Every year on Memorial Day weekend "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" happens. This year's Indy 500 is going to have one of the largest crowds, if not the largest crowd ever, seen for the event. Getting to be apart of the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 by being apart of the College Ambassador program makes this year's race just that much more special for me. There are so many traditions involved with the race during the day of the race or during the weeks leading up to the race.
1. Balloons
Every year on race day, thousands of colored balloons are released into the sky. These balloons have been a part of the Indy 500 for years. The first release was in 1947. They are released from a big tent in the infield during the song "Back Home Again in Indiana." The release of the balloons has been timed to happen on the last notes of "Back Home Again in Indiana."
2. "Back Home Again in Indiana"
"Back Home Again in Indiana" is a long time tradition at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Indy 500 race day. This tradition began in 1946. The Purdue University Marching Band plays the music of the song and the selected singer for that year will sing the song. It is sung right before the driver's start their engines. The most famous person to have sung the song is Jim Nabors. He recently retired from singing the song and now someone new is selected every year.
3. "Bump" Day
Bump day is the second day of qualifying. It is always the Sunday before the Indy 500. This is the day where cars get bumped out of the race. It usually involves two or three cars getting bumped from the race. This, however, is different. There are only 33 cars entered and that is how many cars will compete in the race.
4. Florence Henderson
Florence Henderson as most people know her is the mom from "The Brady Bunch". She sings "God Bless America" on race day every year. There's been a handful of year's that she has missed the race.
5. Mari Hulman George
Mari Hulman George is a descendant of the people that own the track. She is the person that says "Drivers, start your engines." These are the most famous words in motorsports. A member of the Hulman family has always said these words before the race.
6. Yellow Shirts
Yellow shirts are the people wearing the yellow shirts working the gates and grandstands. These ladies and gentlemen are a long-standing tradition at IMS. They help guests with any problems they have and help guests find their seats if need be. There is also a group of yellow shirts that work over in the garage and pit areas that have whistles and hand motions to help direct the flow of traffic with the racing teams. If you get a chance, go watch these yellow shirts. It really is a lot of fun to watch them, because you also get to see the cars and drivers walk by.
7. 33 Cars
One of the longest standing traditions at the Indianapolis 500 is the running of the three cars. This is the largest field that IndyCar has. Most races average about 22 cars qualifying, but the Indy 500 has 33 cars that qualify. When coming to the green flag, the cars group up in 11 rows of three.
8. "Carb Day"
Carb day is the Friday before the race. Carb day has a lot of different activities. These activities include the IndyLights Freedom 100, IndyLights is the minor leagues of IndyCar. Another famous Carb day tradition is the pit stop challenge. Every year there is a concert and this year's concert headliner is Journey.
9. "Fast Friday"
Fast Friday is the Friday before qualifying. This day helps teams gather last-minute information they might need for qualifying. Leading the field on fast Friday this year was Will Power at 232 miles per hour. Fast Friday is one of the tracks busier days.
10. The Pagoda
The Pagoda is one of the most, if not the only, recognizable feature at the track. The Pagoda can be seen from at least a mile away. People come in droves to get a picture with the Pagoda in the background. For this year's Indy 500, Indianapolis put the famous "Indy" sign outside of the Pagoda so that people could pictures at the Pagoda with it.
11. The Milk Jug
The milk jug at the end of the race is an interesting tradition. This tradition began in 1936. A driver drank milk to refresh himself after a race and he drank some in Victory Lane. Since then it has become a long-standing tradition. Hello Castroneves began the tradition of dumping some of it on themselves after the race. This tradition began in 2001. Not all drivers will dump the milk, but some will. It just depends on the driver.
12. Kissing the Bricks
After a driver wins any race at IMS, they will usually kiss the bricks. Kissing the bricks is done by anyone who walks across the start finish line as well. Just go behind the Pagoda and you will see the yard of bricks and you are bound to find someone kissing them.