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🏎️ This is a little racy

10 fast facts about the Indianapolis 500

A golf cart driving past the pits at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Pit stops play a critical role in determining the Indy 500 winner — an ideal pit stop takes about seven seconds. | Photo by @nirusinghr

Ladies and gentlemen, we’re officially just days away from the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500.

To start your engines + get you fueled up for the big day, we’re sharing 10 fast facts that make this the greatest spectacle in racing.

The tradition of the winner chugging milk after the race started in 1933 when driver Louis Meyer requested it. His mother always used to tell him that there’s nothing better to drink on a hot day — so he was just taking mom’s advice.
Four drivers have won the Indianapolis 500 four times — A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, Rick Mears, and Helio Castroneves.
Nine women have competed in the race — Janet Guthrie, Lyn St. James, Sarah Fisher, Danica Patrick, Milka Duno, Ana Beatriz, Simona de Silvestro, Pippa Mann, and Katherine Legge.
Willy T. Ribbs qualified for the 76th Indianapolis 500 on May 19th, 1991 becoming the first Black driver to ever participate in the prestigious motor race sport.
The distance of one lap around the oval is 2.5 miles — and just as the name implies, the full race is 500 miles.
The fastest lap ever turned during the month of May at the track was 237.498 mph by Arie Luyendyk during qualifying on May 12, 1996.
Only five drivers have ever won back-to-back events, and no one has been able to do it three times in a row.
The tradition of kissing the bricks was started by NASCAR champion Dale Jarrett after his Brickyard 400 victory in 1996.
The youngest winner of the Indianapolis 500 was 22-year-old Troy Ruttman when he won the 36th running on May 30, 1952.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway spans 253 acres + includes a golf course. Churchill Downs, Yankees Stadium, the Rose Bowl, the Roman Colosseum, and Vatican City can all fit inside the property.

Events

Friday, May 26

The American Legion 500 Festival Memorial Service | Friday, May 26 | 3:30 p.m. | Indiana War Memorial and Museum, 55 E. Michigan St., Indianapolis | Free | Honor our servicemen and women with a posting of colors by the color guard + performances by the Capital City Chorus and the Indiana National Guard’s 38th Infantry Division Band.
Rockin’ on Main | Friday, May 26 | 5-11 p.m. | Main Street, Speedway | Free | Inflatables, face painting, race-themed art, live music, and a party garden are just some of the features of this Indy 500 celebration.

Saturday, May 27

Metazoa 500 Market | Saturday, May 27-Sunday, May 28 | 12-6 p.m. | Metazoa Brewing Co. Bottle Facility, 202 Miley Ave., Indianapolis | Cost of purchase | This market will highlight 60+ local and regional vendors who specialize in vintage goods, handmade artisan crafts, art, and so much more.
Indy Eleven vs. Louisville City FC | Saturday, May 27 | 7 p.m. | Carroll Stadium, 1001 W. New York St., Indianapolis | $15-$75 | It’s Indy Eleven’s annual “Indy 500 Eve” match, which gives the first 500 fans a mini-checkered flag and an opportunity to shop Racing Indy merch.

Sunday, May 28

Indianapolis 500 | Sunday, May 28 | 6 a.m.-12:45 p.m. | Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 4790 W. 16th St., Indianapolis | $46-$65 | Come “Back Home Again” for the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.

Monday, May 29

Food Truck Mondays | Monday, May 29-Monday, June 19 | 11 a.m.-2 p.m. | Canal Elbow, 801 W. Washington St., Indianapolis | Cost of purchase | Every Monday in May at White River State Park there will be two new food trucks — one sweet and one savory.

Events calendar here

Click here to have your event featured.

Wellness

👀 Trivia time: Dirty Dozen or Clean Fifteen?

Athletic-Greens-Fruits-Vegetables-Dirty-Dozen-Clean-Fifteen.gif

Can you guess what’s “clean” vs. “dirty?” | Photos via Athletic Greens and public use

Spring + summer = fresh produce seasons — so you need to know which fruits and veggies are pesticide heavy (vs. more on the clean side).

Kale: Dirty Dozen or Clean Fifteen? Find out.
Papaya: Dirty Dozen or Clean Fifteen? Find out.
Tomatoes: Dirty Dozen or Clean Fifteen? Find out.

Know exactly what you’re putting into your body by incorporating AG1 into your diet (bonus: there’s a special offer available now).*

Get the full Dirty Dozen vs. Clean Fifteen list

News Notes

Traffic

Speedway police are reminding people of the street and parking restrictions for race weekend. No parking will be allowed on the south + east sides of any street in the area by 25th Street to the north, Georgetown Road to the east, Lynhurst Drive to the west, and Crawfordsville Road to the south. Violators will face a $50 fine. (WTHR)

Development

A rest stop off I-70 in Vigo County will be reconstructed as part of a $53.5 million project. The Clear Creek Welcome Center about a mile west of the Illinois-Indiana border will have design elements + interactive exhibits celebrating the Indy 500 — plus a playground, adult recreation area, walking path, and dog park. (WISH)

Coming Soon

Crunch Fitness is getting ready to open a $5 million, 40,000-sqft facility at the former JCPenney at 8772 Michigan Rd. It will offer classes, cardio equipment + free weights, babysitting, hydromassages, a HIITZone, boxing, UV tanning, and a sauna. Founding members who sign up now pay $1 down and get one month free.

Closing

PNC Bank is closing one of its two downtown branch locations on Friday, Aug. 18. It decided to close the location on the ground floor of the historic Barrister Building (155 E. Market St.) after studying the effectiveness of its branches. The 101 W. Washington St. location will remain open. (IBJ)

Biz

Columbus-based Cummins announced plans to buy two Faurencia commercial vehicle manufacturing plants — one in Columbus and the other in the Netherlands. Faurencia has been a Cummins partner and supplier for more than a decade + this move will total $142 million euros. (WISH)

Ranked

The Indy airport is being recognized for boasting the least angry passengers in the US. According to Forbes Advisor, only 42% of the tweets directed at IND were angry — the lowest percentage in the survey. This shouldn’t be surprising since IND was ranked No. 1 in the country for customer satisfaction in 2022. (WTHR)

Shop

Memorial Day is your last chance to buy plants as part of the Indy Urban Acres Plant Sale. From 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Monday, May 29, when you shop any tomato, pepper, herb, fruit, or veggie, you can grab another one for free. All native plants will be $5 each.

Travel

How does Going work? Sign up for free, follow up to five airports, and get notified when flights are 40-90% off. Bonus: You can browse deals immediately after signing up (like a ~$575 round trip to Fiji).*

Development

📦 Thinking outside the box

Shipping container rentals coming soon

Street view of shipping container development project

It’s hard to miss this development project when driving down College Avenue near Fall Creek Parkway N. Drive. | Photo by INDYtoday team

If you’ve taken College Avenue across the bridge over Fall Creek, you may have noticed a development on the corner of College + Sutherland. It’s kind of hard to miss.

There’s a cluster of shipping containers stacked on top of each other with construction in progress. It stopped us in our tracks, so we had to find out more.

The development project is owned by Indy Urban Jungles — which also owns one of Indianapolis’ first shipping container homes that we told you about on social media back in December 2021.

We reached out to them to give us the inside scoop on their project + they told us this development is made up of three “sustainable, luxury, and nature-centric rental homes.”

The project is utilizing 21 used shipping containers — seven for each home.

When the rental homes are complete, they will feature a greenhouse and rooftop patio + each home will have its own interior theme.

There’s no word on when the expected open date will be, but we’ll keep you updated when we know more.

Shoutout

Your voice is valuable, and so are the special moments in your life. | Graphic by 6AM City

Shoutouts allow us to celebrate job promotions, anniversaries, and exciting experiences right here in Indianapolis.

Become a INDYtoday member today to reserve your shoutout and celebrate with tens of thousands of locals.

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The Wrap

Today’s edition by:
Nicole Hernandez

From the editor

This Indy Urban Jungles development reminded me of the Tiny Urban Escapes project that I covered back in January 2022. Tiny Urban Escapes is a boutique hotel made out of shipping containers that’s been planned for the Haughville neighborhood on the west side. I haven’t heard any updates on that, but they were supposed to be booking for this summer. Maybe I need to dig deeper into this development next.

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