Indianapolis Motor Speedway
"Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines!" That is indeed still the siren's call of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Built in 1909 and located at 4790 W. 16th St. in Speedway, Indiana (www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com), the sheer size of it is impressive all by itself: The 2-1/2-mile track with 400,000 seats is set on 559 acres, and even though technically it's within the city limits of Indianapolis, it even has its own separate town name. "The Brickyard," as it is also known (because its original -- and very hazardous -- rock-and-tar pavement was quickly replaced with brick, mortar, and sand soon after it opened), holds three major races a year: the Indianapolis 500, the United States Grand Prix, and the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. Getting tickets to check out one of these heart-pounding, thunderous races where race cars hit speeds up to 200 miles per hour is a singular experience that you won't soon forget. As one Indy 500 fan put it: "The green flag waves, and the pack of 33 cars suddenly races by like rockets on wheels, with a roar you can feel in your teeth." It's the next best thing to watching a shuttle launch at Cape Canaveral.
