: I like the rubber that has been laid down as the cars have left
: their pit boxes. Seeing so many spectators inside the circuit
: looks strange to a primarily F1 fan but it makes sense at an
: oval.

Mark,

I am a life long F-1 fan too. I was a fan when Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart and Jimmy Clark brought the first little rear engine cars to Indy in the 60s (I was a little kid). I am still a road course man but slightly less an F-1 fan since Bernie and his ilk have made it so corrupt and tried to milk it for all its worth. If you ever want to see an oval race though, Indy is the place. The raw speed is different from anything you will see. I shot the F-1 race every year it was in Indy and though the F-1 cars are much more nimble the speeds are not even close.

The Indy 500 is reputed to be, in terms of attendance, the largest single day sporting event in the world. The speedway is privately owned by a single family and they never report an official attendance but experts have made fairly accurate estimates of between 250,000 and 300,000 counting the people in the infield and the stands.

JohnCote