This year was my 6th Indy 500, and I wanted to experience as much of the day as possible. I arrived with my two friends around 6:30am. The energy of race day is already present even this early, and a steady amount of fans begin to trickle in the early light of dawn. Since race day requires more employees than any other day in May, some of the track workers are having their briefings for the first time,

We dropped some of our belongings at our seats in the North Vista, right at the exit of turn 3. I had a minor goal of getting to the museum to pick up an IMS Pride hat. IMS/Indycar have increased their outreach to the LGBTQ community over the last 5 years, an effort which is greatly appreciated by us. After sometime in the museum gift shop, I wanted to take my friends over to turn 1. For those not in the know, a pedestrian pathway is open from turn 1 stands to the infield is open to facilitate the speed of fans getting around the speedway before pre-race festivities require it to be closed. I highly recommend this as part of any race day schedule. Getting to walk the track surface on race day is a treat. If you’re an annual attendee, you may even run into some old friends!

Around 8:30am we made our way to the Pagoda to grab some breakfast. The breakfast burrito was pretty good, and I waited for a fan group meet up I had planned on attending. During my wait I saw Alanis King and Elizabeth Blackstock make their way through the area around this time. The two fantastic automotive and motorsport journalists, and very fashionable for race day. (Note to self: Wear a nice sundress one of these years). I met up with my racing friends afterwards and I got a minute to talk with Marshall Pruett, who I guess had heard about my stint in the hospital earlier that month.

We perused the midway before heading back to our seats to get ready for pre-race celebrations. Hearing “Back Home Again in Indiana” always makes me cry: Indianapolis and the Speedway do feel like home to me. While the temperature has cooled somewhat, May was in the midst of raging culture war over trans rights, and our right to exist. Many republican controlled states, Indiana being one of them, are working towards banning our healthcare and our right to exist in public. When I got to the Speedway this May, I didn’t know if I would be coming back in 2024 and I still don’t know. I do know that at almost every Indycar event there will be people I can trust and be safe with, so perhaps I’ll figure something out no matter the risk.

The race was great as usual. Fantastic race craft on display, and the speed never gets old. A late caution, turned into a red flag, setting up a 1-lap shootout between Marcus Ericsson and Josef Newgarden. As a fan of both drivers, it was a difficult choice to cheer for one over the other. Marcus getting back to back wins would have been magical, but Josef is undeniably talented and he would not be denied again. As someone who’s been following him from his 3rd year in Indycar, Josef has become an absolute star. His celebration with the fans at the finish line will be remembered for a long time.