As we count down to The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, I thought it would be fun to once again remind ourselves of some of the differences between true fans of IndyCar and the Indianapolis 500 and casual fans of the sport. So here are some ways we differ. Hope you enjoy!
1. A super fan will wake up long before the sun rises to hit the road in order to attend a race weekend. It makes no sense to go to a race and not watch every practice and qualifying session. A casual fan would rather attend her sons ballgame and stroll into the track just before the green flag.
At the Indianapolis 500, the super fan has arrived before the bomb and enjoys vintage cars on track, the singing of Back Home Again in Indiana, Balloon real ease and many other prerace traditions. The casual fan is still waiting in the concession line minutes before the green flag.
2. A super fan refers to the drivers by their first name and acts like they actually know the driver (we feel like we do). The casual fan often has no clue who the super fan is talking about because sport figures usually go by their last names and the casual fan is trying to figure out who the heck Tony, Charlie and Scott are.
3. When hanging out at the hotel pool after a hot day at a speedway a casual fan might be tempted to yell out “Polo” to a popular game kids are playing in the pool. A super fan will have a completely different answer and yell out “Andretti”.
4. A super fan knows the drivers birthdays and will often tweet birthday wishes. While discussing this at dinner Kristen couldn’t believe how many of the drivers birthdays Lisa and I knew without looking them up. Okay I will admit we didn’t always remember the exact date but between the two of us we knew the Month for many.
5. A super fan won’t go to just any restaurant while attending the Indy 500. Charlie Browns, Mug n Bun, Dawson’s and the Foyt Vault are all a must. Casual fan just wants to hit Cracker Barrel because it is close to the hotel.
6. A super fan gets all geeked out when her blog is mentioned by the king of IndyCar bloggers- George Phillip of Oilpressure.com – even more so when she wins the annual trivia contest. A casual fan is shocked that there is more than one person blogging about IndyCar.
7. A super fan has her own scanner and regularly checks in with Debbie who works for Racing Elecronics to make sure she is good to go before the green flag. A casual fan hopefully remembers to bring ear protection.

8. A super fan knows and recognizes the radio announcers. A casual fan scratches her head wondering how on Earth you know what the radio announcers look like.
9. A super fan will rearrange the IndyCar magnets on her car putting the driver with the most points in first. A casual fan sadly does not have any IndyCar bumper stickers or magnets on her car.
10. Perhaps our favorite and the one we laughed over the most. A super fan follows the drivers pet dogs on Twitter. During the Iowa weekend (2017) Norman Pagenaud tweeted reminding us to vote for Simon for the ESPY’s. Kristen could not stop laughing when I showed her the tweet. She laughed even harder when she learned he wasn’t the only dog I follow. Chevy Clausen is another sweet pup I follow. The best part was it didn’t even dawn on me that she would find it funny or weird that I follow dogs on twitter- don’t we all? When we told Lisa she said she also followed Norman and of course had voted for Simon.

11. A super fan refuses to attend weddings or graduation parties on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. A casual fan actually plans parties on that Sunday and doesn’t understand why the super fan refuses to attend.
12. A casual fan does not talk to strangers in a bar. A super fan notices their IndyCar shirt and approaches them asking all sorts of questions about who they like for the race.
13. A super fan talks along with the radio, tv and podcasts answering questions and pointing out facts along with the announcers. The casual fan is amazed people can talk about IndyCar for that long.
14. A casual fan may or may not recognize Mario Andretti. A super fan will pull out a homemade autograph book that includes pictures from the Andretti winery and end up having a 15 minute conversation with the racing legend.
15. Super fans wake up on Memorial Day Sunday saying Merry Christmas. Casual fans are greatly confused because Christmas is in December. Well that’s not necessarily true if you are a race fan. Our greatest day of the year is Indy 500 day.
I’ve put this fun list together twice before. You can check it out here and here. If some of these seem dated that is why. Today we will celebrate my sons graduation. I was very careful to make sure the party was on Saturday and not Sunday. While I don’t often attend the race in person, you can be sure I will be watching every second of it. Hope you enjoy our racing Christmas.
Do you have fun stories your friends and family don’t understand about your passion for the 500? I’d love to hear them.