Although the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was built in 1909, the famed oval will host the 100th edition of the Indianapolis 500; still billed today as The Greatest Spectacle in Racing. Let's go down memory lane.
Why hold a 500 miles race - Why not 400 or 600 ? In 1911, Speedway partners envisioned an event that would appeal to the public by lasting approximately seven hours between mid-morning and late afternoon. So, in order to achieve that, and, taking into account the speeds reached by the cars back then, 500 Miles would do the trick ! From where come that tradition of the winner of the Indianapolis 500 drinking milk in Victory Lane? Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Louis Meyer used to drink buttermilk to refresh himself on a hot day and happened to drink some in Victory Lane after winning the 1936 race. An executive with the Milk Foundation was so elated when he saw the moment captured in a photograph that he vowed to make sure it would be repeated in coming years. The tradition was broken in 1993 when Emerson Fittipaldi drank a celebratory bottle of orange juice instead of milk. Fittipaldi owned several orange groves in his native Brazil, and wanted to promote the citrus industry. He was widely criticized and ridiculed for the action. Fans were so shocked that even when he returned to drive the pace car for the 2008 Indianapolis 500, he was again booed and heckled by some fans during the Public Drivers' Meeting.
The Indianapolis 500 is part of the Triple Crown of Racing. What is it? The Triple Crown of Motorsport is an unofficial motorsport achievement, often regarded as winning three of the most prestigious races in the world in one's career . Those three races are Formula One's Monaco Grand Prix, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Indianapolis 500. To this day, the late Graham Hill is the only driver to have completed the Triple Crown. What is Gasoline Alley ? This is a nickname for the garage in which the racing cars are housed at event time. It originally referred only to the one corner where the fuel depot was located, but over a period of years, it came to be applied to the entire complex. Recent Articles
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