I’ve now lived in Indianapolis for 12 years. In that time, I’ve never actually attended an Indianapolis 500. The thought of sitting in traffic and walking miles past other parked cars to attend a sun-baked car race for 3+ hours is unappealing to me. I will be out of town this year, so I’ll miss it again. The good news for those who are wishing to attend the race but are fearing the traffic jam: the bicycle is your friend.
West 10th Street is closed to all non-emergency vehicles. However, it remains open to bicyclists. Cyclists are welcome to use this street, and then park their bikes at the pedal and park facility on Polco Street a bit south of the track.  Traffic and parking are officially checked off your list of race day concerns.
On a related note, for those who may not be able to bicycle to the track, bus service is still available. IndyGo isn’t allowed to any more, but a group of local companies provide the service now. One of the stops might be within walking distance, or you can always park free at the meters on Sunday. More info: http://www.freeenterprisesystem.com/indy500.html
Thanks for the link. I was unaware of the charter bus service.
@Michael: Good call. I’ve used the shuttle a number of times to get to the race. On the way to the track in the past, we had a police escort which made the trip about 20 minutes from Market and Illinois to 16th and Georgetown. Warning: the wait for the shuttle home is brutal. We waited about 1.5 hours last year, but we were lollygagging to get over to the line. Might be quicker if you hustled out before the race was completely over.
I may just ride on 10th for the thrill of it, no tickets for the race. I love to feel like there is infrastructure dedicated for a cyclist if even for a moment.
Isn’t it even just a little ironic to NOT drive to the World Shrine of Auto Racing? 🙂