The Brickyard

A Morning in Speedway, IN

To immediately answer the CHALLENGE, the pictured bricks are the famous finish line for races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Contrary to popular opinion, the Indianapolis 500 is NOT located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Rather, the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” is located in the small suburb of Speedway, Indiana, just a bit northwest of Indianapolis.

Now, I am not a car racing fan. However, being a fan of car racing is not required to enjoy a tour of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I like to visit famous venues and do their tours. There are few more iconic venues than the Indy Brickyard . Putting aside the argument as to whether racing is a “sport,” the Indy 500 is the single most attended annual sporting event in our nation. So, as my 9th grade English teacher and I were in the neighborhood, we decided to spend the extra dollar (which is very rare for either of us) and do the V.I.P. tour at the Brickyard.

Shocker…It’s a Big Place

The first thing that strikes you when you enter this venue is that the Motorway is a very large and diverse place. As an example of the magnitude of the place, the folks at the track do not even know the seating capacity of the venue. Our guide never gave us an exact number. He usually said something like…”the seating capacity is a bit north of 257,000, then when you add in the infield, the total capacity is about 400,000.

As for diverse, this place is not just a large 2.5 mile track for a 500 mile, left turn competition. Inside the oval, there are lots of other things you may not expect…

• an Indy 500 museum
• a separate Formula 1 track
• another separate dirt track…for whatever series that is
• 4 holes of golf…the other 14 are just outside of the track

A Bit on the Museum

While you are waiting for your tour to start, you get to hang out in the museum. It was pretty much like you would expect…lots of old race cars, history of winners, etc. While all the race car stuff is not my thing, there were a couple highlights worth sharing…

I have always wondered if I could fit in one of those Indy cars. As I found out, the answer is yes. However, that is not the issue. The issue is getting OUT. Gravity helps you to get in. But, on the way out, the leverage is bad…gravity is bad…it was touch and go as to whether I was going to have to beg for aid. I got out on my own, just barely. So, if you are large and decide to try this…you have been warned. The other thing in the museum that struck me was the Indy 500 Trophy…

The winner of the race gets the much celebrated Borg Warner Trophy. It’s like the Stanley Cup in stature with all the winners’ names engraved into the trophy. But, beyond that, they also have their faces protruding out the side. Frankly, this really creeped me out. It’s like all those old horror movies where scary faces started pressing out from the walls. Obviously, it’s a huge honor to get your face on this trophy. But, it’s a creepy trophy… just saying.

Fast Forward V.I.P. Tour

As I mentioned, we spent the extra buck to get the V.I.P. tour…and it did not disappoint. In attendance was my 9th grade English teacher, the tour guide, me…that’s it. We went everywhere in the venue using a high end golf cart. If you saw anything that he did not cover, he drove over to it and explained it to you. Naturally, the tour started with a 2.5 mile drive around the track at the maximum speed of a well equipped golf cart.

Once you did you lap, then you then hit all the expected highlights. One of the most iconic elements of the Motorway is the Pagoda. The Pagoda is at the brickyard finish line and contains most of the track control center that tracks and monitors the race. The Motorway is also called the “Brickyard” because the track was originally all brick. However, the surface is now some high tech pavement. The only remaining bricks are the actual finish line.

After 500 miles, if you cross the bricks first, you are the winner of the Indianapolis 500. As the winner, tradition dictates that you do two things…drink the milk and kiss the bricks.

The drinking/dumping of milk has been a tradition since the 1936 winner slammed some buttermilk after his victory, Every driver that enters the race must declare their milk of choice…e.g. fat free, 2%, whole milk. Unfortunately, chocolate milk is not an option.

Secondly, the winner also honors the Brickyard by kissing the finish line. However, any lame tourist that pays their money can also kiss the bricks. Let’s hope the sun bakes away the cornucopia of germs from the thousands of preceding lips.

The Aftermath

Naturally, after a victory, there are other more formal duties that a winner must perform. The most important of these is the ascending the podium and doing the press conference. As we paid good money for the V.I.P. tour, we were allowed to embarrass ourselves by playing in these hallowed areas.

Wrap It Up

Bottom line, if you are a non-race fan, this is a fun tour. If you are a fan of the Indy 500, the tour of the Brickyard is Bucket List worthy. I have been on more than my share of famous venue tours around the USA. The V.I.P. tour of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was the best one to date. But, please remember, it’s located in Speedway, Indiana…not that other town. Have a wonderful day. PT

I hope you have enjoyed reading about “The Brickyard” on Traveling with PugsleyTonks.

Here’s a past post that has nothing to do with today’s post https://travelingwithpt.com/the-billy-goat-is-dining-excellence/

If you want to journey to Speedway, IN, for the tour… https://imsmuseum.org/