(Reuters) – The following are facts and figures ahead of the 105th edition of the Indianapolis 500, known as “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing”.
WHEN: Sunday, May 30
WHERE: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Indiana
* The Indy 500 is set to be the most-attended sporting event since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic with 135,000 spectators – approximately 40% capacity – present inside the IMS.
Spectators will be required to wear face coverings, while the infield will be closed to fans.
* Friday’s Carb Day, Saturday’s Legends Day and Sunday’s Snake Pit concerts have been cancelled this year.
* Under normal circumstances, the 559-acre IMS, which is large enough to hold Vatican City, Yankee Stadium, Churchill Downs, the Roman Colosseum and Rose Bowl, can accommodate around 400,000 people, including workers.
* The 2021 edition of the race, which is the premier event of the IndyCar Series, is scheduled to be a 500-mile (804km) run in which competitors have to complete 200 laps of the 2.5 mile long track.
* The winner of the race receives the Borg-Warner Trophy and usually chugs from a quart of milk or drenches themselves in it on Victory Lane, a tradition that has been part of every race since 1956.
The roots of the tradition go back longer, to when Louis Meyer celebrated his second Indy 500 success in 1933 with a glass of buttermilk and drank from a large bottle of milk when he triumphed again three years later.
* New Zealand’s Scott Dixon, the 2008 winner, will start from pole position for the fourth time in his career, while Japan’s two-times winner Takuma Sato will defend his title starting from 15th on the 33-car grid.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davis)
