The start of the race may be one of the most intense and stressful moments for drivers. Once the green flag waves, many drivers try to fall into place while others start trying to advance positions. Drivers starting on the outside of a row must be careful not to get pitched against the wall as the track is congested and there is little room for error. The start doesn’t always work out the way it should and doesn’t always go off without a hitch.
In 2004, there was a multi-car pileup in turn one at the start and a 2014 incident in the back of the pack necessitated a complete restart. The race has been won from virtually every starting position, including 33rd when Bob Cleberg completed this remarkable feat in 1956.
Fueling cars during pit stops involves a bit of creativity. The majority of the teams use older Indy car fueling rigs or ones they have custom built. The fueling devices are suspended high in the air with a hose running from the rig that connects to a dry-break on the fuel tank once the car has come to a complete stop.
With the fueling rig being in the air, the fuel travels downward toward the fuel tank, allowing the fuel to reach its destination faster and more easily. A few teams choose to refuel their cars with a NASCAR-style fuel can.
SAFETY
Safety is the primary concern for drivers and crew members during these fast and chaotic pit stops. Teams scramble to complete these stops without losing laps and track position. Fire has always been a concern. In recent years, teams have added firewalls to the rear of the cars. Sheet metal is placed from the top of the roll cage in the rear of the car and goes down the side of the fuel tank. It serves to keep fuel out of the cockpit, as well as the brake rotors, alleviating any possibility of a fuel fire.
The race has been a sell-out each of the past few seasons and has attracted a lot of national media attention. It didn’t hurt matters when three-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart competed in the 2017 race. It had been a bucket-list item for Stewart for many years and has since become a bucket- list race for countless other open-wheel drivers across the nation.
Driver endurance is not an issue as it was in the early years. The advent of power steering and more comfortable seating keeps drivers in the saddle virtually the entire race. Most drivers begin a physical regimen of some sort months before the race to help get in shape.
The pace of the race and race strategy has changed in modern years.
In the early years, a driver would lay back and save his tires and stamina until the latter part of the race, then would run hard the final half of the race. Now, the pace is hard and aggressive from the green flag until the checkered flag. Drivers no longer pace themselves as they once did.
For a driver who has ever competed in the Little 500, they either love it or hate it. Tony Stewart didn’t know what to expect when he competed in 2017, but later said it reminded him a lot of a NASCAR race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
Dave Darland, who has competed in two Little 500s, has told many people over the years it wasn’t a race he truly enjoyed.
1965 Indianapolis 500 winner Jimmy Clark, who never drove in the Little 500, summed it up best after he witnessed the 1967 Little 500. “Utterly fantastic,” Clark said. “The most amazing race I’ve seen.”