Will it be a 3-peat for Melanzana at this year's Little 500? What you need to know

BLOOMINGTON — Kerry Hellmuth walked into Bill Armstrong Stadium last year for the Little 500 and felt the same emotions as she did as a rider 35 years earlier.

Hellmuth was part of the team that won the first Little 500 women's race back in 1988.

"It brings joy," Hellmuth said.

The 36th running of the women's Little 500 and the 73rd running of the men's Little 500 are this weekend at Bill Armstrong Stadium.

Last year, Hellmuth and her teammates were on hand as grand marshals for both the men's and women's races. It was the first time in two decades she attended the event, but the memories of her time competing remain as vivid as ever.

After winning the race in 1988, Hellmuth competed in the event three more times and joined a rider's council that helped organize the event as an upperclassman. Hellmuth wrote a book about the experience the, "Willkie Sprint", published in April by Indiana University Press.

"It's what I did in college, it became my thing," Hellmuth told The Herald-Times. "It shaped my college years."

Little 500 race director Emily Carrico had a similar experience. She was named race director in January 2023 after having competed in the race as a student from 2016-19. Her role overseeing the event gave her a newfound appreciation for all that goes on beyond the scenes leading up to race day.

"The entire city of Bloomington pitches in to make this weekend happen," Carrico said.

Both spoke with the same reverence for the event that has become part of the fabric of Indiana University. Here's what you need to know about this year's race:

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When and where are the Little 500 races?

The Little 500 will take place this weekend at Bill Armstrong Stadium, 1606 N. Fee Lane, which is also the home of the Hoosier soccer teams.

Four-person teams race around the quarter-mile track. The women’s race is 100 laps (25 miles) and the men’s race is 200 laps (50 miles). The winning team for each race earns recognition on a miniature version of the Borg-Warner Trophy awarded at the Indianapolis 500.

The women's race will be at 4 p.m. on Friday while the men's race is Saturday at 2 p.m.

How to attend the Little 500

Advance tickets for adults are $40, tickets for children ages 3-12 are $15 while kids 2-and-under are free. Student advance tickets are $35. One ticket is good for both the men’s and women’s races.

Parking for the race is free at Gate 12 (Green lot).

Little 500 making video boards a permanent fixture

The Little 500 ran a pilot program last year by installing a temporary video board for the race. It was such a well-received change that there’s a plan in place to replace the scoreboard at Bill Armstrong Stadium with a permanent video board.

That won’t be ready until the 2025 race, but this year there will be two temporary video boards installed.

“I think last year piqued everyone’s interest, and made everyone go, we should really make a permanent one,” Carrico said. “It will be installed over the summer. It will be worth the wait."

The video board will air the broadcast feed of the race to ensure fans don’t miss a thing.

"Our stadium is so large, there might be something that happens on the other side of the track, now you will have a view of it,” Carrico said. “We have cameras at least five different places. There's a whole production, and our broadcast team does a fantastic job and goes all-out."

Carrico said the boards also help the teams, who can now look up and see what’s happening elsewhere on the rack.

Little 500 riders getting fresh threads

The Little 500 is partnering with Giordana Cycling this year for the race's custom jerseys after previously partnering with Canari Cycling.

“They no longer do custom jerseys, and we are really unique since we have 37 different jersey designs,” Carrico siad.

Giordana reworked some of the designs and “modernized” the look of the new jerseys for this year’s race.

As in past years, there are handful of jerseys with a special meaning — yellow jerseys go to the returning champion in a nod to the Tour de France, green jerseys go to the team with the top qualification time, white jerseys to the team that won the spring series and IU jerseys to the teams with the most student donors.

Can Melanzana make history?

Melanzana will be looking for the first-ever three-peat on the women’s side this year. It won for the first time as a program in 2022 with former Bloomington North track and cross country star Grace Williams leading the way.

Fellow Bloomington North grad Nora Abdelkader, who helped Melanzana repeat as a freshman, will race this year alongside Maggie McGuire, Evelyn Morris and Brenner Hanna.

Twice as nice: Melanzana repeats as Women's Little 500 champ

They will face stiff competition from a Kappa Alpha Theta team featuring Audrey La Valle. Both her older brothers competed on the Phi Kappa Psi’s Little 500 team and she was captain of Kappa Alpha Theta that finished in eighth place last year and won the Little 500 spring series.

Delta Gamma and Teter are also teams to watch in this year’s field with a full roster of veterans. Teter finished second last year and led for much of the race. They will wear green on Friday having finished with the top qualifying time.

On the men’s side, Cutters will be looking for a repeat. They previously won back-to-back races in 2018-2019 and won five titles in a row from 2007-11. They graduated a pair of riders from last year’s championship team, but are bringing back sophomore Judah Thompson, who is one of the fastest racers in the field.

The Sigma Phi Epsilon team that finished third last year after leading the race for a 100 laps will be one to watch. The veteran-led squad won the spring series and have the top qualifying time for this year’s race.

Who made the field for this year’s Little 500?

Here’s a look at the full field for this weekend:

MEN’S QUALIFIERS: 1. Sigma Phi Epsilon 2:26.934; 2. Sigma Alpha Epsilon 2:27.256; 3. Black Key Bulls 2:28.050; 4. Lambda Chi Alpha 2:29.452; 5. Chi Alpha 2:32.866; 6. Cutters 2:33.091; 7. Pi Kappa Alpha 2:33.279; 8. Phi Gamma Delta 2:33.438; 9. Macro Cycling 2:34.259; 10. Sigma Nu 2:35.097; 11. Alpha Sigma Phi 2:35.433; 12. Delta Tau Delta 2:36.125; 13. Cinzano 2:36.626; 14. Theta Chi 2:37.219; 15. Phi Delta Theta 2:37.245; 16. Phi Kappa Psi 2:37.287; 17. Gray Goat 2:37.360; 18. 3PH Cycling 2:37.406; 19. Human Wheels 2:38.049; 20. Forest Cycling 2:38.360; 21. Delta Sigma Pi 2:39.301; 22. Phi Sigma Kappa 2:39.413; 23. Novus 2:40.565; 24. Godspeed 2:40.746; 25. Alpha Kappa Lambda 2:41.294; 26. Mezcla 2:41.621; 27. CSF Cycling 2:42.695; 28. Americana 2:42.810; 29. Bears 2:43.173; 30. Ghost Cycling 2:44.241; 31. Sigma Chi 2:47.334; 32. IUDM 2:47.832; 33. Army Cycling 2:47.582

WOMEN’S QUALIFIERS: 1. Teter 2:47.142; 2. Alpha Chi Omega 2:49.606; 3. Novus 2:52.535; 4. Delta Gamma 2:53.568; 5. Kappa Alpha Theta 2:53.681; 6. Alpha Fasta Bika 2:56.424; 7. Kappa Delta 2:57.029; 8. Cru Cycling 2:57.145; 9. SKI 2:58.013; 10. Zeta Tau Alpha 2:59.329; 11. CSF Cycling 3:00.588; 12. Melanzana 3:00.652; 13. Alpha Omicron Pi 3:01.611; 14. Phi Mu 3:01.813; 15. Delta Zeta 3:02.090; 16. RideOn Cycling 3:02.786; 17. Alpha Gamma Delta 3:03.149; 18. Gamma Phi Beta 3:03.489; 19. Sigma Kappa 3:03.609; 20. Alpha Delta Pi 3:06.105; 21. Descent 3:06.472; 22. CHAARG 3:11.096; 23. Bison Cycling 3:14.086; 24. Godspeed 3:14.465 25. Theta Phi Alpha 3:16.163; 26. Alpha Xi Delta 3:17.845; 27. Chi Omega 3:18.975; 28. Pi Beta Phi 3:19.140; 29. Kappa Kappa Gamma 3:19.538; 30. Sigma Delta Tau 3:25.379; 31. Delta Phi Epsilon 3:25.873; 32. Phi Gamma Nu 3:26.489; 33. Alpha Epsilon Phi 3:29.193

Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Everything to know about Indiana University's 2024 Little 500 races