SPEEDWAY, Ind. — There's a sign mimicking the gates of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway over the Santos family's driveway. Their house is checkered in black and white, while another part was painted red, white and blue. Neighbors and those passing by are stopping to congratulate them on earning first place in the Indy 500 Porch Party Contest.
"Thousands of people come take pictures here," Berta Santos said. "The people, they love it. The people, they say come every year and park in this area, and they always take a picture of the house."
Their home even got the attention of Marcus Ericsson, who won the Indianapolis 500 in 2022.
"It's more than a race. It's about the community, it's about the whole month of May where there are so many things going on, and get to do so much cool stuff and seeing how the people really invite us into it. And just get involved in it in different ways and makes it so special for us drivers to take the race track on Sunday," Ericsson said.
According to those organizing the 108th Running of the Indy 500, they saw more than 330,000 race fans show up to the track in 2023. This year, they're expecting 15,000 more than that.
"It is the second largest city in the state of Indiana on race day inside the race track," said IMS President Doug Boles, talking about the number of people showing up.
Boles said parking at IMS is completely sold out. He suggests planning ahead and arriving early if you plan on driving.
"If you walk to the west of the speedway, any time, really, starting tomorrow, you will find cars and campers in people's lots. There are always neighborhoods and homes who have last-minute opportunity for parking," Boles said.
As for getting into the track and getting past security, you'll be able to leave everything in your pockets and bags.
"You can walk through with your sandwiches, your Pepsi or your Miller Lites as you go through that, and it's not going to go off, but if you bring an umbrella, a computer or a lot of batteries in a flashlight, I think is one of the things we caught, or you bring things you shouldn't bring – weapons – we're going to find that," Boles said.
And for the first time this year, organizers have rolled out a mass notification system in case of emergencies, no spam included. You can get that by texting INDY500 to 67283.