Month of May: Businesses, drivers ready for Indy 500's time in spotlight

SPEEDWAY - All up and down Main Street in Speedway, you can see the checkered flags in store windows.




It means the Month of May is here, with the town ready to welcome more than 300,000 fans to the storied Indianapolis Motor Speedway.




"I can't wait. This is Christmas. This is the month of Christmas in May," said Doug Elmore, a lifelong racing fan.




"Best month of the year, best race in the world. A lot of fun," echoed racing fan Jacob Peddycord.

Racing to business

The town is ready and so are the businesses. Founders Grounds Coffee Company, for example, is celebrating race month with a special flag-themed lineup of drinks.




"We do our Lotus Energy Drinks. We actually do them all with the flags. We have our Green Flag and our Yellow Flag here," said manager Katie Schiewer, who sees an influx of customers ahead of the race.




"And then we also have some lattes, we have our Checkered Flag, which is our black and white mocha, and then our Linda Vaughn which is caramel and white."




Founders Grounds isn't the only local business with themed menu items.




Barbecue and Bourbon also has a special menu for the month. And at the iconic Charlie Brown's Pancake and Steak House, it's the Month of May every day.

Drivers start their engines

Cars will hit the track next week ahead of the Sonsio Grand Prix, the precursor to the Indianapolis 500 that uses the IMS road course.




The first Grand Prix practice session is Friday, May 9.




IndyCar teams turned laps last week for Indianapolis 500 testing. And even though there are two races before they return to IMS, the Indy 500 is top of mind.




"It's a race that you think about almost every day," said driver Ed Carpenter.




"Patience is the key at this place," said 2022 Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson. "That's how you win this race-by being patient and doing everything step by step.".




"Driving through the tunnel coming in here is just a special feeling," said driver Christian Lundgaard. "It's goosebumps every time, and I don't think I've actually come into the track once without realizing how big this place is. The amount of people this place fills up every year in the last weekend of May is just insane."




The 109^th Running of the Indianapolis is Sunday, May 25.



via: https://fox59.com/news/indy-500-sports/month-of-may-businesses-drivers-ready-for-indy-500s-time-in-spotlight/