Carb Day

I have been hearing about Carb Day since I moved to Indy. And not just about the event that is it, but the whole spectacle that it is. People take the day off work for this, which was a really big deal when I first moved here, because it was on a Thursday.

Then they moved it to Friday when they were trying to entice more people to come. And that's when I started hearing the stories of the grander it was back in its glory days, at the peak of the Indy 500's popularity. Like the Snake Pit, for examples... an area of pure trashiness, full of drugs, alcohol, and sex. Seriously. Those are the stories I heard.

So naturally, I was excited to experience all this greatness when I got an opportunity this year (for the first time). As you can imagine, my expectations were high. All this hype, surely the track would be brimming with people and full of the spectacle that the Indy 500 (supposedly) is.

My expectations were not met.

Not that it was a bad way... they were set awfully high. But I think if this wasn't a long time tradition for you or if you were getting completely plastered, there wasn't much to it. There was great people watching, though... I can say that. There were clearly two types of people in attendance.

The first type was the purist. The actual race fan who was there to see the cars do some of their fastest laps before raceday on Sunday. Afterall, 'Carb Day' actually started as Carburation Day, as it was the day the Carburetor got tweaked during the last practice before the big race. And it is still the last practice before the race. But they only get an hour now... which isn't a lot of time if that's the reason your there. Sure, they have a pit stop contest and the Indy Lights series race... but after that, there's nothing left for the purist in the crowd. So the purist really only have a reason to be there for about 4 hours. If that. And they really don't want to be around much longer as the other type becomes more prevalent.

The other type of person is the one there for the traditions and/or legend that is Carb Day. They are there to get completely wasted, make a spectacle of themselves, and go home with little memory of the day. These are the ones tossing jello shots in the stands like they're someone's dying wish, and swing beer bongs above their heads. And the costumes... or just crazy get-ups in general. Wow. Now THAT is some good people watching!

So if you're like me, and don't really fall into either of these categories, the day is just, well... "Meh." I guess is was a big deal that this was Jim Nabors last year to be at the 500, so it was cool to hear some of his stories. All in all, I had a good time since it was my first time, but I think unless I'm there with one of two types above and partaking in whichever motive they partake in, it's not as fun for me. That said, I won't ever turn down an invitation... but I won't likely search one out, either.

So Carb Day... IMS and IndyCar's desperate attempt to hold on the something from the past glory days, not recognizing that they need to step it up and add more events that have a broader appeal if they want to get more fans. They're taking baby steps... I'll give them that. They've added glamping and more banquet type events (for charity)... but there needs to be more. And that doesn't meant just added another race or another themed day at the track. The sport, itself, is not relatable. No one outside of the fanbase can recognize any of the drivers. NASCAR has notable drivers that everyone recognizes - they're in commercials during non-race programming. And obviously NFL, MLB, and the NBA has notable athletes. But that's just my opinion.