KEY POINTS:
Anyone who has a passing interest in motor racing has heard of the Indy 500. Here are eight reasons that make the American Memorial Day event so special and arguably the world's most famous auto race.
1. The Indianapolis 500 is the best-attended, single-day sporting event anywhere in the world, with a crowd of up to 400,000 turning up at the "Motor Speedway".
2. The track was opened in 1909 as a test and competition facility. After the first series of races cut up the original crushed-stone and tar surface, it was decided to pave the 2.5-mile track with 3.5 million bricks - hence the "Brickyard".
3. The distance, 500 miles, was decided in 1911 when Speedway leader Carl Fisher decreed the event would last approximately seven hours. The first race was won in six hours, 42 minutes and eight seconds.
4. Most of the original bricks have been tarred over. The only ones visible now are at the start-finish line, where the race winner traditionally kneels and kisses the ground.
5. Not only does the winner kiss the ground, he, or possibly she, is expected to drink a bottle of milk after the race. Three-time winner Louis Meyer regularly drank buttermilk, which he did in Victory Lane after earning his third victory in 1936. A dairy industry executive saw a picture of this, and, believing it to be regular milk, made sure this would be repeated in the coming years.
6. Gasoline Alley originally referred to the corner where the fuel was located and, over a number of years, was applied to the entire complex. It is now the nickname for the garage area where the race cars are kept.
7. The Borg-Warner Trophy, awarded to the winner of every Indy 500 race since 1936, is crafted out of sterling silver. For 68 years the winner of the Indy 500 has had their face embossed on the trophy. The only face not of a winning driver is that of late Speedway owner Tony Hulman, whose likeness, in gold, was placed on the base in 1987.
8. Bump Day refers to the final day of qualifying. It's theoretically the day on which it is possible to post a speed fast enough to eliminate - or "bump" - the slowest car currently still in the fastest 33. Bumping can take place on every qualifying day.
