The rain delayed it 108th run Later Indianapolis 500 less than an hour later when the crowd seeking shelter near Pagoda Square erupted in cheers: We have race. No, not a car; They’re still comfortably tucked away in their Gasoline Alley garage The rain continued to pour down. No – the fan are racing.
I have absolutely no idea how it happened, but I think it makes it all better – which means motorsport fans can’t avoid making the most of the situation. in case it rains and bring some entertainment of your own. When I looked over the railing outside the rooftop of Honda Pagoda, they had gathered in large numbers. Someone took off their green jacket to use as a green flag. Two men – one wearing a checkered flag suit and another wearing a suit with the Speedway’s iconic brick-yard pattern – are both organizers and start/finishers . Further down the fan aisle is a sign informing fans of the areas of the track they can access. That’s the sign of a hairpin; Racers must go around the sign and run back to the starting point. A winner has been declared and the whole thing starts over again with another group of eager participants.
It starts slow, then it starts to grow. Spectators gathered in such large numbers that the boundaries of the temporary track became increasingly narrowed. Some people took on the role of marshals themselves, chasing unsuspecting people off the track. Soon, instead of three or four foot racers, they sent up to 10 kids at a time to see who was fastest. The adults gathered to watch cheered for the competitors as if they were brave IndyCar drivers about to take on the 500-mile oval. Camera crews quickly arrived to capture the action, while gathered spectators advised them on the best location to capture the event.
The Indianapolis 500 itself is a uniquely welcoming event; many people at the track aren’t big IndyCar fans, so there’s no competition in trying to prove who enjoys the sport more, no strange gatekeeping. Everyone is glad that you are there too, participating in this annual piece of history with them. For many, myself included, the rain delay wasn’t a bummer because it was something we had never experienced on the track before – that made it special. Foot race organizers and competitors saw an opportunity to make that moment even better.
As I cheered on the foot racers, I couldn’t help but remember the last time I tackled a race in the rain. In 2015, practice and qualifying for Formula 1’s United States Grand Prix rained on as the last remnants of a storm system swept across Circuit of the Americas. Fans were advised to skip going to the track that day, but my group of friends decided we didn’t want to miss out on such a ridiculous experience. We slid through the mud and braved the freezing rain to reach the main grandstand overlooking the pit lane – the only covered grandstand on the track and where the race organizers wanted us to take shelter.
Few people were present that day, but those of us got an F1 experience that few others have. We can challenge the drivers and teams on pit road because no action on the track drowns out our voices. Drivers show off their dance moves or play soccer. The crew members gathered the boats and attempted to race them down pit road. Those in the stands bonded over their strangest motorsport experiences. Then, when qualifying was finally officially abandoned after a half-hour delay, track organizers rewarded those dedicated spectators by opening the pit lane for us. Countless fans who never imagined meeting their favorite driver have been able to take selfies with Lewis Hamilton or get an autograph from Sebastian Vettel.
I didn’t see a trace of racing on the track that October day in 2015, yet that qualifying session in the rain remains one of my favorite motorsport memories. Fans bonded over the shared suffering of being soaked to the bone, then turned that suffering into memories that no other USGP-at-COTA attendee could create .
In a few years, the same story will happen with the 2024 Indianapolis 500. Remember the time the Indy 500 was rained out for four hours and we passed the time cheering on a bunch of kids trying to outdo each other in a foot race? I definitely will – and it’s a memory I’ll cherish forever.
