Wired:
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, founded in 1909, is the world’s oldest permanent motorsport facility. It’s changed a lot since the early days—pavement instead of bricks for a racing surface, new stands and administration buildings—but the track is essentially the same. It still has corners banked at 9 degrees, 12 minutes, and those corners are the same radius they were a century ago.
More than that, the track is still a magical, ghostly place, eerily alive with death and life. Stand on the front straight and stare into Turn 1—it looks like a tunnel, or maybe a wall of asphalt—and you feel the echo of death and time in your bones.
I’ve watched this race every year since I was eight years old and I was lucky enough to drive my motorcycle on it for a charity event. It really is a amazing place.
I’ve only been to IMS once, for the inaugural F1 race in 2000 (won by Michael Schumacher driving for Ferrari). It really is an amazing place. The grounds are so large that there is a golf course, parking lot, and museum inside the track. Along with the infield turns of the track itself.
Add to that the enormous history of the place and it’s quite a memorable experience. Highly recommended, even if you’re not a gearhead.