Indianapolis 500 Information

The Indianapolis 500 is one of the oldest and the most spectacular events. The first race was held in 1911. The Indianapolis boasts of its large attendance and TV and radio audience. It is estimated that it exceeds 270 thousand people.

The overall distance the races have to go totals 500 miles, the number of laps is 200. The first name of the race was the International 500-Mile Sweepstakes (1911-1915, 1920-1979). In 1916 it was renamed into the International 300-Mile Sweepstakes, as the distance was reduced to 300 miles. In 1919 the race was called the Liberty Sweepstakes. The name was dated for the end of the First World War.

Originally, only American cars and American drivers participated in the Indianapolis 500 race. But several decades later, foreign cars became the norm, and drivers from other countries began taking part in the race regularly, like Emerson Fittipaldi from Brazil, Teo Fabi from Italy, Roberto Guerrero from Colombia, and many others.

The cars start the race in eleven rows, three cars in a row (though usually other races have two cars in a row).

Due to the fact that the Indianapolis 500 is a very old race, there are many traditions which have developed over the years. A day before the race theres the Last Row Party, the main purpose of which is charity donations. Early in the morning, on the race day a special explosive is set up which is made to signalize the beginning of the Indianapolis 500. The race usually starts with the performance of Florence Henderson. After that, another usually famous artist performs the Star-Spangled Banner. After the race Jim Nabors sings the song Back Home Again in Indiana. Since the end of 1940s theres a tradition to release thousands of colored balloons in the sky. In 1936 the winner Louis Meyer after the victory asked for a glass of milk, and since that time theres a tradition when the race winner drinks milk right after the race. Milk companies became the Indianapolis 500 sponsors to promote their products.

Vivid Seats is offering a wonderful opportunity to buy a wide range of tickets to Indianapolis 500 as well as the tickets to many other races. The safe and reliable ticket broker offers the best ticket prices you can ever find on the ticket market.