Indy attire & Carb Day!

What do most people wear to the 500? We have reserved covered seats across from the pit. Is Carb day a good day to go to the track? We are staying downtown at the Holiday inn on South Missouri. Any suggestions of where to eat and what to do Thurs night and Friday! Thanks for your help! We do have a rental car!

Indy attire %26amp; Carb Day!

First things first. Thursday night there should be plenty to do downtown. There are plenty of places to go (bars/restaurants/clubs)There might also be an Indianapolis Indians (AAA Baseball) game at Victory Field which is within walking distance of your motel(as are most things downtown) You might take a drive out to Speedway that night to look around. If you like pizza, check out Union Jack%26#39;s which is at Crawfordsville Road and High School Road about two miles from the track. You might also pop into the FlagRoom which is a little bar inside The Brickyard Crossing Motel which is just east of the main entrance to the track on 16th St. It%26#39;s a small bar (must be 21 to enter) that a few locals hang out. Of course race time it cam get crowded, but you might spot an old driver. last night Jim Rathman (%26#39;60 winner) and Lloyd Ruby were in there. Friday is a GREAT day at the track. If the weather is good there might be 50,000 out there. For $20. you get the final practice for all 33 cars, The Freedom 100 race for The Indy Lights, autograph sessions, The Pit Stop Competition, and a concert (this year The Stone Temple Pilots). Saturday is The 500 Festival Parade downtown. Downtown will be VERY congested from about 8 a.m. til 2 p.m. Seats are available for $20 and up or you might find a place to stand forfree It%26#39;s the 3rd biggest parade in the country behind Macy%26#39;s Thanksgiving and The Rose Bowl All 33 drivers will be in the parade. AGAIN ifthe weathers nice you might talk a walk sown the cANAL. Towards the north end of it is The USS Indianapolis Memeorial which is pretty cool (about a two mile total walk. For the biggest race in the world people wear about anything. Check out the local weather as far as what to wear (shorts, jacket etc) Since your under cover I would take a jacket if it%26#39;s cool. On Carb Day leave early, so you don%26#39;t miss any of the action. I can direct you to parking, go to www.obfloors.com and contact DAVE asap. On raceday leave EXTRA EARLY. Remember there will be in excess of 250,000 spectators. We (my wife and I ) will be around all weekend if you need some personal guidance. Hope this helps. You might write back and give some hints on what type of food, entertainment, etc. that you like. HAVEFUN!!! GO BUDDY LAZIER in the #91 Hemelgarn car!!!

Indy attire %26amp; Carb Day!

What a fabulous response and just what we are looking for. We don%26#39;t meet up with our group until late Fri so we have Thurs and Fri to do on our own. Thanks for the wonderful suggestions!

If you%26#39;re all about racing go to the museum at the track on Thursday. It%26#39;s inside the track from the 16th St entrance. I thinks admission is only $3.00 and shouldn%26#39;t be too busy that day. Be sure to stroll around downtown. Check out The Soldiers and Sailers Monument (The Circle) right in the middle of town. If you wander up and down Meridian St and/or Illinois from South St to washington you%26#39;l find many restarants and bars. Also along Georgia and maryland street. Some of the favorites and pricey are Oceanaire (seafood) St. Elmo%26#39;s (steak) and Iaria%26#39;s (Italian, a lttle east of downtown, a short drive.) I like McCormicks%26#39;s %26amp; Scmicks(sp?) in the Hilton at Market and llinois. They have happy hour from 4-6 in the bar area and have CHEAP but FANTASTIC appetizers. You can also call ahead and surprise someone by getting their names put on the dinner menu. You might try Shapiro%26#39;s Deli (Morris and Meridian) for the BEST corn beef sandwich ((pricey). (my number for detailed directions is 317-258-4497)There also also plenty of fast foods downtown. There is a must on Thursday for lunch. Go to The Mug N Bun Drive In. It%26#39;s just east of Lynhurst on 10th Street near The Speedway. Burgers, dogs, tenderloins, and THEE BEST onion rinss (one

order will feed 2-3) Where in TX are you from. Been to Texas Motor Sppedway 3 times for Indy races and had grat fun in downtown Ft Worth. Almost forgot, alittle bar on High School Road at about 25th street is McGilvery%26#39;s. It is racing themed nd they have a good lunch Ask for Linda. I keep thinking so might come up with more ideas

Thanks again for the info. We live in Houston! We like to go to local places when we visit because we can eat at a chain restaurant anywhere. Is there an area we should avoid downtown regarding safety or is it all pretty safe?

Downtown the best place to listen to LIVE music is The Slippery Noodle. The ';Noodle'; is at South and Meridian Street and is the oldest bar in Indy. They are having tent party on Fri and Sat so it will be crowded. I%26#39;m guessing cover will be $20.00. I can%26#39;t believe DAVEFROMCARMEL hasn%26#39;t thrown his two cents in yet. I guess I know why. There isn%26#39;t a cloud in the sky today and the track opens for practice in less than an hour. I assume he%26#39;s strategically positioned near Gasoline Alley rooting for A.J%26#39;s cars

12:02 on Friday and I can hear the cars. Sunny skies have brought out the crowd. Right now along 16th street the cars are 3 lanes backed up a half mile. Love it!! Downtown shold be no problem as far as safeness. Where your at it should be pretty active. At night I would stay south of Wash and north of South St. That%26#39;s pretty much where everythin is anyway. Your motel is nice...not more than 2 years old i think. Best way to track from here. Take Illinois (one way N) to 16th. Go west about 3-4 miles. On the way back take 16th St to Lafayette Rd/White River parkway. (it%26#39;s Lafayette Road N and WRP south) There is Tillmans Vans on the corner there. It%26#39;s about two miles west of track. turn right, then a quick left. This will follow White River all the way around to The Zoo. This is ashington Street. Turn left and it will take you downtown. If you have time stop at Long%26#39;s bakery. It is the street just before Tillman%26#39;s. The best donuts in town. Stay off of 10th St from Tibbs to downtown. Not good neighborhood.

Good place for OLD 500 stuff. The Mail Room and ETC by Wham Bam. Both on 16th street. Mail Rool one block east of Lynhurst. ETC is on corner of 16th and Lynhurst (ask for Marie at ETC and tell her Carpets sent ya) Lynhurst is about one mile WEST of the track. For some good deal on racing shirts is Arizona Sports Shirts. They are located on Gasoline Alley (not inside the track). Across from the main entrance of the track is Polco St. Take it south past 1oth st. You%26#39;ll come to alight. Keep going over crooked bridge and you%26#39;ll see about a quarter mile on the right. They are next to Hemelgarn racing. There are also several other small racing shops along there.

For a great view of the city on a clear day go to Crown Hill Cemetary (yes a cemetary) It really beautiful out there. The top of ';The Crown'; is the highest natural point in Indianapolis On top is buried Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley. Also up ther is former Colts owner Bob Irsay. Crown Hill is the 3rd largest privately owned cemetary in the US. Among other notables buried there are several Civil War generals, vice preisdent Harrison, and infamous Hoosier bnk robber John Dilinger. A popular tour right now is ';Racing Greats'; Ypu cna call ahead for a tour or get a map and tour yourself www.crownhill.org

Shopping interest you?? The Circle Centre Mall downtown is great.

Mexican restaurant...Acapulco Joe%26#39;s on Illinois and Vermont Street

Of course there is the Night Before The 500. People cruise and walk up and down Georgetown Road. Expect to see anything there.....ANYTHING! It is OK to carry alcohol in theopen as long as common sense is used. Of course you%26#39;ll see a lot of uncommon sense. Park in the neighborhood just wst of georgetown and n of crawfordsville on the street.

CARB DAy PARKING try O%26#39;Brien Floor Covering, one half mile east of the main entrance Parking CARB DAY WILL BE ONLY $5.00....see dave, aka IndyOB

Just spoke to our friends. It appears that they have rooms for us for Sat Night at The HI in Rushville so we will have quite a ride to the race on Sun. So we will be downtown before and after the race but have to drive to Rushville on Sat night. Good thing we have a rental car! Will it be easy to get to Indy from Rushville on SUN? At least we have some days before in Indy!

One more question! Do they rent headsets for the race and where do you get them? Are they worth it at Indy?

from downtown to Rushville take I-70 east to I-465 south to I-74 east to Indiana 44 turn right or head East 15-20 miles to Rushville. Try to Mapquest it also for a better idea. It is a good 1 and 30 minutes or more to the track without race traffic. Yes the track rents headsets. Not much in Rushville, Did you try Greenfield much closer or Shelbyville they have cheap HI%26#39;s also with more things around in the area? Hope this helps. Carb day is more popular than race day for all the wrong reasons in my opinion. More people out just to get trashed and act obnoxious than on race day. That is what they markey it as. Sad.

Yes headsets are available. I know people that love themand others who don%26#39;t. There is usually a place that rents them right in front of the track on 16th Street. I think there is also one along georgetown Road. Inside the track there usually is a place under the grandstands just outside pit lane.Not surre of the price. Race day traffic should be fine from Rush to Indy. Once you get to 465 (I State that circles the city) you will see much more traffic. Where are your seats at?? CARB DAY is fun...and yes there are a lot of partyers, but if you stay in the stands the car action is great. The concert in the infield is where the rowdy stuff is.