SPEEDWAY, Ind. -- IndyCar had its spotlight in May, now it's NASCAR's turn at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the race formerly known as the Brickyard 400.
With tens of thousands of people expected to converge back on Speedway through the weekend, here are six things you should know about race weekend:
1. It's going to be HOT. Temps are the highest they've been all season, with a high dewpoint to boot. That means the "feels like" temps will be in excess of 105 degrees, and possibly as high as 110. IMS President Doug Boles said Thursday to take it easy, and in between each beer, have a water, to make sure you stay hydrated. Check the full forecast info here and get tips from IMS directly here.
2. The name: While it used to be simply the "Brickyard 400", the race's official title means a lot more now. Officially, it's known as Crown Royal presents the Combat Wounded Coalition 400 at the Brickyard (phew, that's a mouthful), which was bestowed upon the race by the winner of Crown Royal's "Your Hero's Name Here" program that renames the Brickyard 400 after a deserving hero. That hero this year was U.S. Navy Seal Jason Redman, who chose not to have his name displayed, but rather bear the name of the charity he and his wife founded.
3. There's a Kid Rock concert Saturday. Even if you don't like stock car racing, swing by for the Americana offered by hip hop/rock artist Kid Rock. Reminder: it will be HOT.
4. There are actually two races: The Lilly Diabetes 250 is on Saturday in advance of the Brickyard race on Sunday.
5. Jeff Gordon made news earlier this week when he said he was coming out of retirement for the race to fill in for an injured Dale Earnhardt, Jr., which might overshadow the next thing to know.
6. Tony Stewart: Stewart's last ride on his hometown track in advance of his retirement from NASCAR is this Sunday. Make sure you check out the dirt track in Turn 1 built in honor of "Smoke".
Did we mention it was going to be hot??
Happy racing!
