Thanks for sharing that story, i have been to many 500’s. Always had a great time. I have sat in the same area in turn 1 three races.
Back when America was truly great.
I have been to a few races at the Magic Mile in Loudon, NH.
One Indy car, a couple NASCAR and a few motorcycle races. Including this past June. Going to see the motorcycle races is pretty cool because there are less than 5K people there. They are spread out and you get to walk all over the infield /garages except the pits. Plus it is the oldest motorcycle race in the USA. Older than Daytona. Tickets are cheap and you park for free right next to the track.
Whereas on NASCAR day there are a 100K people. The wait for the bathroom is 15/20 minutes. It is the biggest one day sporting event in New England.
Indy is a whole other experience. I had never been to a track where you could only see them from turn one to turn two. We could not see the front or back straight. We were about half way up the grandstand right at the exit of turn one.