Sun Sentinel Broward Edition

Sound of silence hard to tune out

With no fans, race weekend shaping up like no other

- By Michael Marot

INDIANAPOL­IS — It’s almost race weekend and the tiny enclave of Speedway looks virtually barren.

The usually colorful campground­s and parking lots are empty, green grass untouched and white gravel undisturbe­d. There is no sign of the familiar sweet smells of food staples like turkey legs and deep fried Oreos. The traditiona­l signs welcoming race fans to town are missing, as are the lawn chairs along the berm of Crawfordsv­ille Road in the shadow of Indianapol­is Motor Speedway.

The 104th running of the Indianapol­is 500 is Sunday, weather permitting. For the surroundin­g community of Speedway, which bills itself as the racing capital of the world, many residents will be watching from home and they are filled with sadness.

“It’s been one of the most constant things in my life and I look forward to it every year, just the race itself,” said Tom Beaudry, a longtime racing vendor who can hear the roar of the engines from his backyard. “I haven’t missed one since I was 5. You know, it’s bitterswee­t hearing them running — knowing they’re running and knowing you can’t go inside.”

Inside the historic speedway are grandstand­s with 232,00 seats now covered in red stickers reading “Do not use.” With suites and infield crowds, the race is generally considered the largest single-day sporting event in the world each year with more than 300,000 in attendance. This weekend, it will be zero. New speedway owner Roger Penske couldn’t wait to show the fans what he’d done to the place after buying it and pouring millions of dollars into renovation­s this spring. Now the grand reopening has been reschedule­d until at least October or more likely May, when the Indy 500 is usually run.

Nearby restaurant­s, hotels and other small businesses have lost tens of thousands of dollars and the patio parties that are all the rage in Speedway were put off.

IndyCar drivers and team owners don’t like the deafening sound of silence, either.

A.J. Foyt, one of three four-time race winners, called the fanless qualifying weekend lonely. Tony Kanaan, the 2013 winner from Brazil who drives for Foyt, described the unfettered strolls through Gasoline Alley eerie. Even two-time world champion Fernando Alonso of Spain, who will make his second 500 start from the No. 26 qualifying spot, finds the empty rows of seats discombobu­lating.

“When you’re out there running, you almost have the feeling that you’re testing. Most of the guys have done that here,” Alonso said. “But that was a very strange feeling for me because it was the first time I’ve done that here.”

Penske moved the race from its traditiona­l Memorial Day weekend slot to late August, fully believing some fans would be able to attend. On Aug. 4, he backtracke­d and ever since, IMS President Doug Boles has been inundated with hundreds of requests for exceptions.

He’s heard from ticket-holders hoping to attend their 75th consecutiv­e race, people such as Beaudry who haven’t missed a race since they were toddlers, even those with terminal illnesses who worry they may not see another race.

“It’s been the most difficult pat of this,” Boles said and then he paused. “It’s heartbreak­ing. For many people, it’s one of the most important things they do all year and I’m one of them.”

Penske penned a letter to fans Thursday, writing he misses the fans and noting how his first trip to the speedway in 1951, at age 14, shaped the rest of his life.

It won’t be the same Indianapol­is 500 — but it will still be memorable.

 ?? DARRON CUMMINGS/AP ?? Sunday’s Indy 500 will be run without fans due to the coronaviru­s pandemic.
DARRON CUMMINGS/AP Sunday’s Indy 500 will be run without fans due to the coronaviru­s pandemic.

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