First, PLEASE tell me that you booked a hotel room already. The last half of the month of May is generally sold out at all the local hotels about 3-6 years in advance... this includes hotels up to an hour away. If you haven't, there are options, but they can get weird. LOL
Secondly, be prepared for any weather conditions. It can be 95 as easily as 43. Obviously, it'll be a bit more certain as the trip approaches, but even so, have one item to wear in case they are way off.
Thirdly, some advanced planning can go a long way. Race Weekend is not all about the Race, even in this 100th running. As others noted, there is Carb Day on Friday, but the Night Before The Race rivals Mardi Gras... you have 400,000-600,000 drunk people in a town of 50,000 residents. If bawdy t-shirts and weird sights is your thing, Georgetown Road from 9pm until 3am is a MUST.
Next, if you arrive in Indy before Friday, there are many, many interesting places to go in town that aren't related to the Race.
Traffic will be insane. Unless you bring a motorcycle with you, expect to sit in traffic for extended periods, unless you planned ahead really well and found parking at a friend's house near the track and can park there any time you want. Arriving and parking early is not a problem usually, but the long wait from 6am (when the gates open) until the green flag drops at 12:15 can be tough. If it is hot and sunny, bring more sunscreen than you think. There will be NO shade, for 12 hours. You can get barbecued if you only wear what you usually wear for a 3-hour stay at the beach.
Be extra-ready with the camera from 11am until the Green Flag. Have the Order of Events in your lap. The 500 is all about Tradition, and there are a dozen or so in that last fast hour before racing begins, and they can be done in an instant. The Balloon Release, the anthems, multiple parades, the Flyover, even some of the announcements are laden with Tradition and are photo-worthy.
Feel free to post or PM any questions you might have. I'll post more thoughts as they come to mind.
After the Race, don’t be in a rush to leave, unless you chose your parking spot wisely and got a little bit lucky. (Parking can be done outside of the track, in almost anyone’s front yard near the track, for $10-50.) They’ll have signs. IF you pick a good parking place, AND you can get to the exits and your vehicle quickly after the Race is over, you might have a chance to squirt out before the long wait begins... but the odds are against you. You can easily plan on meandering around and chatting with some of your new 600,000 friends to while away the 2-3 hours before traffic begins to die down again.
We’re booked. Some Comfort Inn in the south of the city. The shuttle parking’s about half way to the Speedway.
Sounds like we should be out and about on Saturday after we check in. Sunday we’ll arrive as early as possible and stay as late as possible, shuttles willing.
Thanks for your great advice!
cheers
Jim