The 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500

One of my favorite things about living in Indianapolis is all of the hype that surrounds the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing," the Indy 500. If you had told me ten years ago that I would fall in love with a car race, I never would have believed you, but it's the truth. May in Indianapolis is simply magical and this year was no exception.

On Friday of race weekend, Wheat and I ventured downtown for the Carb Night Burger Bash, which was sponsored by Steak 'n Shake. For a couple hours, we sat on Pan Am Plaza, ate burgers, fries, and milkshakes, and watched as various drivers (including Tony Kanaan, Scott Dixon, Sage Karam, Josef Newgarden, Pippa Mann, JR Hildebrand, Graham Rahal, and others) were interviewed. Over the years, it has been fun to get to know the drivers on the IndyCar circuit, thanks to events like these.

Unfortunately, while my favorite driver (Tony Kanaan) was being interviewed, it started to storm and the event came to an abrupt end. Trent Harmon, the final winner of American Idol, was supposed to close the night with a free concert, but due to the weather, the show was canceled. However, thanks to my scary impeccable stalking skills, we learned that he was doing an acoustic show at a Steak 'n Shake nearby. After a little begging on my part, we stopped by for a few songs and I can confirm that listening to live music while eating at Steak 'n Shake is just as awesome as it sounds. I even got to meet Trent afterward and tell him that his version of "Chandelier" kills me.

The next morning, we walked over to the 500 Festival Parade to watch the drivers, marching bands, floats, and celebrities cruise by. If you're ever in the area on race weekend, I highly recommend checking out the parade because it's free (though you can pay for actual seats with an unobstructed view) and gives you a great taste of the race action. Plus, if you're an oversized child or celebrity stalker like me, you'll love seeing all the floats and celebrities.

This year, the parade featured Holocaust survivor Eva Kor as Grand Marshal and also included US gymnast Madison Kocian, WWE wrestler and manager Ric Flair, Pacers shooting guard and 2017 Dunk Contest champion Glenn Robinson III, and iCarly actor Nathan Kress. Most importantly, however, Jeffrey Dean Morgan took part in the festivities, which was my personal highlight of the entire weekend. As he rolled by with his son and girlfriend Hilarie Burton (umm..am I the only one that didn't know he was in a relationship with Peyton from One Tree Hill?!), I shrieked, "NEGAN!!!!," which elicited the exact reaction from him that I wanted: a gorgeous smile and a bonus thumbs up. I melted on the spot.

Ed Carpenter, Tony Kanaan, Pippa Mann (the only female driver in the field)

Hours after the parade, my brother and Elizabeth showed up so that we would be ready to go early in the morning. In previous years, we have always paid to take a shuttle from downtown to the speedway, but this year, they got rid of the downtown depots. This forced us to buy a parking pass and drive ourselves to the race. This was a mistake. We literally sat in traffic for three hours before arriving at the parking lot, despite leaving at 5:00 AM and only living four miles away. I'm not sure what we'll do next time, but it certainly won't be this.

Once we finally arrived at the speedway, things went much smoother. We staked out our usual spot on the viewing mounds at Turn 4 and enjoyed the pre-race festivities, interviews on the red carpet, and vibrant atmosphere. We wandered around the track for a while then found our seats before the race began. Elizabeth was thrilled to learn that Jake Gyllenhaal was on-hand to wave the green flag and I was happy to hear Chicago Blackhawks national anthem singer Jim Cornelison sing "Back Home Again in Indiana."

The race itself wasn't lacking for storylines. F1 champion Fernando Alonso, who decided to miss the Monaco Grand Prix to participate in the 500, kept the crowd on the edge of their seat as he contended for most of the race before blowing his engine. We witnessed the worst crash I've ever seen in person as pole sitter Scott Dixon's car was launched into the air, smashed into the barricade, and rolled a couple times. Miraculously, he wasn't seriously injured. Only 19 of 33 drivers were able to finish the race and the winner happened to be Wheat's favorite driver, Takuma Sato. Somehow, he was able to hold off a strong surge by three-time winner Helio Castroneves in the closing minutes, becoming the first Asian driver to win the Indy 500. Wheat's reaction really says it all.

We battled another three hours of traffic to get home, but as always, I can absolutely say it was worth the effort and the slight sunburn. It was especially awesome to have my brother and Elizabeth there for their first 500 and the thunderstorm that everyone was expecting never came. Further proof that there's something magic about Indianapolis in May.

If you're interested, here are my other race recaps:

99th Running

100th Running