The famous Indianapolis 500 actually takes place in Speedway, a suburb near downtown Indianapolis, Indiana at a 2 1/2 mile oval track affectionately called "The Brickyard" (it used to be paved with bricks). The race takes place on Sunday preceding Memorial Day, (May 30, 2010). A total of 33 drivers who are able to qualify, compete for a portion of the total purse of about $10 million. Top qualifying speeds exceed 225 mph. Some folks come to watch the qualifying time trials, scheduled for May 15, 16, & 23, 2010 (Saturday & Sunday two weeks before and Sunday one week before the actual race). Some of the famous race names include 4-time Indy winners A.J. Foyt, Jr., Al Unser, and Rick Mears. Famous Racing family names include Unser (7 family members), Andretti (4), Bettenhausen (4), and others like Vucovich, Whittington, Luyendyk, Russo, and Patrick.
A 650+ horsepower, 1550-pound Indy race car running at 220 mph, travels a little more than the length of a football field in about one second. Indy Drivers endure G-forces equal to nearly 4 times the weight of gravity while negotiating the turns. The cars burn fuel at the rate of less than 2 mpg while each of the 8 pistons in an Indy engine travels nearly 1 mile up and down in the cylinder during every minute. Inside the oval is the Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum with about 75 cars on display, along with other Indy racing treasures and memorabilia. The museum is open all year (except Christmas Day). For Race and Time Trial Tickets, call: 800-822-4639.