The Indianapolis 500 is the biggest racing event of the year, a 200-lap battle of stamina, endurance and strategy that provides more than 200,000 spectators a huge dose of race action and history. The 500 has long been known as “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing”, a phrase coined by Indianapolis radio station employee Alice Greene in 1955, which could be why every driver wants to win it.
More than a century ago, an Indianapolis businessman by the name of Carl G. Fisher accompanied several friends to France, where he witnessed a superior style of auto racing. The sport was still in its infancy, though Fisher knew the United States lacked vehicle craftsmanship and spectator viewership and, immediately upon returning home, he began to design a state of the art track. Fisher, and a number of business partners, purchased 328 acres about five miles outside of Indianapolis for $72,000 and in March of 1909, construction began on the three-mile oval, complete with a two-mile road course. It was soon downsized to a two and a half mile oval, with accompanying grandstands.
In early June of 1909, two months before the oval’s competition, Indianapolis Motor Speedway held its first event, a helium gas-filled balloon competition that drew approximately 40,000 spectators. Months later, the first auto race was met with moderate success, but after potholes cut it short, Fisher spent $155,000 repaving the track with 10-pound bricks – 3.2 million, to be precise. Even before the new surface was completed, the locals already deemed the new venue the “Brickyard.” Two years later, the first 500-mile race was held in front of about 80,000 onlookers, with a purse of $25,000, and thus the Indianapolis 500 was officially born – and it quickly became the biggest event in auto racing. Each year, the race gained more notoriety and with it came traditions unlike any other.
