Behind the Scenes at the Indianapolis 500: VIP Access with Racing Legends
The Indy 500 race is the largest single-day sporting event in the entire world and this past weekend, I had the opportunity to watch it up-close and in person. So if I had this great opportunity, why am I currently watching Lap 160 on a television monitor while I’m writing this article instead of from a stadium suite overlooking the straightaway?
Each year, I choose a few key objectives I want to achieve. I sit down with a notebook, reflect on the previous year and ask myself — “what would you like to do more of this year?” One of my biggest objectives of 2024 prioritizing experiences over material possessions. So I got an opportunity to be a guest of the lead sponsor, Good Ranchers, for the number three driver, Scott McLaughlin, I could not turn it down.
The Indianapolis 500
Drivers Scott Dixon and Scott McLaughlin speaking to the press on Friday before the 108th running of the Indy 500.
The Indy 500 race is the largest single day sporting event in the world when it comes to attendance. This creates the perfect opportunity to create a spectacle and for merchants, the best time to get your brand seen by hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of eyes.
Now, the race takes place on a Sunday but the days leading up to the event are jam-packed with so many activities that many people will attend without even watching the race — myself included, even if it was unintentional. Here what my race weekend looked like:
Day 1 - Carb Day
The first day of Indy weekend is ironically (for Good Ranchers) known as Carb Day. The name Carb Day originates from the early days of the Indy 500 when racers would tune their carburetors. It’s a deprecated process but the race teams still utilize this day for practice runs and tuning. Thanks to the team at Good Ranchers, we snagged a few pit passes a behind-the-scenes look into what it looks like when the teams prepare for race day.
We were able view the pit teams tuning the vehicles, walked along the iconic “Yard of Bricks”, a remnant of when the days when the race track was paved in bricks, and even headed back to the garages where the teams were working on and assembling the vehicles in preparation for race day. Even though it was just the first day, the crowds were massive. This was quite noticeable during the product activation when customers swarmed the Good Ranchers inflatable barn to get a taste of the ribeye being cooked up by Chef Beau MacMillan, being assisted by his sous chef, servers and my buddy Rasheed Philips.
Chef Beau MacMillian cooking Good Ranchers ribeye steaks at Indy 500 Good Ranchers activation tent.
After the crowd died down and the rain began to move in, we got a special visit from Good Ranchers-sponsored driver, Scott McLaughlin. He hung around, shook hands and took pictures with each person under the barn before hopping on his scooter and gliding away into the night.
After the meet-and-greet with Scott, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner at Indianapolis’ premiere steakhouse, Prime 47. We had been looking forward to this restaurant since we stepped off the plane and would have to wait even longer when our reservations were pushed back due the race weekend crowd. It would not be long before we figured out why.
Not only were many of the drivers being hosted for a private dinner but we realized the Boston Celtics were at the restaurant when we saw their star player, Jason Tatum, ascended the stairs to a private room. The Indy 500 wasn’t the only show in town — the next evening the hometown Pacers were to face off against the visiting Celtics for game four of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. And before our entree arrived, another legend sauntered across the dining room — motorsports legend Mario Andretti. Of course, we had to ask to meet him, a request he graciously obliged.
Oh and the food was spectacular, something I rarely get to say about many fine dining experiences I have had over the last couple of years.
Day 2 - Legends Day
Me on the Indianapolis Speedway during Legends Day.
The second day of the weekend, better known as Legends Day, was reserved for honoring IndyCar legends of the present and past. This was a little more of a laid back day where we hung out in the Team Penske/Good Ranchers suite and recovered from our hectic first day. However, we did make our way back down to the garage area where Team Penske held a breakfast accompanied by meeting with their three drivers — Scott McLaughlin, Will Power and Josef Newgarden.
Each driver answered a few questions about their preparation and approach for race day. Scott McLaughlin shortly spoke about his record-breaking qualifying speed the previous weekend which gained him the number one position for the start of the race.
After the meeting ended, we headed back to the suite to hang out with the Good Ranchers crew, including their brand partners and ambassadors Chris Smith and Mada. This was a shorter day at the track which gave us an opportunity to catch country music start Riley Green’s concert across from our hotel at Everwise Amphitheater before turning in for an early race-day start.
Day 3 - Race Day
The Indy 500 pace car driven by former professional baseball player Ken Griffey Jr.
For us, Race Day started at 5:30 in the morning as we boarded a yellow school bus which shuttled us to the track. It was an interesting choice for a group of large adults but a necessary one due to the lack of accommodations available on race day. Indy 500 race day is by far the busiest day of the weekend. So busy that the Indiana State Patrol shuts down many of the roads surrounding the race track and Uber will not pick you up directly from the stadium. The crowds were absolutely massive.
Before the race got started, we had one last opportunity to head back to the garages to view the crews making last minute preparations. And the icing on the cake would be our walk onto the Indianapolis Speedway track where cars would soon be racing. The event organizers really know what it takes to get everyone’s engines going.
By the time the morning was almost over, I was absolutely ecstatic in anticipation of finally seeing the cars zip around the track at speeds in excess of two hundred miles per hour. The race, set to start at 12:45 PM, would take about two hours — just enough time for us to see the conclusion and make it to the airport for our flight back to Atlanta. However, Mother Nature had her own plans for our race day.
When we first arrived that morning, there was an ominous overcast and gusty winds — symptoms of a looming storm system. While we had tried to stay optimistic, it wasn’t long before the race announcers began to warn all spectators to move inside due to lightening in the area. Not what you want to hear when you have nearly one hundred people packed into a suite but safety first.
Not long afterwards, the lightening started and the rain began pouring down. We waited for over an hour for the rain to clear but it would be at least another hour before the track could be dried to ensure the race could go on. We tried to remain optimistic but eventually had to leave to make our outbound flight, one of the few which had not been canceled.
As we rode to a location outside of the stadium where we could catch an Uber, we started to hear the National Anthem play, followed by the Air Force Thunderbirds flying over the stadium. It was race time but I would have to catch it from the on flight entertainment center as we traveled to Atlanta.
Is it how I would have preferred it? Absolutely not.
But the totality of the Indy 500 weekend was an out-of-this-world experience — so I guess I’m fulfilling my 2024 objectives.
Special Thanks
This amazing experience would not have been possible without the awesome team over at Good Ranchers and Team Penske. Thank you for having us out in style! And to my friend, Rasheed Philips — thank you for helping me continue to have unique experiences!
