Indy 500-Help please

[crazycanuck]

Hey ladies,

This is all up in the air atm & it's just a hypothetical q. I want to surprise Ian for his B-day & visit my family whilst up in the northern hemisphere.

I have no idea if anyone's ever been or if their husband/dpita has ventured to the INdy 500 but want to ask a couple of questions.

1-I've no idea where in the stands/area to sit. I've been on the Indy 500 site but am a bit clueless..

2-We'll probably fly to Vancouver and venture from there. Can anyone tell me if there are any direct flights from Van or Seattle?

3-What about nice but inexpensive places in INdianapolis. I know we have a few ladies from that area & would love your input. Anyone mind a few people camping in your backyard?

Thanks for your help

c

[Veronica]

We use to watch the Indy 500, until the split between IRL and CART. There is a lot of passing in turns 1 and 4.

V.

[LBTC]

Hey, CrazyCanuck! Is Ian a car racing in general fan, or an IRL fan? I ask because the Indy 500 is no longer the spectacle it once was, what with the split of CART into IRL and Champ cars.

DH and I went to the Vancouver Indy race (Champ cars) many many times, so do have a few ideas, though none of them revolve around Indianapolis.

If Indy is your preferred destination, the bigger show would be NASCAR's Brickyard 500. And the best seats for any race would be near the pits, to see pit action, and/or near the start finish line to see the race finish.

If open wheel racing in general is his preference, according to DH, the biggest shows are at Long Beach, CA, and Toronto, ON, both street courses. Street courses are most fun because they have so many turns in both directions, not just cars going around and around in circles. The most fun races to watch would be Cleveland and Edmonton as both are set up as street courses, but at flat airports so you can view all the action without any buildings in the way! There is a street course in Australia at Surfer's Paradise. Of course there are also some Formula One races you can consider: Montreal, Indianapolis, and you have one in Australia, too. Oh, and there are plans for a Las Vegas street race this year too. That could be interesting.

At a street race we found the seats along the straight were quite nice for the view of the pit action, but not as much exciting race action. The seats at the end of a straightaway with a sharp corner were much more entertaining - that's where the passes (and crashes) happen. We had awesome seats in Vancouver, at the end of the first straightaway - we could see the pits, just see the start finish, and witnessed some awesome passes, crashes, and after win shenanigans from there!!

Okay, so I've only derailed you a little. If you have any questions, let me know. Don't worry, though, I'm sure Ian will be thrilled with whatever you come up with!

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[mimitabby]

If you are actually going to Indianapolis for this event, give yourself A LOT of time to get there. Pad your trip with extra days in between things for sure! My DH went to the last race of the season in Homestead, Florida. It took him HOURS to go from the highway exit to the parking lot. It was so big and congested that he never wants to do it again.
These events are tremendously popular.

About flights, There are no direct flights from Vancouver, and there are none for sure from Seattle. But if you come to Seattle you're 15 minutes from my house!
The flights from Seattle to Indy are a lot cheaper than the ones from Vancouver too.

I hope that helps.

[crazycanuck]

Oh dear..LBTC..I'm not a 100% sure..I'd go to an F1 race & i'm sure the man would too. Just a guess but open wheel racing is F1???

So, what's so good about the Indy 500?? Is it worth all the travelling??? (I'm sure it would be as BM03 is nearby!!!! )
Perth is a lonnnnnng way from Indianapolis..I want to make sure our trek would be memorable for the good things!!!

I'm rather confused now & have to find out when all those races are on.

I think i'm going to go and make Google my friend..

c

[Veronica]

The Indy 500 is not an F1 race. It's May 27 this year

F1 does run at Indy. But it's called the US GP. It runs in June.

Also run at Indy is the Brickyard 400, a NASCAR race. This is in July.

V.

[SR500]

The Indy 500 is still a great time. The days of drinking in the infield are gone, but the racing is excellent and the track is first class. That said, we live about 75 miles from the track and rarely go, just not that into racing.

I would first double check what type of racing you want to see, IRL, F1, NASCAR, etc... Second, if you do come to Indiana, there are other things to see, you might want to contact the track for more specific racing related info.

NASCAR is very popular in the south, if you wanted to see another race.

Lastly I would consider a "racing tour" or even a driving school to handle the entire trip or part of it:

http://www.webtravelguide.com/racingvacations.html

There are a couple open wheel schools listed.

While more expensive, it's a big effort to travel here, so why not pay more and have a true trip of a lifetime. Many tours will handle everything from transportation, tickets, and other activities.

Good Luck

[Mr. Bloom]

Hey ladies,
3-What about nice but inexpensive places in INdianapolis. I know we have a few ladies from that area & would love your input. Anyone mind a few people camping in your backyard?
c

...inexpensive on race weekend...Good Luck

You might check out hotels in Plainfield, Avon, or Brownsburg Indiana. They're in the western suburbs. Downtown is a lot of fun, but not inexpensive.

We have a condo 45 minutes south in Bloomington that I only use during the week...you can have that if you'd like. It's not luxurious, but it's adequate. Home of Indiana University, Bloomington is unique, fun, and very cycling oriented.

[crazycanuck]

Mr Silver, thanks for that. No clue where Bloomington is but will look it up on my US map at home...

I'm going to do some research & visit a few travel agents. I just have to convince Ian...

Tanks for the info ladies & gent.

c

[Louie]

Hey ladies,

This is all up in the air atm & it's just a hypothetical q. I want to surprise Ian for his B-day & visit my family whilst up in the northern hemisphere.

I have no idea if anyone's ever been or if their husband/dpita has ventured to the INdy 500 but want to ask a couple of questions.

1-I've no idea where in the stands/area to sit. I've been on the Indy 500 site but am a bit clueless..

2-We'll probably fly to Vancouver and venture from there. Can anyone tell me if there are any direct flights from Van or Seattle?

3-What about nice but inexpensive places in INdianapolis. I know we have a few ladies from that area & would love your input. Anyone mind a few people camping in your backyard?

Thanks for your help

c

Answering questions:
1. If you want to watch the race sit in turn 4, either stand J (my favorite) or the northwest vista. If you want to experience the pagentry sit as close to the start/finish line as possible, but vewing of actual race is most limited here. Any seats high in turns provide best race vewing.

2. Not sure, but seattle is more likely, and would be cheaper.

3. Best resonably priced place I've found to stay is the Studio 6 in Fishers Indiana, about 20 miles from the track. For under $100.00 a night you get a large romm with small kitchen and sitting area. But book soon.

I have no freaking idea how I got here, but I do cycle and am an Indy 500 nut. Not a woman though.

Hope this helps.

[indysteel]

CrazyCanuck, I'm an Indianapolis native and have gone to the race many times. It can be a lot of fun, especially if the weather cooperates. However, I have to admit that I wouldn't go out too much out of my way to see it. The race just isn't what it was when I was a kid. I'll be honest, too, that the crowd the race attracts leaves a lot to be desired. I'm sorry if that offends anyone, but I feel obliged to say it. There are lots of nice people who go to the race and lots of redneck drunks. With the start time pushed back now, it just gives some people a bigger window to get wasted and stupid.

For my money, I'd go to the Formula One race in June instead. I haven't been to the race itself, but the practices are great. You can roam around and the crowd is a little better and more international. The weather is a little more predictable too. Late June in Indy can be hot, but it's usually fairly dry.

That said, I concur with the advice to sit either in turn 1 or turn 4, the higher up the better. Also, if you do decide to go to the 500, build some flexibility into your schedule. If the race gets rained out, they'll try to run it on Monday (Memorial Day in the US) instead. There are no direct flights that I'm aware of to Seattle or VC. I've flown through Denver to get to Seattle in the past.

As for places to stay, anything downtown will cost you an arm and a leg and is likely already booked anyway. I like the suggestion to stay in the western suburbs, given that the Motor Speedway is on the westside of the city. Bloomington would also be a good choice. It's about an hour south of Indianapolis and is a lovely town. You could avoid a lot of the nuttiness in Indianapolis by staying there. I don't yet know what my Memorial Day plans are this year, but I would be happy to help you out in any way that I could. I have a spare room, and air mattress and a backyard suitable for camping. As I sais, I live in Indy (about five miles from the track), and I lived in Bloomington for eight years.

Kate