The 500 Victory Celebration can at times be a bit of a stuffy low key affair, but last night’s banquet was ajoyous, lfun filled program. The mood was ectremely light hearted as anorther May in indianapolis came to close.

I don’t know if the 1,000 plus fans in attendance was a record for this event, but it was definitely a larger crowd than the previous two banquets.

As usual, Conor Daly was the star of the show. he always livens up the program when it’s his turn to come to the podium. Last night’s gem- Newgarden will not only have his face on the Borg Warner trophy but also his abs.

Pato O’Ward and Lindsey Czarniak had a humorous discussion about Pato’s clothing choices. Lindsay dismissed him when he asked if she liked his shoes.

The emotional tribute to Tony Kanaan was a fitting send off toone of the most popular drivers IMS has seen. After his lettr to fans clip which was shown on the video boards Sundy played, Kanaan received a standing ovation usually reserved for the race winner. Helio Castroneves, Kanaan’s lifelong friend, joined the dais and the two reminisced for a bit.

Kanaan tried to get Helio to promise to stop dying his hair since Tony is done racing. The secret is out.

Josef Newgarden’s speech as full of humility and gratitude for the sacrifices his parents made to launch his racing career. Winning has opened a new side of Newgarden i hadn’t seen before. Like Will Power after his 2018 win, he seems less wound tight, and more at ease.

In May, 2021, I wrote a post wondering ahere the buzz around the 500 had gone. It was the first year after the pandemic, but the whole seemed to run in a rather perfunctory manner. This May, i felt that buzz and excitement from the start of practice for the GMR Grand Prix all the way through last evening. I athink track attendance was a reflection of that. This year felt a lot like the 70s and 80s.

The payout of the record $17 million purse: