Did I see empty seats

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Betsy

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at the Indy 500? I wonder if OUR 400 draws more people to that track than the IRL does? Anybody know the head count for both races? Or do they still not disclose their seating numbers.
Betsy :confused:
 
Last fall (2003), The Star decided to solve the mystery.
A six-month inspection of each grandstand resulted in a count of 257,325 permanent seats, which includes the five types of suites scattered around the Speedway. It is believed to be the only formal count of the seats in the facility's modern era.
'And with all the people working the race, officials, vendors, security, etc' (T)hat brings the estimated number of people who could be on site Sunday, if the race sells out, to 267,925.
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They can have all of the seats there if they want them. First of all I wouldn't go the Indy 500. Not my cup of tea though I did watch some of it on tv. I wouldn't pay to see it.
Second...I have been to the Brickyard 500 twice. That was enough of that place for me. The first time I went we sat in handicap seating in the short chute between 3 & 4. You could see them coming down the back stretch and Thur the short chute and back up the front stretch. The second time I went our seats were behind the pits. The only place you could see was the front stretch and when they went up through there they were going so fast you could barely tell who it was. That was enough for me. Over all the first time was the best because it was the inaugural race and YOU know who won that.
 
tkj24 said:
They can have all of the seats there if they want them. First of all I wouldn't go the Indy 500. Not my cup of tea though I did watch some of it on tv. I wouldn't pay to see it.
Second...I have been to the Brickyard 500 twice. That was enough of that place for me. The first time I went we sat in handicap seating in the short chute between 3 & 4. You could see them coming down the back stretch and Thur the short chute and back up the front stretch. The second time I went our seats were behind the pits. The only place you could see was the front stretch and when they went up through there they were going so fast you could barely tell who it was. That was enough for me. Over all the first time was the best because it was the inaugural race and YOU know who won that.
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I don't think you ever went to the Brickyard 500, Tony G wouldn't let NASCAR have a 500 mile race, he wanted Indy 500 to be the only 500 miler at this trackm that's why the Brickyard is 400 miles.
 
Eagle1 said:
I don't think you ever went to the Brickyard 500, Tony G wouldn't let NASCAR have a 500 mile race, he wanted Indy 500 to be the only 500 miler at this trackm that's why the Brickyard is 400 miles.
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Excuse me!!!:eek: I mean Brickyard 400:p :D
 
I think there have empty seats for the last 2 or 3 races. Usually the empties are the not-so-prime. And, the weather was a player this year, too.

I do remember hearing in years past, that 400,000 attend the Indy 500. Guess they all don't get to sit down. LOL

I went to the Brickyard one time --- mainly to say I'd been. I had frontstretch, aisle seats and could see from Turn 4 to almost Turn 2. Had a wonderful time, but wouldn't do it again. I like seeing the whole track.
 
The Brickyard is one track I want to get to, just for the prestige of the place, but I have heard from most people that to actually watch the race the place is not very good at all in most places.
Any comments on that, and suggestions of where to sit when I do decide to go?
 
T-Mac, the mystique and history of the place is exactly why I went. And it is what grabs you from the minute you step foot on the grounds.

My best suggestion is to find a tour group that goes to Indy. They usually have the better seats on the front stretch. With a group, you don't have to worry about getting to the track and the parking nightmare.

My two fav groups are Grand Prix Tours and There and Back Again.

You must tour the museum and take the tour bus around the track. And, don't forget to go to the short track in Claremont --- IRP. That place is a blast. Of course, it has another name now, but it escapes me. It is about 20
minutes west of the big speedway.
 
TexasRaceLady said:
I do remember hearing in years past, that 400,000 attend the Indy 500. Guess they all don't get to sit down. LOL
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I've seen estimates as high as the 400,00 you mentioned mostly by journalists covering the race. The fact that they have never released attendance figures is what prompted the study by the newspaper I mentioned. Each year from its inception the attendance figures kept growing and growing.
They do have a hill people can sit on and they estimated that full it would only hold ~6000 people. Thus they derived 257,325 fan capacity.
The article also mentioned the lousy sight lines. And that if you were on the back stretch or in the stands on the inside of the front stretch that you wouldn't see much of the race.
 
in the stands on the inside of the front stretch that you wouldn't see much of the race.[/QUOTE said:
I can vouch for that. That is where I sat the 2nd time I went to Indy.
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