Last year, my husband and I joined our friends Larry and Cathy at the Indianapolis 500. Larry and Cathy have been going for many years and Jim and I have always thought it would be fun. Listening to Larry and Cathy talk about it just cemented our belief that this was something that we HAD to do! And it didn’t disappoint!

Drivers getting in their cars.

I am so very grateful we went for the first time with experienced Indy 500 attendees. You simply can’t prepare yourself for the number of people who are there. I have never seen so many people in one place at one time. We parked in someone’s lawn and walked probably a mile to the race track. The whole walk there was wall to wall people. Now, this might sound ridiculous — parking so far away and walking — but it is a stroke of genius because the gridlock from the traffic is simply unreal. Seriously, such a smart move to park far away and walk! So wear comfortable shoes!

Before the race.

I was blown away by the sheer size of the race track. I mean, you can’t even see to the other side of the track! And when you look down the grandstand, it simply boggles the mind how many people are there. The place is massive! But the really cool thing about being there with so many people is the buzz in the air. You can literally feel the excitement all around you.

My husband and I (with an appearance by Larry is the background) on the track at Indy.

I was even more astounded when Larry said we could actually go out onto the race track itself. There is something so cool about standing where these cars are going to be racing, and again, looking all around you and up at the grandstand trying to wrap your brain around the size and number of people continues to be mesmerizing.

Once the race started, the boggling of my brain continued. I was in awe of the speed of the cars. Last summer, after the Indy 500, my husband and I went to a NASCAR race and I was chuckling to myself over how slow those cars looked compared to the Indy cars! I was also unprepared for how LOUD they were! I was extremely grateful for the tip Larry and Cathy gave us about earplugs. I seriously don’t know how anyone could watch that entire race without them.

Pitting.

The whole day at the Indy 500 was such a fun, memorable experience. Jim and I are really looking forward to joining Larry and Cathy again this year and hopefully for many more to come!