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NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. (SOUNDBITE OF THE CARS SONG, "MOVING IN STEREO")Ĭopyright © 2020 NPR. HORTON: While this year's fans will all have to watch the race from home, track officials are hoping to welcome them back in 2021.
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And that first beer will be cracked early on Aug. WENCK: But, boy, we will be on the couch. Wenck says he already has a plan for race day. HORTON: Even though they won't be back at the track, race fans, including Wenck and Holston, will still be watching. It's this huge network of a surrounding industry that you have a similar problem with. JR HILDEBRAND: It's a huge industry of people that - if we start not having races, it's not just, you know, Ind圜ar teams that are going to start having to lay people off. Hildebrand says while it's a disappointment not to have fans at the track, the Indy 500 is essential for some teams' employees. And it's just going to be weird to not see that. And it's almost like - you know, it's almost like the bleachers look like they're moving because there's so much movement and everything. SAGE KARAM: It's cool when you're coming on race day and you see all the different colors in the bleachers.
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Inside the track just outside the garages, Ind圜ar driver Sage Karam says the race will certainly feel different to them. HORTON: The garages are buzzing with teams working on the cars, getting ready for another day of practice. You know, Penske had said they wouldn't run it without fans, so obviously, someone put him in a very bad spot. HORTON: Holston still received this year's tickets in the mail but says knowing he won't be able to use them is heartbreaking.
NICK HOLSTON: You know, a typical year, we'll have 12 to 16 people stay at our house from, you know, seven or eight different states. He's attended the race for almost 50 years straight. The event is a family tradition and a big deal for him. HORTON: Like many others, longtime racing fan Nick Holston held onto the hope that he would be able to sit in the stands. Wenck's attended the Indy 500 for more than 20 years, but his wife is at high risk for COVID-19, so he decided early on they would skip this year's race.ĮD WENCK: The last thing in the world I wanted to do was sit in a petri dish like this in the time of pandemic.
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Standing outside Gate 1, Ed Wenck listens to the cars zip by at over 200 miles per hour.
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HORTON: While the gates may be closed to fans, that didn't stop some from tailgating at the speedway as drivers practice. And a lot of people - it's the one thing they look forward to every year.
HORTON: But even with these precautions, spectators were ruled out.īOLES: It was a really, really tough decision because we know how important the 500 is to our fans. Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Doug Boles says a comprehensive health plan was even developed to try to have fans attend the race.ĭOUG BOLES: So really, from the moment in March, we knew that we needed to start thinking about what could the Indianapolis 500 look like with a bunch of restrictions in order to make sure that we took care of everyone's health and safety. It was a decision race officials tried to prevent. Roger Penske, who bought the track earlier this year, was still hoping to have tens of thousands of race fans in attendance, but that hope faded in June, when race officials announced half attendance then 25% and then no one. HORTON: The race has always taken place in May, but pandemic response bumped it back to August 23. But this year's race will sound a little more like this along the 2 1/2 mile track. HORTON: The roar of hundreds of thousands of fans overtaking the sounds of the car engines in the final few laps. SAMANTHA HORTON, BYLINE: This is what the Indy 500 sounds like on a normal race day.
Samantha Horton from Indiana Public Broadcasting reports. But this year there won't be any fans in the stands to see what's been called the greatest spectacle in racing. Thirty-three teams, 500 miles and a century's worth of history - it's the Indianapolis 500.
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