If you are a fan of auto racing, when you think of May, you think of the Indy 500! There are so many events at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that lead up to the "Greatest Spectacle In Racing," that people almost need to take June off to recover!
This year's Indy 500 will run on Sunday, May 30th, and it will still be slightly different than in year's past- for instance, there will be safety measures in place and there will only be 40% of venue capacity permitted. But when I say "40% of venue capacity," that's still about 135,000 people that will be allowed in the stands, which will be awesome considering that there were no fans in attendance last year. And everyone in person and watching on TV will be treated to a great race for sure. The Indy 500 is always full of thrills and excitement.
But before the green flag even flies this year, there are going to be some "don't miss" moments for sure! For starters, it was just announced that Country Music Star Jimmie Allen will sing the National Anthem just before the 33 drivers are called to their cars. Once drivers are in their cars and the cars are fired up and ready to go, Danica Patrick will drive the pace car. Danica raced in eight Indy 500s from 2005-2011 and again in 2018. She holds several Indy 500 records, including the best starting spot for a female driver (fourth in 2005), the first female driver to ever lead laps in the Indy 500, the female driver with the most laps led (29), and the best finishing spot by a driver, which was third in 2009.
May 30th can't get here soon enough. I'm ready to hear Jimmie, watch Danica, sing along with "Back Home Again In Indiana," and see who will take home the Borg-Warner trophy for the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500. Of course, that driver will then gulp a bottle of milk- which I think is the GROSSEST tradition in all of sports! Seriously...you just ran 500 miles at well over 200 miles per hour, and you're drinking...MILK? Yuck!!! But I'll watch anyway. Drivers, start your engines!