The history. The pageantry. The walk through Gasoline Alley. The feeling of racing on a narrow path surrounded by fans.
Those are some of the great memories that those who have competed at Indianapolis have. If they haven’t experienced it themselves, Formula One and NASCAR drivers have watched enough on television or talked to their fellow racers to know just how big a deal the Indianapolis 500 is.
For Formula One and NASCAR drivers, some dreamed of racing at Indy growing up and others watched but have no interest. Tony Stewart, Danica Patrick, Kurt Busch and AJ Allmendinger are the current NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers who have competed at Indianapolis, and they have great memories of being part of the history of the first 99 Indianapolis 500s.
Here’s what some NASCAR and F1 drivers had to say about Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the 100th running of the Indy 500:
AJ Allmendinger, Sprint Cup driver and IndyCar race winner: “When I took the lead there [in 2013], I never had that feeling before. It was almost like an out-of-body experience. I was shaking for five laps in the car, ‘Holy crap, AJ, you’ve got 100 to go, regain your focus.’ It was almost like I was watching myself leading the race. … Everything went quiet. That was probably the coolest moment as it is happening. It’s the Indy 500. I was very fortunate to be driving for Roger Penske. It’s pretty cool to think about 100 years. Just as a racing fan, it’s pretty special to know that there’s been a race going on 100 years like that. I’ll watch the start Sunday. I won’t lie, there will be a part of me that it would have been pretty cool [to race it] but I know my heart wouldn’t be completely there [after driver Justin Wilson’s death last year at Pocono].”
Fernando Alonso, Formula One champion: “I would like to race there one day but it is not close so I am not thinking about it too much. After F1, if I want to keep racing it will be Le Mans not Indy. That would be my first step and I don’t know how motivated I will be at that age [once he’s done Le Mans].”
Ryan Blaney, Sprint Cup driver: “I always followed it just because I thought it was neat. Growing up I was a fan of all racing, whether it’s NASCAR, IndyCar, Australian V8 stuff, F1, I liked it all. Definitely now since I’ve been with Penske you watch the IndyCar stuff more just because you know those guys — Will [Power] and Helio [Castroneves] and Juan [Pablo Montoya] and Simon [Pagenaud] — you support them more just because they’re friends of yours and you like to see that team succeed also. … Mr. Penske is driving the pace car, which is really, really neat, and that would be a heck of a way to cap that off — with a guy who has won there more than anybody, and to be able to do the 100th would be really neat. It’s a shame I can’t go to it, but I’ll definitely be watching on TV.”
Kurt Busch, Sprint Cup champion and Indy 500 participant: “It’s very special to have a centennial anniversary around anything, and to have run the race a couple years ago, it gives me the fire and the desire to go and do it again. It’s something special to be said about 100 years, and each and every year 33 drivers get to start the race, and you’re in an elite fraternity of specific racing royalty that’s been able to compete in the Indianapolis 500. To start and to drive down into turn one three-wide with 32 of your closest friends, it’s an amazing feeling.”
Kyle Busch, Sprint Cup champion: “I was never much of an IndyCar guy. I always watched it, enjoyed watching it but never thought I would be an IndyCar racer. I’m going to be excited to watch it. I think it is going to be neat. The 100th of anything is obviously pretty cool that it’s been around that long. Maybe one day I can have my own shot at it.”
Jenson Button, Formula One driver: “It is a very special event and been around for 100 years. It is an event still loved by millions and some unbelievable talent across the pond, but it is not something I would look at doing after F1. There are still some areas of motorsport which still need to be improved in terms of safety and hopefully that is being looked at so the motorsport can continue for many more years, safely, hopefully.”
Carl Edwards, Sprint Cup driver: “I think anybody who has any interest in auto racing watches the Indy 500. I assume that because I always did and all the people around me we watched the Indy 500. … That race is very similar to the Daytona 500, it’s a historic event and whatever happens is important there. It’s neat to watch for me as a driver, it’s neat to watch because all of the pressure is so much that rides on that race it’s neat to watch how everyone responds to it and how they compete. With Kurt [Busch] being in it that was cool to watch. That was neat and that was probably the most fun I’ve had watching it in a while.”
Jeff Gordon, Sprint Cup champion: “It takes me back to my childhood because that is the form of racing that I was brought up around and was viewing. It reminds me of the time I got Rick Mears’ autograph at Indy. It also reminds me of the fact that there was nothing, no opportunities there for me to go race the Indy 500 but yet there was in NASCAR. There is a little bit there, if I had probably anything on my checklist that I would have liked to have accomplished, it would have been the Indy 500. Yet [winning] the Brickyard 400 five times is something that luckily made up for that little bit of a loss.”
Romain Grosjean, Formula One driver: “I think it’s very tricky. It’s very specific. At the minute, I love watching it but I’m not very much attracted by driving an oval. Maybe I should try to change my mind. Right now I quite like braking and turning right and left and right now that’s not really happening on ovals! I love watching the race but I have never been attracted to it. The Le Mans 24 Hours, yes, the Monte Carlo Rally, yes … the problem is [I enjoy] turning right!”
Lewis Hamilton, Formula One champion: “Funnily enough I was looking at Nigel Mansell’s car from 1993 and at that time it would have been cool and perhaps I would have wanted to do it, but I don’t have any desire now. The cars aren’t as exciting as they once were, so it is not on my radar or goals list. I’d rather just do a NASCAR race. I like street circuits.
Brad Keselowski, Sprint Cup champion: “It’s a big race. It’s hard to put it in perspective. A hundred years is a long, long time for anything. The race has almost existed as long as cars have. That’s saying something.”
Danica Patrick, Sprint Cup driver and IndyCar race winner: “From a fan’s standpoint, you feel the energy there because there are so many people and there’s so many people because there is so much history and there is a culture around it. You’re not only just celebrating, you’re celebrating history, you’re celebrating the greatest drivers, you’re celebrating the biggest race of the year, you’re celebrating because it’s Memorial Day, you’re celebrating because it’s a pretty damn good party.”
Sergio Perez, Formula One driver: “Obviously Indy is a very big race — one of the biggest ones in the history of our sport. I would definitely be interested in trying the Indy 500 but I think if you want to do it properly and challenge for the victory you have to do a lot of testing. Ovals are very different to what we are doing in Formula One. It takes some time, when I talk to drivers in ovals, but it’s something really exciting and something probably one day I will do.”
Tony Stewart, Sprint Cup and IndyCar champion: “When you grow up 45 minutes from Indy, there is nothing that compares to [that track]. That is sacred ground to me. It always has been, always will be.”
Leonard Wood, NASCAR team owner and Indy 500 pit-stop pioneer: “I’ve always been fascinated with the Indy 500. … It’s just a special place in our heart. It’s always exciting. There’s a lot of energy before the race, excitement buildup.”
