These are the most well-known Indianapolis 500 rituals and superstitions. Click to learn about the traditions as well as things to avoid at the Indy 500.
May 28, 2021
Exactly 70 years ago this Sunday the day on which the largest U.S. sporting-event crowd since the onset of the pandemic will assemble for the Indianapolis 500 a 14-year-old kid from suburban Cleveland headed west with his father to watch what was then called the 35th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes. Roger Penske and his dad were late arriving at the central Indiana home of the elder Penske’s business associate, for a prerace lunch, and everyone had already left for the track but before the Penskes headed out they took notice of a show car in the backyard. Roger pulled on a helmet, sat behind the wheel and posed for a photo.