Speedway, Indiana – Speedway’s Main Street Monday was a sharp departure from the previous few days. Thousands of spectators and their money descended on the area surrounding the Indianapolis Motor Speedway throughout the race weekend.
”It was definitely one of the bigger crowds that we’ve had here in quite a while,” said Angie Averitt, a worker at The Famous Soda and Candy Company.
The store, which sells retro candies, soda, and race memorabilia, even had weekend hours.
”There were a couple of times where you couldn’t even meander through this area here there were so many people in it,” Averitt said.
She claimed that because clients would not stop pouring in, they remained open hours after they were scheduled to close.
“Just look around, we have holes to fill,” Averitt said pointing at the store shelves. “We’re spreading out merchandise to fill holes to make it look full.”
Vendors also enjoyed strong sales.
A member of the Speedway Month of May Pop Up Shop was the artist Alex Wakefield. He claimed it was a huge success.
”We were supposed to close at 9 but we stayed open till 11 or 11:30, because there were so many people hanging out and still coming in and checking things out and buying stuff,” Wakefield said.
Phil and Nancy Mills, longtime Indianapolis 500 supporters and city residents, were at Speedway on Monday for the fourth straight day.
”It was just an awesome experience, one of the best ever,” said Phil, talking about the 107th running of the greatest spectacle in racing.
Since 1958, Phil has attended the Indianapolis 500 every year with the exception of two years while he was in the military.
They observed that the 107th Indy 500 had one of the greatest crowds in recent memory.
”We’re on the top row, so we can look down at the stands, and normally there is a lot of empty space, but yesterday I didn’t see any,” Nancy said.
According to IMS officials, Sunday’s race attracted the second-largest attendance in more than twenty years.
Although the exact number has not been released, it is likely more than the 325,000 spectators who attended the event in 2022. The 100th iteration in 2016 was the biggest in the previous 20 years, drawing 350,000 fans to a sold-out event.
”It kind of makes you tear up if you’ve been coming as long as I have,” Phil said. “Just to see the crowd, it’s amazing.”
The countdown to the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 has now started. There are only 363 days left till May 26, 2024.
