Indianapolis 500

One of the most exciting car races will be taking place in the next few weeks: The Indianapolis 500. It is held annually around Memorial Day weekend. 2015 will mark the 99th year that the race has been run. Around 300,000 spectators are expected to be in attendance with millions more people around the world watching it on TV.

About The Race
The racetrack is 2.5 miles long. Drivers race around the oval circuit 200 times which makes for 500 miles in overall distance in an Indy car. Each car consists of a single seat and open cockpit. Since 2012 drivers have been allowed to use 2.2 liter, v6 turbocharged engines, which makes for an exciting race. In general there are 33 racecars, but with the sometimes massive wrecks that occur not everyone makes it to the finish line. This year both the Hondas and Chevrolets will be debuting new aero kits that were set for 2012, but have been delayed the last 3 years.

What’s At Stake
This is considered to be the most prestigious race in the IndyCar circuit. Besides the prestige in knowing you won the Indianapolis 500, there is the money. Drivers split a purse that is over $13 million dollars with the winning driver getting $2.5 million dollars.

Favorites To Win
Of all the drivers, there are several that are considered to be favorites to win. Ed Carpenter won the poles in 2013 and 2014 is trying to be the first driver in history to win 3 consecutive poles as well as win the race. Helio Castroneves has won Indy three times and is going for the record of winning it for the fourth time. Ryan Hunter-Reay will be defending his title as the winner from last year.

Schedule
Even though the actual race won’t run until May 24th, there will be a lot of events throughout the month of May. Activities at the track will start on May 3rd with an open test scheduled. Practice will start on May 11th. Time trials are currently scheduled on May 16th and 17th. The actual race will air on ABC on May 24th with coverage beginning at noon.

If you can’t make it to the race this year, consider going in 2016. It will be the 100th running of the race so the track activities will most likely be extensive. We do have a 4-day, 3-night event package available that includes seating and hotel for $1,595 if you would like to attend the race next year.

The post Indianapolis 500 appeared first on Atlas.