Indianapolis, Indiana – For motorsport fans worldwide, it was a weekend to remember.
More than 300,000 spectators came to the track on a very special day for the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500.
“We came from Brazil to support Tony Kanaan and Helio Castroneves,” Mauricio Comti from Brazil said.
“All of the people. The racing. It’s awesome and a great place to be,” Ryan Hoffar, a race fan from Indianapolis, said.
“It’s really awesome to see these racers up close and personal on tv and in real life,” Natalie Skehan, a race fan from California, said.
Fans like Matt Cohen say they anticipate this day all year long.
“I mean, who doesn’t love just gas-guzzling like 230 mph, let’s go,” Cohen said.
And when the race was down to the last 20 laps, things started to get a little frantic.
“We were on the edge of our seats,” Jeff Robinson, a race fan from Florida, said. “The adrenaline was insane.”
By the final few circuits, more than one-third of the competitors had dropped out, making for a dramatic finish in which Josef Newgarden triumphed.
“I’ve never seen a race like this,” Robinson said. “This is a lifetime moment.”
Some, like Alice Bucinell from Charlotte, North Carolina, ran their first race on Sunday.
“It’s fantastic because I have never experienced a race like this,” she said.
“Seeing her go through it the first time [was incredible],” Robert Rawson, also from Charlotte, said. “Every other word out of her mouth is ‘Oh my God, this is awesome.’”
Others, like Indianapolis resident Kira Thomas, have been visiting for more than 30 years.
“It’s really nostalgic for me and I like taking it all in,” she said.
Fans of racing will never forget that day.
“I have taken so many photos already and I will be flipping through them all, and remembering that and it was so fun,” Melissa King, a race fan from Indianapolis, said.
Although this year’s Indy 500 may be finished, fans tell us they are already making plans for another exciting race day in 2019.
