Month of May - 33 Greatest Indy 500 Traditions

In this year’s “Month of May” series, on each day leading up to the Indianapolis 500 on May 26, a different topic about the race or about Indianapolis will be discussed. Each of these topics will be ranked to create special “fields of 33” regarding the Indy 500. I hope you enjoy, and I hope you learn something about Indianapolis and the Indy 500, the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

We all have great times at the 500 and can enjoy every minute of it while we’re there. But what about after we get home? How can we remember the great time we had in Speedway, Indiana? We all know photos aren’t enough – we need tangible objects. Well, today we look at the Field of 33 Must-Have Souvenirs from the Indianapolis 500.

Row 11

33. Peanuts believe it or not have been considered bad luck at Indianapolis since the 1940s. There has been a superstition against eating peanuts at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway because, according to legend, a crashed car was found to have peanut shells in the cockpit. Today, though, peanuts are sold again at the Brickyard. Don’t say I didn’t warn you though! Eat peanuts, and your driver in the pool might be your driver in the wall.

32. The Winner’s Quilt has been hand-crafted for each winner since 1976 (coincidentally, the same year my family first went to the Indy 500) by Jeanetta Holder. The quilt is given to the winner the morning after the 500 at the traditional winner’s photo shoot.

31. The Fly By,  or “flyover planes” as our youngest race fan likes to call them, have officially been a part of the Indy 500 pre-race ceremonies each year since 1991. Whether you think the Stealth Bomber is the greatest thing in the world or “just another Air Force plane” it’s breath-taking each year to see whatever aircraft zooms by the Speedway! …just no more Harrier Jets please?

Row 10

30. Andretti Misfortune is as traditional and common as any of the other 33 traditions in this field. With all of the Andretti starts between Mario, Michael, and Marco, it’s a miracle the Andretti name hasn’t been in Victory Lane more often. Mario and Michael have had car trouble down the stretch countless times, and Marco was passed on the final straightaway in the second-closest finish in 500 history. At least Mario has one win and Michael has two as an owner.

29. Taps is played before each race. It doesn’t seem like much of a “tradition” but it’s a somber reminder of what the weekend is truly about: Memorial Day. We remember those who can’t be at this glorious event with us because of their sacrifice.  

28. Twin Checkereds are waived as the winner crosses the finish line each year. No other race on the series receives the twin checkered flags like you do at Indy, and every racer would gladly give up 100 “single checkereds” for one chance at the “twin checkereds.”

Row 9

27. The three Parade Laps prior to the field going green are a sight. 33 cars all in their rows of three getting ready to go by at over 220 mph. Enjoy!

26. The Trek to the Track is unique for each individual, but traditional for everyone! Every group has a certain path that they take to get to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway each year. For some, it’s a simple walk out the back door and onto the grounds. For others, it’s catching five different flights while staying in three different hotels and finding an opening in the Coke Lot. Others use the yards and driveways of those within walking distance of the track to park, while others drive to the infield and party all day and night in the Snake Pit. 400,000 fans all have their own path, but it is that trek each year that is always a tradition on Memorial Day weekend.

25. The Pagoda may seem a bit out of place in Indianapolis, but it has been a part of the Speedway since 1913. The current Pagoda was constructed from 1998-2000, but the original wooden-style center for race control and timing & scoring personnel since the onset of the race!

Row 8

24. Purdue University Marching Band and the World’s Biggest Drum travel to Speedway each year for the Indy 500. They play along with Jim Nabors and (sadly they don’t drown out) Florence Henderson in their pre-race performances. They also have performed the National Anthem 13 times between 1967 and 1981.

23. The Borg-Warner Trophy is awarded to the winner of the Indianapolis 500 each year. The trophy has been in use since 1936 and bears a sculpture of each winner’s face on it. To be etched on the Borg-Warner Trophy is to be etched in immortality.

22. Kissing the Bricks originally started as a NASCAR tradition when the Brickyard 400 came in 1994. However, it made the jump to IndyCar in 2003 when Gil de Ferran exclaimed “I love milk” and then went to make out with the bricks at the start/finish line. Since then, every winner of the Indy 500 has proudly locked lips with the famous bricks of Indianapolis.

Row 7

21. Fast Friday is the last day of practice before qualifying begins on Saturday. All teams are in mock-qualifying mode on Fast Friday, and top speeds for the month usually come on this day. It’s all about speed and consistency to get on the pole and it all starts with the Friday practice.

20. The Snake Pit sure isn’t what it used to be. Originally in turn one, the rowdy party people of the Snake Pit drank heavily in a Woodstock-like setting. Flashing, streaking, burning automobiles…all were commonplace in the Snake Pit during the race. The craziness has died down over the years due to the increased security and arrests for public intoxication. In 2010, the Snake Pit reopened in turn 3 as a party atmosphere with live entertainment but in a much more controlled environment. The legend lives on, and it was pretty insane when I checked out the Snake Pit last year. But from what I am told, it is NOTHING compared to what it used to be…

19. Carb Day is the last day of practice before the Indy 500, and other than race day it is the day most jam-packed with events. A one-hour practice session, the Indy Lights Freedom 100, the pit stop competition, and then the Carb Day concert (this year headlined by Poison) is all on the itinerary for the Friday before race day. The name was originally given as “Carburetion Day” as teams would fine-tune their carburetors one last time before the race. The name stuck even though carburetors haven’t been used since the early 1960s. The name was shortened to Carb Day in 2000.

Row 6 – The Tom Carnegie Row

18. “Andretti’s Slowing!” – Tom Carnegie’s iconic voice booms over the PA system year in and year out. On race day, his most memorable and iconic words of “Andretti’s slowing on the backstretch” after another Andretti heartbreak still ring in the ears of those at the race.

17. “It’s a newwwww traaaaaaaaack recorddddddd!”  Qualifying is always exciting, especially in the 80s and 90s when the track record seemed to be broken every year. The best was during Arie Luyendyk’s 1996 qualifying campaign where he broke the track record on the first lap of qualifying. He then broke it again on lap 2, and again on lap 3, and on lap 4!  With each lap, Carnegie belted out the words everybody loved hearing!

16. “Heeeeeee’s on it!” When the driver took the green flag to begin his qualifying, Carnegie’s catch-phrase is recorded and still played on the PA system during pole day even though his last race came back in the mid-2000s. 

Row 5

15. The 500 Festival Parade is held on Saturday morning, the day before the race. All 33 drivers participate in the parade. All of Indianapolis bursts out into a big festival on Memorial Day weekend, all centered around the race and the parade.

14. Beer is the second preferred beverage at the track to the winner’s sip of milk. Nearly all of the 400,000 fans in attendance will consume, and 32 drivers likely will consume to drown their sorrows post-race as well! How is this tradition only in the fifth row?

13. Gasoline Alley, the garage area of the Brickyard, is busy the entire month of May. Drivers, cars, team owners, and mechanics are constantly buzzing about the garage area day and night at Indianapolis. Take a stroll over during race day and see how close you can get!

Row 4

12. Military laps became a common place after 9/11 and a tradition soon after. Before the race begins, nearly 100 pick-up trucks take a lap around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The passengers are not celebrities, not racers, not VIPs who spent top dollar for their seats. They are active servicemen and -women who are cheered on by the fans just as loudly as the 33 racers will be an hour later. It’s an important reminder on Memorial Day weekend that this race is important and special, but that there are other more important things to remember.

11. Balloons are released during the singing of Back Home Again in Indiana. Whether it’s a symbol of ascension or a symbol of one balloon for each Hoosier returning to the track, the thousands of colorful balloons rising into the atmosphere gives a smile to the face of all who attend the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.   

10. The Window over Terra Haute is ALWAYS there! Terra Haute, Indiana, is 70 miles west of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Whenever it begins to rain at the Speedway, people are bummed. Rain means no racing. Mainly as a source of hope, race fans will exclaim that “there’s a window over Terra Haute!” meaning that the clear weather (the window) is making its way towards the Speedway! I wish I could find the picture, but checking Indy weather last year before the race, and the radar had false echoes on it…in the shape of a circle…around Terra Haute. The window is open!

Row 3

9. A full Month of Preparation for the Indy 500 is something that just doesn’t exist for any other sporting event in the world. The season stops and teams have three to four weeks to prepare just for this one race. There are seven days of practice, plus extra practice time on pole and bump days, and of course the race itself. There is track activity for those participating in the 500 on 13 of the first 26 days in May this year (and remember there was a race in Brazil on the 5th). The race means so much that the entire schedule is shut down so teams can prepare.

8. “Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines!” is iconic to Indianapolis due to the fact that the 500 had the first ever woman (Janet Guthrie, 1977) in an auto race, and continues as the only series with a consistent woman driver in the field each year. Mari Hulman George says those most famous words in motorsports each year.

7. Rows of three during the parade lap and the start of the race are seen NOWHERE else in motorsports. Announcers go crazy when cars go three wide during a race, but the 500 has eleven rows of three to START the race. Beat that. The image of those rows of three going down to take the green flag…in a word, breathtaking. 

Row 2

6. Bump Day is unique to the Indianapolis 500. Only 33 cars can make the field, yet many more attempt to qualify for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. Bump Day comes on Sunday, exactly one week before race day. Once 33 cars qualify, the bumping begins. The slowest car in the field is “on the bubble” and if a car qualifies with a faster time then that car is in the field and the slower car is “bumped” from the field.  Sometimes the world’s best drivers are not fast enough to qualify for the 500.  

5. Four-Lap Qualifying  is another tradition that is completely unique to Indianapolis. All other races and racing series do qualifications based on the fastest SINGLE lap. Not at Indy. For the 500, you need to have the fastest FOUR LAP AVERAGE to get on the pole. A car has to be quick and smooth for a ten mile stint, not a one mile sprint.  

4. Back Home Again in Indiana might be just as important to Hoosiers as the race itself. Hearing Gomer Pyle (Jim Nabors) belt out those notes is all it takes to remind current Indiana residents and Hoosiers who have had to travel away just what it means to be “Back Home Again.” 

Row 1

3. Memorial Day weekend is what the race is truly about. Many years it is forgotten, but with Armed Forces Day earlier in the month, the military parade laps, the invocation and playing of taps, and military fly by before the race even begins, everybody is reminded of the sacrifices made to make this race a possibility. Here’s hoping the military man in my family can make it back to the race again soon!

2. The Field of 33 is standard to every Indianapolis 500 (minus ’79 and ’97 where there were two additional starters) since the 1934. The tradition began in 1912 when the American Automobile Association mandated a formula to determine the number of cars that could run on a track. The safe distance between each car should be 500 feet. Thus, the 2.5 mile oval of Indianapolis could, according to the AAA, run a maximum of 33 cars. The tradition has stuck ever since.

1. Milk. Who would’ve thought that a dairy product is the biggest tradition of an automobile race. Well, ever since Louis Meyer drank buttermilk on a hot day after his record third Indy 500 victory in 1936, a tradition was born. Every year since (except for a period from 1947-55 when milk apparently was not offered to the winner), the victor of the Indianapolis 500 has been greeted in Victory Lane with a bottle of ice cold milk!

The Field of 33 – Indy 500 Traditions

Row 1	1. Milk	2. The Field of 33	3. Memorial Day
Row 2	4. “Back Home Again in Indiana”	5. Four-Lap Qualifying	6. Bump Day
Row 3	7. Rows of Three	8. “Ladies and Gentlemen…”	9. Month of Preparation
Row 4	10. Window Over Terra Haute	11. Balloons	12. Pre-Race Military Laps
Row 5	13. Gasoline Alley	14. Beer	15. 500 Festival Parade
Row 6	16. “Heeeeeee’s on it!”	17. “It’s a newwww traaaackk recorddddd!”	18. “Andretti’s slowing!”
Row 7	19. Carb Day	20. The Snake Pit	21. Fast Friday
Row 8	22. Kissing the Bricks	23. Borg-Warner Trophy	24. Purdue University Marching Band
Row 9	25. The Pagoda	26. Trek to the Track	27. Parade Laps
Row 10	28. Twin Checkereds	29. Taps	30. Andretti Misfortune
Row 11	31. Fly By	32. Winner’s Quilt	33. Peanuts