INDIANAPOLIS — It was a very memorable weekend for race fans everywhere.
The 107th running of the Indianapolis 500 brought more than 300,000 fans from all over the world for one very special day at the track.
“We came from Brazil to support Tony Kanaan and Helio Castroneves,” Mauricio Comti from Brazil said.
“All of the people. The racing. It’s awesome and a great place to be,” Ryan Hoffar, a race fan from Indianapolis, said.
“It’s really awesome to see these racers up close and personal on tv and in real life,” Natalie Skehan, a race fan from California, said.
This is a day fans like Matt Cohen say they look forward to all year long.
“I mean, who doesn’t love just gas-guzzling like 230 mph, let’s go,” Cohen said.
And once it came down to the final 20 laps, that’s when things got a bit crazy.
“We were on the edge of our seats,” Jeff Robinson, a race fan from Florida, said. “The adrenaline was insane.”
More than 1/3 of the drivers were out of the race by the last few laps, leading to a very emotional finish with Josef Newgarden taking home the win.
“I’ve never seen a race like this,” Robinson said. “This is a lifetime moment.”
For some, Sunday was their first race, like Alice Bucinell from Charlotte, North Carolina.
“It’s fantastic because I have never experienced a race like this,” she said.
“Seeing her go through it the first time [was incredible],” Robert Rawson, also from Charlotte, said. “Every other word out of her mouth is ‘Oh my God, this is awesome.’”
Others have been coming for more than 30 years, like local Indianapolis resident Kira Thomas.
“It’s really nostalgic for me and I like taking it all in,” she said.
It’s a day race fans will never forget.
“I have taken so many photos already and I will be flipping through them all, and remembering that and it was so fun,” Melissa King, a race fan from Indianapolis, said.
The Indy 500 may be over for this year but fans tell us they’re already planning for another big race day next year.
