Speeding Through Indianapolis

Racing Hall of Fame

In 2012, I had the chance to do what I always wanted to do - take a cross-country roadtrip!  One of the "pinstops" on our journey took us to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in of course, Indianapolis, Indiana.  Now, I'm not a big racing fan, and I really don't know much about the sport - but who has not heard of the Indy 500?  If you're going to drive through this city, then you have to checkout the place where The Greatest Spectacle in Racing is held every year, right?

So with a few hours to visit, we found our way to the Speedway by driving into a tunnel that went under the track and into the center area where the Racing Hall of Fame building can be found.  For a small entrance fee (only $5!), you can enter the museum and take a gander at an incredible display of over 70 vehicles ranging from concept cars to special Formula One cars to past Indianapolis 500 winners - including the very first Indy 500 winner from 1911!

This was an amazing close-up look at cars designed by Mercedes, Corvette and more.  Of course, the Borg-Warner Trophy was on display as well, which is permanently housed here.  Even a lukewarm racing fan like me was excited to see all of this car memorabilia in person.

Borg-Warner Trophy on Display

Marmon 'Wasp' - First Indy 500 Winner in 1911

After visiting the museum, we had a chance to sit on the grass and watch cars race on the track.  They had a special promotion that allowed visitors to take racing laps around the track with a professional driver - for a few hundred bucks.  Unfortunately, I didn't get to try it out - but watching those cars zip by several times was a cool enough experience for me to soak in the atmosphere.

Pin Stops Ranking: 4 Pins

I really enjoyed this pinstop, and it easily exceeded my expectations.  I'm sure for big racing fans, it would be an ultimate dream to visit this place - but even for a very casual fan like me, I really cherish what I was able to see and experience in the few hours we stopped here.

For more on my Pinstop Rankings, check out this post.