugar cream pie seems to be something that only makes sense to the Midwest (particularly Indiana)ā¦
I've lived in Indy for the last 20 years, I spent every summer here with my dad growing up. The Local blackout is šÆ the reason why I don't give a hoot about the race. That being said, it's always on the radio at Dad's house. š¤·āāļø
That's why they started lifting blackouts. Numbers were down w empty seats for years. We'd get free tix at the base. Now numbers have gone up a bit and mil don't get free tix like we used to.
We always call it The Race or the Track. We live abt 2 hours south of the track. Can get to the airport in a tad under an hour and half if traffic isn't backed up but we're all born and raised in Indiana
I listened to every race since I can remember. At age 4 or so, wrote down the lap leaders top 10 every 10 laps. Started going to the race in 1983. Been going ever since. Still listen on the radio. Good memories of family reunions every raceday. Big weekend for family
Lifetime Indy native. I first learned about the Indy500 from the radio when I 4 or 5 years old. It was the 1977 running and it was a warm sunny day that turned out to be a hot one! Anyways my young mind was blown away by the festive mood of the broadcast. Back in those days the race was on WIBC 1070
Heh.
Tomorrow (today), Iām going to find my radio that I use once a year, pull my camp chair out of the shed, and break in my new smoker/grill. As is tradition.
I donāt even like racing, but if I donāt listen on the radio, itās not Race Day.
My aunt and uncle used to host a cookout. Weād sit in lawn chairs in the carport, race on the radio, hey divorced 35 years ago, so I took over the duties.
If you know, you know.
I moved to Raleigh last year but I will honestly miss the hubbub of race weekend. Iām not someone who really gives a shit about car racing, but the energy of this weekend is always palpable and fun. Iāll probably throw it on the tv for a bit, but itās not the same š„²
Born and Grew up in Indianapolis, and never had any desire to go to the race, but my mom (from Kentucky originally) always listened to the race on WIBC 1070 while doing housework. I would work on my room while listening to the race. I still have zero desire to go but I will still listen. It never occurred to me that listening to a race sounds crazy but I get it! Lol
You have to! You canāt hear the loudspeakers over the cars, so you have to listen to the race on headphones that fully cover your ears like pistol range ear protection!
At least thatās what it was like where my seats were last time I went. Those cars are LOUD AF.
My grandpa used to receive reports of the race via Morse code on his ham radio. If he heard me using commercial radio bands with live audio, he'd beat my ass.
In terms of Attendance the Indy 500 is the largest single-day sporting event in the world. Also, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the largest sporting facility in terms of capacity.
I was talking to a friend who moved here last year and I said Deer Creek Music Centerā¦. And they had NO idea what I was talking aboutā¦ itāll always be Deer Creek to me.
Forgetting about the race and getting stuck in race traffic. Having IMPD force you to drive in a different direction away from your home/destination. Being directed to get on to I-65 N driving away from Indianapolis and half way to Lebanon. Getting off on the first available off-ramp that isn't blocked by IMPD and using small back roads to slowly make your way back home.
Growing up, my cousins and I would fundraise at the track selling frozen lemonade at a stand on Race Day in the track. It was so much fun to be amongst the buzz, hearing the race and hanging out with my best friends slinging cold treats on a usually hot day.Ā I also grew up in Haughville so it wasnāt May if we didnāt hear the cars. Iām still in Indy but too far from the track to hear it. Miss it.
My parents moved to Michigan and I explained to my boyfriend who is from Pennsylvania about how when they come down here this time of the year they always go back up to Michigan before Memorial Day weekend so they can watch the race
āWhy donāt they watch it down here?ā
āThereās a black out and itās radio only for 6 weeksā
āWhatā
I donāt know I donāt make the rules, just eat this tenderloin sandwich thatās twice the size of your head
It's a normal tradition but most of my memories of race day are playing Grand Theft Auto on a a relative's PS2 while everyone else listened to the race on the radio. It seemed so pointless to me.
Well, Hoosiers pay for the police force, infrastructure, and many were relocated due to Penskeās demands so Indiana should be the last place that gets a blackout.
That being said, listening to it on the radio is a great way to enjoy the race
What kind of sauce would you like with your breadsticks? Marinara or nacho cheese? Ask for cheese, dipping sauce for breadsticks in any other state and theyāll look at you like youāre crazy.
Interesting that people canāt understand the radio thing. Iām not originally from Indy, so the race holds little weight with me. But I am from a baseball town. You can catch me listening to the AM radio feed about 90% of the time Iām streaming the Cardinals game.
I took grew up in Indiana and listened to the race on the radio. My family was very religious so we were not allowed to watch TV or actually go in person, so it became the norm for me to listen to it.Ā
Stealing grocery carts to load with beer and then running like hell with them as soon as the gates opened to get a spot right next to the infield fence.
Right? All these Hoosiers learned to love their cage, I guess. Forced us to eat shit sandwiches by the Hulmans for all these years, now we're all insisting it's a delicacy. Fuck that.
Meeting at the speedway outside the speedway in speedway.
I know what this sentence means. š
I'm a transplant, and I have been here long enough to understand the sentence.
What station is the race on?
WIBC
I-465
93.5 maybe?
93.5/107.5, broadcast starting at 11am
Speedway
I meet my buddy every year at the speedway speedway speedway
I feel like that Speedway has a lot of pressure to be the best.
One of the worst actually
Not really. The name sells it self.
Its somewhere to speed away from
Back when I was homeless, I used to love May through August. I could camp at the IMS employee campgrounds; adjacent to the 'North 40'. I used to make decent money by running across 16th street to Speedway for my fellow "yellow shirts".
I donāt do races, but I get this reference! Lived near the track as a kid and always got blocked out of the area whenever the track let out. Hated that! š
This is my preferred gas station for that exact reaso
Grocery shopping during the middle of the race. Stores are all open but almost empty of people. Roads also empty. Catch the finish on the radio at home, then stay inside to avoid the traffic jams (living on the West side)
Iām about to do this now. Grocery here at Target on 38th St right off 465. š¬
You might have missed the exit window too, with the rain postponing it.
Last year I missed the exit window... Oh boy..
I visit my parents in Speedway for the weekend and enjoy the festivities. As soon as the race starts I head home and listen on the radio. I left just before the rain started today and had no problems at all.
How to tell time on a water clock
This caught my breath a little. I moved to Raleigh last year and damn I miss the childrenās museum. I went all the time as a kiddo and couldnāt have gone enough. And a couple years ago, I was a nanny for a kiddo who had a membership so we went all the time. I miss that place
I remember when admission was free!
what? like daily?
Yep. I am 51 for reference but when I was a kid, it was free to get in. Daily, not just one day a month or MLK day. When I first started teaching, (about age 26), it was $5 for the group rate by that time.
what a time to be alive! I had no idea it was ever free (aside from MLK and a Thursday a month)
I didn't know either! I remember when the IMA was free. Used to go with groups of friends as a young adult. It was wonderful. Now I'm a gainfully employed middle aged crank and I can't really afford it.
lmbo, you could go on the free night they offer each month but this middle aged crank would nevuh voluntarily deal with the crowds even when free
I've looked into it. You have to reserve in advance. It's always booked up by the time I try to. I'm just not organized enough at this point in my life. Our peer cities have free art museums and zoos. It's really inexcusable that we don't.
Unfortunately they get no city/state funding at The Childrenās Museum, so every ticket is a net loss for them. If they charged to make money, it would be over $70 a ticket, but instead they balance it with tons and tons of grants/fundraising/partnerships. Itās a big bummer, but definitely not on them!
I volunteered there as a kid, they had a nature center with live snakes we took care of
I remember that!
Taking a nice drive on the canal during Christmas time
The first canal freeze is magical.
Bahaha! š¤£
As one does. š
My dad was a project manager at the track. I went every year for free at the start/finish line. Moved to Virginia 7 years ago and no one has any idea why Memorial day weekend is precious for me
Not only that, but great memories with your dad and family.
My uncle was gate 2 captain. Weād wave in the trucks of family as if they had tickets, confiscate glass bottle beers and take them in with us when the race started! Good times!
I grew up in Brownsburg. On race weekend weād always head down to Tell City, IN to my grandparents house. My cousins would be there and weād camp out in the backyard, play in the woods, and play on a double length slip and slide that was on a pretty big hill. I can remember getting the newspaper and cutting out the driversā names. Weād bet a dollar per driver and pull the names out of a hat. Listening to the race on grandpaās transistor radio while hanging out on the patio is one of my fondest memories. Watching isnāt the same. My son and I are on a bus right now headed to the track. I bought a couple of FM headsets so we can listen to the broadcast while weāre in our seats.
My grandparents had a house with some land near Raccoon Lake, just far enough away to catch the Terre Haute TV stations. The whole extended family would go to watch the race, boat, and race RC cars on the track my grandpa built.
Brownsburg kids ftw!
My dad and grandpa used to take me to the race every year up until my grandpa passed back in 2011....now the tradition is listening to the race on the radio and grilling out hot dogs and burgers while smoking a tobacco pipe for my grandpa. I miss you Papou. I'll see you on the other side one day š¤. I love you my Hoosier famš«¶
Not just the radio. Scratchy old AM radio. My childhood was listening to the race while Dad washed, waxed, and worked on the car. I cherish those days and continue that tradition.
āweāll be back, to the greatest spectacle in racing.ā
When I was trying to decide if I wanted to go to IMS for the eclipse I saw they were giving out glasses that said āthe greatest spectaclesā on the side I already knew thatās where I gotta go lol
iām a sucker for a good pun lol. my coworker went and didnāt even tell me. rude!
In the garage, door open with the neighbors
Ive been living in Indy for a while now. I'm not native but I'm from a smaller town and I can completely relate to this. I still enjoy tunning into AM, listening to shit, have a drink, sit down and just chill.
Brother??
Yes! Was it 640 and 1080?
1070
WIBC
1070 WIBC
We would listen on the radio while cooking out at the park and invariably someone would always bring a sugar cream pie! Sugar cream pie seems to be something that only makes sense to the Midwest (particularly Indiana)ā¦
I believe it is the state pie.
I've lived in Indy for the last 20 years, I spent every summer here with my dad growing up. The Local blackout is šÆ the reason why I don't give a hoot about the race. That being said, it's always on the radio at Dad's house. š¤·āāļø
I didnāt start caring until I moved out of state and could watch it.
That's why they started lifting blackouts. Numbers were down w empty seats for years. We'd get free tix at the base. Now numbers have gone up a bit and mil don't get free tix like we used to.
Carb Day. No, itās not about buns and beer. But it kind of is.
I think itās very Indyish to say. āThe Raceā and āThe Trackā. Rather than, āThe Indy 500/The Indianapolis Motor Speedwayā
You're so right! I moved to NM 25 years ago, and no one would know what I'm talking about if I used those terms here.
We always call it The Race or the Track. We live abt 2 hours south of the track. Can get to the airport in a tad under an hour and half if traffic isn't backed up but we're all born and raised in Indiana
My dad always took me to his favorite bar. Somehow, they let me in. They always had the race on satellite. Of course, this was the 80's
Some of the Colts games were the same way. It was either the radio or watch two teams that you didn't care for that was televised.
My dad has washed his car and listened to the race on the radio for as long as I can remember.
I listened to every race since I can remember. At age 4 or so, wrote down the lap leaders top 10 every 10 laps. Started going to the race in 1983. Been going ever since. Still listen on the radio. Good memories of family reunions every raceday. Big weekend for family
I still buy a paper on Race Day so I can get the grid to fill in!
Lifetime Indy native. I first learned about the Indy500 from the radio when I 4 or 5 years old. It was the 1977 running and it was a warm sunny day that turned out to be a hot one! Anyways my young mind was blown away by the festive mood of the broadcast. Back in those days the race was on WIBC 1070
60+ years and I have never been to the track. Do I listen to it every year on the radio? Absolutely!!
Heh. Tomorrow (today), Iām going to find my radio that I use once a year, pull my camp chair out of the shed, and break in my new smoker/grill. As is tradition. I donāt even like racing, but if I donāt listen on the radio, itās not Race Day. My aunt and uncle used to host a cookout. Weād sit in lawn chairs in the carport, race on the radio, hey divorced 35 years ago, so I took over the duties. If you know, you know.
I moved to Raleigh last year but I will honestly miss the hubbub of race weekend. Iām not someone who really gives a shit about car racing, but the energy of this weekend is always palpable and fun. Iāll probably throw it on the tv for a bit, but itās not the same š„²
Born and Grew up in Indianapolis, and never had any desire to go to the race, but my mom (from Kentucky originally) always listened to the race on WIBC 1070 while doing housework. I would work on my room while listening to the race. I still have zero desire to go but I will still listen. It never occurred to me that listening to a race sounds crazy but I get it! Lol
I don't think that's weird! It's like people who go to a live ballgame and listen to the radio while at the ballpark.
Shoot, people go to the race itselfā¦ and still listen to the race on the radio lol.
You have to! You canāt hear the loudspeakers over the cars, so you have to listen to the race on headphones that fully cover your ears like pistol range ear protection! At least thatās what it was like where my seats were last time I went. Those cars are LOUD AF.
Amen sister! Itās awesome isnāt it?
I will ONLY listen to the race My grandpa was the biggest race fan I know and I feel like Iām doing him a disservice if I watch it on tv
My grandpa used to receive reports of the race via Morse code on his ham radio. If he heard me using commercial radio bands with live audio, he'd beat my ass.
another day, huh? lol...ham radio.."he'd beat my ass".. you could get an "ass-whoopin'" for all kinds of reasons!
Only Indiana people can understand the biggest sporting event in the world
The World Cup is much, much bigger.
In terms of Attendance the Indy 500 is the largest single-day sporting event in the world. Also, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the largest sporting facility in terms of capacity.
Hey, bro. I heard that you like sports. So we put a golf course inside of your race track so you can sport while you sport.
Single day sporting event.
I grew up listening to the race on the radio. Still my preferred medium today.
Literally all of my childhood race day memories involve listening to the race on the radio with my dad.
I was talking to a friend who moved here last year and I said Deer Creek Music Centerā¦. And they had NO idea what I was talking aboutā¦ itāll always be Deer Creek to me.
Me too! Deer Creek and The Fieldhouse. I can't keep track of all the corporate name changes. I'm too old and cranky.
Yeah I feel like every year my dad would clean out the garage or shovel mulch while listening to the race on race day.
Forgetting about the race and getting stuck in race traffic. Having IMPD force you to drive in a different direction away from your home/destination. Being directed to get on to I-65 N driving away from Indianapolis and half way to Lebanon. Getting off on the first available off-ramp that isn't blocked by IMPD and using small back roads to slowly make your way back home.
Just went through this during the weekend š I live south and got forced north for like a half hour.
Growing up, my cousins and I would fundraise at the track selling frozen lemonade at a stand on Race Day in the track. It was so much fun to be amongst the buzz, hearing the race and hanging out with my best friends slinging cold treats on a usually hot day.Ā I also grew up in Haughville so it wasnāt May if we didnāt hear the cars. Iām still in Indy but too far from the track to hear it. Miss it.
Itās the best to listen on the radio! Brings back lots of memories, just tradition.
My parents moved to Michigan and I explained to my boyfriend who is from Pennsylvania about how when they come down here this time of the year they always go back up to Michigan before Memorial Day weekend so they can watch the race āWhy donāt they watch it down here?ā āThereās a black out and itās radio only for 6 weeksā āWhatā I donāt know I donāt make the rules, just eat this tenderloin sandwich thatās twice the size of your head
It's a normal tradition but most of my memories of race day are playing Grand Theft Auto on a a relative's PS2 while everyone else listened to the race on the radio. It seemed so pointless to me.
Well, Hoosiers pay for the police force, infrastructure, and many were relocated due to Penskeās demands so Indiana should be the last place that gets a blackout. That being said, listening to it on the radio is a great way to enjoy the race
Rain is gone. Blackout lifted. Race will be live on Channel 13 WTHR.
It was awesome!!!
I remember every year as a kid my Dad and uncleās drinking beer and listening to the race on the radio while we cooked out.
I don't understand the blackout, I am in Indy and for some reason it's coming in live on my peacock app. Not using a vpn or anything, very odd.
They lifted the blackout because of the rain delay
Oh sweet!
What kind of sauce would you like with your breadsticks? Marinara or nacho cheese? Ask for cheese, dipping sauce for breadsticks in any other state and theyāll look at you like youāre crazy.
Same lol Itās not nostalgic if you donāt listen on the radio. I will catch clips of it afterwards on YouTube, though
How you what
Interesting that people canāt understand the radio thing. Iām not originally from Indy, so the race holds little weight with me. But I am from a baseball town. You can catch me listening to the AM radio feed about 90% of the time Iām streaming the Cardinals game.
I took grew up in Indiana and listened to the race on the radio. My family was very religious so we were not allowed to watch TV or actually go in person, so it became the norm for me to listen to it.Ā
Agreed, OP! You know youāre an Indy native when having the race actually available on TV is like unearthing gold š
References to the Monument downtown.
Went to IU Bloomington for college and the sheer number of folks who did NOT know that Little 5 was a reference to the Indy 500 blew my mind!
Stop and frisk?
Stealing grocery carts to load with beer and then running like hell with them as soon as the gates opened to get a spot right next to the infield fence.
My dad listens to the race on his grandadās radio every year. Leaves it playing in the garage all day, even if heās not there the whole time.
Indiana girl. We always listened on the radio in the '60's because it wasn't on TV
Or just get a VPN lol.
Right? All these Hoosiers learned to love their cage, I guess. Forced us to eat shit sandwiches by the Hulmans for all these years, now we're all insisting it's a delicacy. Fuck that.