Did the 2019 Indy 500 live up to the hype?

Serious Motorsport Fans have a bucket list of races they absolutely have to see. Having done Le Mans a few times as well as the Daytona 24 Hours, I managed to tick off another last weekend.

The Indianapolis 500 mile race.

Though Graham Hill’s triple crown being equalled was quashed following Fernando Alonso’s exit in qualifying, it’s time to concentrate on the big one. And it is big.

There’s a certain arrogance about calling yourself the ‘racing capital of the world’, but if any track can claim it then surely it’s the Brickyard. The [pushes glasses up nose] first race here was back in 1911, and 2019 marked the 103rd running. The scale of this place is breath-taking.

At Le Mans, you only ever really see the true size of the track from the air but here, as soon as you scale the grandstands, it’s astonishing. We couldn’t resist having a quick look round on the day before. In the rain.

On the morning of the race we were up early, but clearly not early enough. Getting there was going to take a while in bad traffic. Our taxi driver got us close, and then we had to ditch and walk the last two miles.

Walking up to the Speedway, we passed by campsites that had a very similar feel to the ones I’ve stayed at in Le Mans. There’s more scale to everything though. Bigger RVs and more meat, mostly. Rain was forecast but at the time it was looking ok…

The Indy’s pre-race pomp and ceremony is unrivalled in motorsport. Hours and hours of parading, singing and epic flypasts. In the Snakepit on the infield, the biker gangs of old have been replaced with a dance festival/spring-break vibe. The race seems a million miles away. In fact it’s only 30 feet.

There’s much whooping for the armed forces on Memorial Day weekend. The passion in the States is something you have to admire.

The rain had been threatening all week, so it was a relief to hear those famous words “Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines”. Actual Matt Damon and Actual Christian Bale - Batman, ladies and gentlemen - waved the flag right in front of us to start the race.

The first few laps were incredible. The sights and sounds of 33 cars blasting past at 250mph is something you have to see for yourself. As the race got into a groove, the first car to stop was one of the few I drew in the sweepstake. Could be a long afternoon if I get unlucky.

The first round of pit stops came at about 30 laps in, and the cars were tripping over themselves right in front of us. Wheels and pit crew flying everywhere. Carnage.

The cars had digital number readouts on the air boxes that switched to a timer at the pit stop to show how long it took. That’s pretty cool.

Another yellow flag, and it’s the man who pipped Alonso with a massive understeer moment. He almost held it but slammed into the wall. Chaos in the pits again, with a car getting it all wrong and clouting wheels, injuring a pit crew guy right in front of us. There’s definitely no lack of action being sat right in front of the pits. Another one of my cars is out.

Matt Damon and Christian Bale were still up on the start gantry enjoying the view. Underneath the platform we spotted a birds nest and what must be the deafest chicks in the world. Or maybe I’m seeing things. It got to *that* stage in the day…

Alexander Rossi and pole man Simon Pagenaud battled it out swapping places several times. Rossi took the lead, then Pagenaud tucked back under him with one lap to go to win the Indy 500, the crowd roaring their approval. But in more important news, I’ve won the 500 sweepstake! But now I also have to buy pizza for everyone later.

After the weird, traditional dousing of milk, the winner then got paraded around, while struggling to find the words to describe what he’d just done.

Then it’s the kissing of the bricks on the finishing line and the crowd starts to drift away in search of transport back to town. We join them. It’s been a long day.

As we wandered through the tailgate parties in search of the electric scooter parks to get back to town, I asked myself whether the Indy 500 had lived up to the hype.

Well, the show is definitely spectacular, but so is the racing. The start and the last 10 laps were incredible to watch in person. This is *real* racing with no nonsense fuel saving or DRS going on. I loved it. Next one to tick off the bucket list? The Monaco GP that Lewis won over the weekend too. I imagine it’ll cost around the same to do properly. I’d better start saving now...