Fans celebrate Carb Day at IMS prior to Indy 500
INDIANAPOLIS — Tens of thousands of fans are celebrating Carb Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It’s a day that race fans look forward to all year long.
The action at the track started Friday morning with the final practice for the Indy 500. Then from the track to the sky, fans had a chance to see a Thunderbirds practice demonstration and the Red Bull Air Force.
Then it was on to the One Start to Stop Indy 500 Pit Stop Challenge, a tradition at the track that’s been going on since the late 1970s. This year’s winner is the No. 2 crew with Josef Newgarden. The team set a new Pit Stop Challenge record at 10.792 seconds.
The day ended with the Miller Lite Carb Day Concert. It was an action-packed day and the fun will continue through the weekend.
The fans said Carb Day is unlike anything else, with some saying it needs to be a national holiday and others saying it’s even better than Christmas morning.
“It’s Carb Day,” said Marquis, a race fan from Indianapolis. “It is the party before the party if you will. You got to be here for Carb Day. It’s a tradition.”
“It’s so cool to see everyone get so excited about this,” said Josh Ailes, a race fan from Goshen, Indiana. “It’s such a great tradition.”
“Carb Day is actually my favorite thing of the weekend,” said Kyle with the ‘Dudes from Canada,’ a group of race fans from all over Canada. “I visited the United States sometimes as a kid growing up but until this, I didn’t really get it. It’s special. It’s fun. Everyone is having a good time. We meet a lot of people. It’s super fun.”
“Carb day is my favorite holiday of the year,” said Darla Homan, a race fan from Plainfield. “It’s a holiday. It’s fantastic. It’s fun. There are rituals. There are traditions and you have to keep them going.”
“I love the whole town coming out together,” said Mitch Peck, another race fan. “It’s just a big part and a lot of fun.”
Gates open at 8 a.m. on Saturday for Legends Day and 6 a.m. on Sunday for the Indy 500.
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