Indianapolis Motor Speedway, United States

United States Grand Prix, Indianapolis StartTell us about your experiences of visiting the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

You may wish to include:

  • When you visited the track
  • Where you watched from
  • How easy it was to get to
  • How much of the track you could see
  • What support races there were
  • What you liked and didn’t like
  • How much it cost and whether it was good value

Please use the reply box below to leave your comments.

5 comments on “Indianapolis Motor Speedway, United States”

  1. I have been to every USGP, great place to see a GP and there is alot to do in Indianapolis. The first thing you’ll notice is how big the track is, the grandstands seem to go on forever.
    My first year we were on the front straight in the grandstands, not the best seating as the cars tuck in close to the wall and are hard to see during the race. In addition the jumbo screens were obstructed
    We now sit at turn one, great view down the front straight, and thru the first set of corners. From where we sit (high in the grandstands) we can see roughly 1/2 of the track, and the jumbo screens cover the rest.
    The track is easy to get to if you drive, and public transport does a great job of getting in and out of the track. Buses can be taken from downtown or the airport.
    Support races are weak, last year there was only the Porche Cup Challenge.
    Price is great, my tickets run about $80.00(USD)for seats on turn one!. But as with any race, it’s the hotels that cost. Alot will require a four nite stay..call around, the deals are there.
    They do have some unique events, on Thursday they have the Pit Lane Walkabout. If you have race tickets, show up on Thursday and you’ll be allowed to wander up and down the pits. Garage doors are open and team members (including drivers) will come out and do the meet and greet.
    During the evening, head downtown and it isn’t hard to figure out where the teams are staying. Hang around long enough and you are going to see someone – Last year we ended up having drinks with Ron Dennis…very cool!
    High’s – Price, accesability.
    Low’s – Support races, Summer heat

  2. Well done. I have been hooked on F-1 since the 1960’s and am extremely pleased that the USGP is here. Glad you’re so fond of the Speedway and “our” GP / Indy.

  3. When you visited the track: The inagural GP, but quite a few times for Champ car.
    Where you watched from The second turn grandstands, well, the second turn as it would be for an Indy race, it’s technically turn 12 now, but the seats are awesome. You can see the cars coming out of the turns 10 and 11, and onto the original track into turn 13, great view, and there’s a jumbo-tron directly across from you. 8th row and up are the best seats.
    How easy it was to get to: Indy is always easy to get to, I recommend parking downtown and taking the city bus. It’s usually 10-20 dollars (US) and they deliver you right to the track!
    How much of the track you could see: we could see all the way to turn 7, but last year they looked to have erected a new over-track billboard, and you can probably only see down to turn 8 now.
    What support races there were: a GP2 and a Ferrari race (Mario Andretti raced in this, so that was extremely cool!)
    What you liked and didn’t like I liked everything about it. My first and only GP experience (I’ve since moved to another part of the country, and getting back to Indy isn’t all that easy)
    How much it cost and whether it was good value: Compared to the brickyard or the 500, it’s pretty expensive, but Nascar especially is crap, so everything should be cheap. I thought it was a great value, I had a blast!

  4. We visited Indy for the 2006 and 2007 USGP and loved each trip. For 2006 we were in the Paddock Penthouse towards the end (closer to the first turn). The seats were good and we could see the huge crash that happened just after the start. For the second race, we opted to upgrade our tickets and were thrilled with what they gave us. We were in the 2nd row of the Paddock Penthouse ON THE START FINISH LINE! We could see all of the pre-race events and had a great view of the podium – After all, what fun is it if you can’t see the winner cross the finish line. Having 2nd row seats meant that we could lean forward and see an unobstructed view of the entire main straight and even glimpse them going through the back stretch between the other stands. The only downside was that we were in direct sunlight the entire time.
    For practice/quali days we explored other sections and found a bunch of great viewing locations. It is very hot so it was nice to find less crowded areas with a nice breeze.
    Everyone at the track is very friendly and we didn’t have any problems with parking or long lines. I love the fact that in 2007 the pit-walkabout was followed by the SpeedTV staff interviewing ALL the drivers in the plaza. This was free as long as you showed your race day ticket.
    If ther USGP ever comes back to Indy, every US F1 fan should go. The best tickets are only $150 (similar seats at other races are $600+) and if you stay in a subarb like Carmel you can get a hotel suite for just over $100/nt. It’s an easy drive from Carmel to the track and the subarb is very clean and safe. Fingers crossed that we can go back in 2009!

  5. Absolutely brilliant place to visit a Grand Prix! I think it was my favourite venue I have been to, purely for the wow factor on quite literally everything. The track is so big and imposing as you walk up to it, the view from turn one is the best I have ever seen from a Grand Prix seat (NorthWest Vista we sat in), the accessibility to everything is better than any other circuit i have been to, and the way you can get so close to stuff throughout the weekend was brilliant. There were loads of drivers about on the Thursday open day, i didnt have to queue for anything, and the atmosphere was amazing. Then there was watching the cars go through the banked section – that absolutly has to be experienced by any F1 fan. And all that for what was the equivalent of about £60. I truly am gutted it is no longer on the calender I definately would have gone back several times.

    Like most of the races I have been to, I camped at this one too, we stayed at the campsite (I cant for the life of me remember what the name of it was) right by the first corner stands, a site which had a really good atmosphere all weekend, although the facilities were not quite as frequent as those at Silverstone’s campsite.

    Overall though I would most definately recommend this race if it ever appears back on the calender – I will certainly be there as soon as it does. I had a brilliant weekend last time, experienced F1 at its very best, and possibly at its worst, but it only made me want to go again even more

    The ‘race’ I went to – 2005 – Schumacher and Barrichello completed a dominant 1-2 over Tiago Monteiro, Narain Karthikeyan, Christijan Albers and Patrick Friesacher. No other finishers. No other starters.

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