Let’s talk about ‘the track.’ To the natives, it is in reference to the world famous Indianapolis 500. It is considered ‘the greatest spectacle in racing.’ If you haven’t gone, you should at least once. It’s a great experience and for me to have in my own backyard (so to speak) is awesome!

The track was built in 1909 and was simply dirt and gravel. The first race was on what was a test track for some automobile makers but quickly became a popular site to watch how far they could push machines in 1911 when the first official race commenced.

Back in the early days of dirt and gravel, it was made plainly obvious after a few fatal accidents that something had to be done to the track. The owner, Carl G. Fisher, also took notice that he could make money off the event and with the money he made, he updated the track with 3.2 million bricks giving it one its nicknames: The Brickyard.

Obviously bricks are still not idea for high speed races but it served its purpose for years as the Indy 500 continued to grow in popularity. Eventually the cars grew and evolved to the model that we are familiar with today: The Indy Car.

This video was taken by me when I took some German colleagues/friends to the race for the first time. Notice how Andre is quick to start filming after the accident happens 😛 Thankfully no one was hurt.

If I had to choose between Nascar and Indy Car racing, I would choose the latter. Part of it has to do with its tie to my home but the other has to do with the fact that the races are so much more exciting to me. Nascar speeds cannot reach the high velocity of an Indy Car and I am a big fan of the mantra ‘go big or go home.’ Of course I am preferring the high speeds, I am moving to Germany where part of their highways don’t even have speed limits 😀

Regardless, if you’re in Indianapolis and there is an event at the track: go see it. The energy of that place when it’s full of people is very electrifying and will be an experience you won’t easily forget.