Being a Hoosier racing is so ingrained i didn't realize the rest of the country wasn't like this until i moved away for a year and kept hearing about back home.
Gotta see USAC sprint cars on dirt people. Some of the best racing in america and they race all over indiana and nationally. Some full races on the flo racing page under "race of the week"
Loving the love for USAC in this comments section. Lawrenceburg Speedway and Tri State speedway in haubstadt are two of the best places to watch the sprints and midgets
Yep! Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt is not only close to where I live, but it has awesome racing. Also, the modifieds have some great races from time to time.
Good to see Indiana actively preserving its racing history and keeping the sport alive, rather than tearing the tracks out and replacing them with housing projects like so many other states appear to be doing.
Off of the top of my head, we have lost 2 circle tracks up here in Northwest Indiana. Illiana Motor Speedway in 2016, and Southlake Speedway in 2006. We've still got our drag strip, but they have imposed a 10pm curfew.
The revived 16th Street Speedway (old Bush Stadium) did get converted into a housing project (Stadium Lofts, themed around the old baseball diamond, and with the biggest housing block constructed on top of the old grandstands), but there are still a _lot_ of tracks around for all kinds of racing. Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Indianapolis Raceway Park are probably the two most prominent facilities, hosting the biggest events, but as S1ap has shown, there are plenty of others all over Central Indiana. And that doesn't even count the racetracks in the rest of the state!
I would love you see you do a video on how flo racing has made it so much easier to follow this stuff. Pretty much every major short track event that isn't a world of outlaws show (they have their own streaming service) is live on flo racing
Indianapolis Motor Speedway: A track that’s been here since 1911, withstood two world wars, and has hosted pretty much everything from to the Indy 500, to NASCAR, to F1, to dirt racing, to drag racing ever since. Thanks for making a video about my home state tracks, SlapShoes! Appreciate your work! Keep it up!
Surviving two world wars would probably be more impressive if it was in Europe, but it is a testament to how old the track is and how forward thinking it was. Edit: Forgot about the auto racing ban during WWII, still pretty impressive that it survived
@@gamemeister27Yeah, it would be, but there was a ban on auto racing in the United States during World War 2, so many tracks did not make it through those several years.
im from southern IL and the Indiana border is about a 10 minute drive. I go to so much racing in Indiana. Mostly dirt racing. There is so much racing all over the state you can go to.
Circle City is a fantastic track and facility. My profile picture is actually from that track is might be one of my favorite tracks yet. Great town for sure. Also forgot to mention the PRI Show in January. Awesome video and love seeing places I have raced at in real life featured in videos like this!
As someone who lives in Ohio, I am 100% going to try to do more in Indiana, I went to my first 500 this year and I loved it. Now I wanna see some of these amazing tracks
Be warned most of our dirt tracks don’t slick off into a dust bowl like the tracks in Ohio do. You may end up going home with clumps of mud in your hair but it’s well worth it 😂
I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed your first 500! It's truly something you can't experience anywhere else. The passion on Indy weekend is insane. If you haven't before, I recommend going on Saturday to the track to see all the stuff on the inside, like the museum, the garages, drivers meetings, etc. It's easiest with someone who's experienced but a lot is straightforward. The race experience can depend on your seats, but in places at the end of straights near a turn (I sit halfway into turn one) you see the most action :D
USAC sprint cars on dirt are incredible. bring safety glasses to keep the dust out of your eyes. Its phenomenal racing. They also race sprint cars at tons of track in ohio
Yea people who buy houses by racetracks then complain about the noise are the worst people. That's one of the big reasons why Warsaw speedway in Warsaw Indiana was shut down!
@@TripleAlfafa i wouldnt mind anothet track here in the us if it means we get Indy back. Im really wishing penske can cut a smoking deal with liberty media so we can have indy in the calendar as the us gp again and rename the cota race to something else.
@@kodycrabb5820 depends on which equipment. Give him a "truex to the rear and crew chief thrown out after failing tech 3x" car and watch him lap the entire field for the win. Give him 2023 shr equipment and instead of lapping the entire field, he'll win with a half a lap lead instead lol
One minor correction: Bush Stadium / 16th St Speedway Mk II has now been converted into fancy apartments, with much of the grandstand structure preserved as a feature of them. Maybe some minor leaguers may have moved in to those apartments, but no team plays there. (The AAA team plays at Victory Field downtown).
Nicely done video and does a good job to represent the tracks here in Central IN. Also at 4:40-4:43 in the video, you used footage that I took earlier this year, that was super cool to see!
16th Street Speedway is now apartments, Stadium Lofts & Flats. They kept the stadium footprint and built apartments. The apartments overlook a courtyard in the shape of the original stadium.
You were about 20 feet from me at IRP, I was in Kaylee Brysons pit. I go there twice a year, the entire state has great racing. The Kokomo Smackdown is my favorite
Late to the party but thanks for showcasing my states motorsport heritage. I remember going to the IMS museum on field trips as a kid...when I got older driving out in the middle of nowhere at night to the drag strip between 4 corn fields built in '45 and turning it into the NHRA finals. Seeing Figure 8's with my sister out in Anderson...we really had/have it good as race fans growing up there.
S1ap dropping another banger video. The car scene in Indiana is just crazy. I spent close to two years in Fort Wayne and our amateur car meets would sometimes bring out over 100 cars
I always love showing off the different tracks of Indy and Indiana, I'm 10 minutes down the road from IRP and I get goosebumps every time I hear those silver crowns fire up. Thanks for giving some love and attention to our homes for racing.
So many people descend on Indy for the racing alone. I had a well-off friend in high school whose dad owned a second house right up against the fence of the Brickyard. It was just a one-story ranch house, and they barely spent any time there. But the house paid for itself from renting it out to raceway fans and charging people to park in the driveway/lawn. May is a crazy month for Circle City.
surprised you didn't try to do a "lost speedways" vid for the old fairgrounds track. the old home of the Hoosier Hundred, at one time the 2nd biggest race on the IC calendar before the dirt races were removed. the race was moved to IRP in 2021 after the fairgrounds board decided to cover the dirt track in gravel so it could be used for parking during the fair and for harness racing training.
Awesome essay on how awesome racing is in indy during may. I'd love to see one ablut florida in February with how insane the amount of racing there is during that time of the year. Every national dirt series has a presence as well as drag racing, short tracks, and ofc the big show in Daytona. Favorite time lf the year
If you're interested in something a little smaller in the Indy area, there's Whiteland Raceway Park just south of Indy. It's a karting track that's been around since 1958 (the oldest continuously operating track in the US) and is currently owned by former Indy 500 driver Sarah Fisher. They just did a major expansion over the winter.
My aunt lived on the outskirts of linton where they used to host a tiny dirt track that i would always hear when i visited just as the sun set, i always found the noise actually calming, sadly, the track was abandoned sometime around 2018 i want to say. miss hearing them and seeing the huge lights in the distance, I only went to the races a handful of times and was too young to really appreciate it.
As someone from Belgium with a background in motorsport, that makes the pilgrimage to Indy every may since 2022 . I totally agree, Its an atmosphere you need to experience during the whole weekend , nice people, enjoying great racing. I would have loved to meet you at the Lucas Oil 150. I was sitting in the middle of the main grandstand. And my friends and I already have plans set for next year.
I've lived in Anderson my entire life. This year I went to my first Little 500 and it was absolutely insane! My boss is a nascar driver and he we both went together. We actually went to my first Indy 500 this year as well! His son just finished 4th in a legend car at Mt. Lawn last night in his first ever race. I wouldn't want to live in any other state, we really do have everything here!
I grew up watching races at the Plymouth Motor Speedway. It's gone through some changes since I was a kid, including having a dirt phase, but it's back to paved racing. It is also the only track I've ever driven on, having snuck onto the track in the dead of night to turn some laps in a VW Cabriolet (the Golf convertible). Ah, the good old days. Only other track I can think of you didn't mention is Lincoln Park Speedway, near Putnamville. I've only driven past, but that name is great, even if it doesn't have anything to do with the band. Thanks for the video, Slap! I live in Indy now, and I know of all the pomp and circumstance surrounding the track and tracks in the area. One I always like to mention that it's hard to find info on is Stout Field. After being an airfield for the Indiana National Guard in WWII, it was turned into a track for a while. Now, it's a part of an Industrial area, but a couple of the runways are still there, and one is actually a street.
You should actually show the nascar people on your channel those sprinters when they are racing. WoO, lucas oil late models, and USAC are the best tours in america right now
Slap, that video hit every chord with me. I’ve grown up in Indy and I love this town. I’m 26 and have been to every Indy 500 since 2005. The race nuts here are like none other, we are insanely passionate about all things motorsports. Up until Peyton Manning, racing and college hoops was it for us. Us Hoosiers welcome you with open arms anytime brother! Cheers
I ain't trying to start a fight but the dirt sprint car racing is alot better people. Watch USAC or local 410 racing at kokomo, Lincoln Park, or Gas city
Big thanks from a Hoosier on visiting our state! You drove right by my exit off of 74 on your way in! Happy to see Indiana being represented in a positive way
Went to the little 500 for the first time and I agree. It was chaos. I loved every second of it. I will be going back next year no doubt about it. Getting out of the track after the race was super easy to.
A little side note. Busch Stadium does not host the Indians (our Minor League team) but instead are now apartments. Source: I’m sitting at my desk looking out of my office window since I work right next door to it. Also 2 miles away from IMS. Great Video!
IMO the Silver Crown cars sound identical. To the Kodak #4 that Sterling Marlin won the Daytona 500 when he drove for Morgan McClure Another GREAT Episode Thank U Slap
"Motorsports Mecca" is quite an appropriate analogy, considering lots of people from around the world make a pilgrimage to Indianapolis every May for the Indy 500 (one which I hope to eventually complete myself). Out of curiosity, for those of you who _have_ done that, how far did you travel to see the race?
Went to f1 there and Indy 500, came from California but now I spend half my time in cincy and stay there during the summer so now it’s a hour long drive'!
When I was a kid my parents would take us to the speedrome every year to watch the figure 8 races. They always played the song Tequila over the PA system.
Damn Slap, you could've snuck upstairs and said hey. ha I worked the main camera for the Flo Broadcasts for each of the USAC shows and the Little 500 at Anderson this year.
I'm so happy you mentioned the World F8 Tour! I hope you make a video about the series, since they've been steadily adding more tracks other than the ones in Indiana!
Man, what an outstanding video. I live 10 minutes from Mt. Lawn Speedway and just went there this past Saturday night for their big race of the year - "The Raintree 100". Proud to say my Grandfather raced (and won) at several of the tracks you mentioned.
Melbourne in Austrailia (and the state of Victoria in general) is another city with a lot of tracks close to it or inside it. It has Albert Park, Calder Park aka Thunderdome and Sandown and on the outskirts there is Phillip Island and deep in the state of Victoria there is Winton.
"Get a map of Indiana, Throw a Dart at it and go there in person." yep I'm definitely gonna get a map of my home state an turn It into a Giant Dartboard.
Great Show, Slap and Robin Miller knew them all. While Salem & Winchester deserve mention, you left out my town & the Bloomington Speedway. We're not just known for Bobby Knight throwing Chairs!
Slap, you have inspired me to plan a guy's weekend trip to see the carb night classic, little 500 and Indy 500. It's all about 3 hours away and I'm stoked. Thanks for all the great videos. Keep up the great work!
As an Aussie, I have been to many country dirt ovals, and always loved watching our touring car series. I may have to save up and make the pilgrimage to check out the little 500 now.
While I cannot attribute the information source, I had heard that at one time in the early part of the 20th century that Indianapolis was home to more car builders than any other place in the US.
I was born in 1981 and grew up in Indianapolis. My dad took me to the track for a practice day for the 500 when I was 2 or 3 and I was hooked ever since. I believe if I didn’t grow up in Indy I probably wouldn’t be the hardcore racing fan I am today.
Little 500 is so fun. They will also be racing those cars (non wing 410s) at salem speedway a famous high banked (33°) 5/9th mile in Southern Indiana for the first time in years
I know NASCAR has traditions in the month of May as well, but man i wish they would go to Indy at some weekend in the month of May to raise attendance for the races
Unfortunately, any NASCAR event at IMS in May would likely only distract from the 500. If both the Brickyard 400 and Indy 500 were in the same month, I think most fans would choose instead of buying 2 tickets.
May in Indy is for open wheel, it wouldnt get the support you think. Brickyard 400 only worked so well at first because NASCAR was mega popular thats not the case anymore.
Took awhile for this to come up for me, but I haven't clicked a video so fast. there is plenty to not like about Indiana but if you enjoy motor sports, there really isn't a better place to be. I grew up going to these tracks and now I get to bring my son and pass on our family's passion for loud things that go fast
I didn't know the Indy area has so many racetracks. I'm familiar with IMS and IRP, but I didn't know about all the others. Anyways, it's nice that all those tracks put on a week of racing the week before the Indy 500. It makes people enjoy all kinds of racing leading up to the 500. Thanks S1apShoes for another awesome and interesting video.
As a Hoosier who wants to move to a different state, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and all our other tracks are the biggest thing making me hesitant. I love that IMS, and I’m still going to go to the Indy 500 every chance I get.
As a native Oregonian, yes I do know how good we race fans have it here in Indiana! Thanks for the video! I'm glad you mentioned the Redbud 400, but it is now under ASA STARS National Tour sanction, not ARCA. Also, I usually go to Anderson or the Speedrome a handful of times each year, and I have a collection of local Saturday night races from each on my channel if anyone is curious.
When I went to the Indy 500 this year I needed something to do before the big race on Sunday so I went to the Little 500 at Anderson Speedway and it was an incredible sight. If you're a fan of racing you owe it to yourself to see it in person.
10/10 take became an die hard IndyCar fan after going to my first 500 in 2012 and witnessing Sato come all the way from the rear just to be spun by Dario on the last lap for the lead right in front of me. Taking the 2 seater ride at full speed is a bucket list need for all Motorsport enthusiasts the grip you get on the banked turns here at full speed is incredible! I was also lucky enough to get a full speed launch from the pits and extra full lap around which apparently isn’t how stuff usually goes down, lucky me. Haven’t missed a 500 in person since
3:20, same thing for people that buy homes in new developments that are near airports that have been there for 60+ years at this point. General Aviation in America is suffering and the loss of some airfields is a huge part of it. Fortunately my local airfields were smart and got the municipalities they are in to zone the surrounding areas as commercial so it's things like factories and warehouses, and not suburban sprawl.
