INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The navigation system advises taking a right on Meridien at Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis. But there is no Meridien Street and so round and round you go past the memorial for soldiers and sailors until you realize Meridien has been replaced by Dixon Drive.
All downtown Indianapolis streets have been renamed, in fact, for each of the 33 drivers in the Indianapolis 500. Residents across the city have been counting down to Sunday’s race for weeks and many enthusiastically entered the “Spectacle of Homes” contest meant to spark civic pride.
There is no sporting event in the world embraced by its community the way Indianapolis supports “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” a 105-year old slice of Midwestern Americana that has connected generations of families through wars, the Depression and now a pandemic.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway was closed last year to spectators for the first time in 104 runnings so drivers made surprise visits to longtime season ticket holders who had their race-day streaks broken because of the pandemic. With the traditional pre-race parade canceled for a second consecutive year, IMS asked its fans to decorate their houses for a chance to be featured on a parade route.
More than 700 homes entered and the final field of 33 — it was the biggest bump day ever — were selected as winners. Drivers will make pit stops at the homes on Saturday.
For a second straight year, it’s back to the homes again in Indiana.
The fans worked hard. Some went to their local tire shops to grab a used wheel, spray paint it gold and attach it to their roof in honor of the wing-and-wheel logo. Others wrapped checkered flag print around their front porch columns. Sunflowers sprouted from Indy 500 souvenir plastic cups. Indy 500 milk bottles and beer bottles lined front yards. One set of neighbors lined their street with mini checkered flags to stake the adult tricycle race that goes off with the same fervor of the field at IMS.
Life-sized cutouts of modern drivers like two-time champion Takuma Sato shared the same porch decor as black-and-white framed photos of A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti.
Some even had a true yard of bricks — a lined path in the yard leading to porch parties on warm Memorial Day weekend evenings.
Jameson and Kimmy Terzini clipped on a mannequin of favorite driver Helio Castroneves scaling their front porch in victory — a precursor to what they hope is a history-tying fourth fence-climbing victory Sunday.
When Castroneves saw the photo of the Terzini’s house on Thursday the three-time winner desperately hoped the speedway sent him there during the parade.
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Front Yard of Bricks: Fans embrace Indy 500 traditions - Martins Ferry Times Leader
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