May 22, 2024 3 min read

The heat is on this week with temperatures in the 80s, and it’s arriving right on cue as we get ready to head into Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start of the summer season.

That means it’s time for our annual trek west on Interstate 70 to the great city of Indianapolis for the Greatest Spectacle In Racing – the Indy 500! I can hardly wait and started pulling out things I knew I would need to pack last week. What a nerd!

This year marks my 22nd time at the Indianapolis 500, and time sure flies. It all started as a kid when my dad would pile in the car with his buddies and head to the race each year. Back then, it wasn’t televised, or you had to wait to watch the tape delay broadcast a day or even a week later. Jim McKay had the call for ABC Sports back when A.J. Foyt and Al Unser Sr. were taking the checkered flag.

Eventually, the annual guys’ trip became more of a family affair. Once I graduated college, I could never go because I was always working weekends at my news and weather jobs. I never got to attend in person until 2001 when I got to see my favorite driver win his first Indy 500. Helio Castroneves has gone on to win three more, and I’ve been fortunate enough to be there for all of them. Wouldn’t it be something if he could make history this year with a fifth victory?

I used to always volunteer to work Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day just so I would be able to ask off Memorial Day weekend. One of my former bosses chuckled when telling a coworker they had to fill in for me on race weekend. “You don’t understand, this is like her Christmas,” she told them. She was right. She worked at a news station in Indianapolis. She gets it.

Helio’s drive for five is one of many exciting storylines this year. NASCAR champion Kyle Larson will attempt “the double” driving both the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day in different states. On qualifying weekend, one driver crashed during practice only to have his crew rebuild the car within hours and shock everyone by qualifying in the final top 12. A teenage rookie had a spectacular crash in practice, went out to qualify in his rebuilt car and gave it his all. He didn’t make it. And the guy who won the Indy 500 two years ago barely even qualified this year after he crashed in practice. The pole winner set a new fastest four-lap pole run average of 234.220 mph.

One of my sportscaster friends and I were talking once about the drama involved in the sports world. “You can’t make this stuff up,” he laughed. That’s part of why it’s so fun!

Kristin Emery can be reached at kristinemery1@yahoo.com.