May 2013 American Way Magazine - page 37

SPORTS
whereracecarsareassembled,ridethrough
town inmodified“street legal”Indycarsor
visit the interactivemuseumwithdriving
simulatorsandphysics-is-funexhibits.The
buildingalsohousesthefirstAmerican loca-
tionof theItalianchainLino’sCoee, apol-
ishedcaféthatservesgourmetespressoand
delisandwicheswithfresh-slicedprosciutto.
Other restaurants dot the samewalkable
street, includingDawson’sonMain, a solid
little steak-and-seafood spotwith a lively
bar andgenerous cocktails. Just down the
block, oneof theSpeedway’s old standbys,
Charlie Brown’s Pancake& SteakHouse,
is anold-school dinerwhere sweet young
serversdeliverbigAmericanbreakfastsand
hand-dippedshakes.(Homemadeapplepie?
Yes,please!)Andyouneverknowwhomight
stopby. “Last year, I got a call from [three-
time500winner] JohnnyRutherford,who
saidhewas atCharlieBrown’swith [four-
timechamp]A.J.Foyt,”Davidsonsays.
Additionally, it’sworthnoting that after
a long-standinghear-no-evil-see-no-evilat-
titude,IMSnowembracesitshard-partying
roots—andhas, likeanygoodcorporation,
commodified them. The Speedway books
nationalmusicacts for infieldconcerts the
Fridaybefore the race, which is known as
CarbDay(aholdoverfromtheerawhencars
still had carburetors). Loadingupa cooler
beforehearingbands likeTheB-52sorKid
RockhasbecomeanIndytradition.Manage-
menthasevenembracedtheoldserpentine
monikerwithanew“SnakePit”partyearly
on racemorning (last year it featuredelec-
tronica legendBennyBenassi).Nowadays,
theinfieldpartysceneisallbrats,beerbongs
andFrisbees—morespringbreakthanbiker
rally.“Intheolddays,peoplejustwenttothe
SnakePit todrink,” says IMS chief operat-
ingoœcerDougBoles. “Therewereno real
‘activities.’Wethought, ‘Let’sbringbackthe
legacyoftheSnakePit,withconcertsandac-
tivities, buteliminatesomeofwhatused to
takeplacethere.’Ithasbeenahugesuccess.”
Inotherwords, while thecherishedold
500 traditions remainunspoiled— thecall
to“startyourengines,”themilk-soakedwin-
ner’scircle, thekissingofbricks— thespirit
of“Race?Whatrace?”isaliveandwelltoo.
EVANWEST isanexecutiveeditorat IndianapolisMonthly
magazine.Hisworkhasbeennoted in TheBestAmerican
SportsWriting and has appeared in Fast Company, NFL
Magazine, Atlanta and WabashMagazine. He edits the
MayMadnessblogon IndianapolisMonthly.com, covering
all things Indy500.
theMini, a jog toandon the track, isbilled
asthe largesthalfmarathon inthecountry).
The townofSpeedway, Ind.—aplanned
communitybuilt by theoriginal IMSown-
ers— is becoming a viable destination in
its own right, with amassiveMainStreet
makeoverwellunderway.Lastyear,Dallara
Automobili,theItaliancompanythatbuilds
thechassisforIndycars,openedasleeknew
facilitythere.Fanscantourthefactoryfloor
IfYouGo
The97thRunningof the Indianapolis500
May26, 12:15p.m.
$30 to$150
4790W. 16thSt.
(317) 492-8500
www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com
IndianapolisMotorSpeedway
HallofFameMuseum
4790W. 16thSt.
(317) 492-6784
www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com
BrickyardCrossinggolfcourse
$60 to$100
4400W. 16thSt.
(317) 492-6417
www.brickyardcrossing.com
IPL500FestivalParade
May25, 12p.m.
Reserved seats are$14.50 to$32
Downtown Indianapolis
(317) 927-3378
www.500festival.com/parade
OneAmerica500FestivalMini-Marathon
May4, 7:30a.m.
$75 (if available)
Downtown Indianapolis
(317) 927-3378
www.500festival.com/mini-marathon
Dallara IndyCarFactory
Admission, $10; tours, $5; rides, $30
1201MainSt.
(317) 243-7171
www.indycarfactory.com
Lino’sCoffee
1201MainSt.
(317) 222-5238
Dawson’sonMain
1464MainSt.
(317) 247-7000
www.dawsonsonmain.com
CharlieBrown’sPancake&SteakHouse
1038MainSt.
(317) 243-2502
AA.COM/AMERICANWAY MAY 01, 2013 39
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