Indy 500 seeking centennial bump

There was a palpable sense of excitement everywhere Doug Boles went a year ago, whether it was the gas station or grocery store or his office on 16th and Georgetown just outside Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Everyone was talking about the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500.

Boles shared in the excitement, too. The president of the speedway seemed to be everywhere at once, shaking hands with some of the estimated 350,000 fans on race day, taking selfies that showed up on all manner of social media and ensuring the centennial edition would be one to remember.

But just below the surface was also an underlying fear: What would happen next year? Would all the build-up to such a milestone event leave many of those fans done for 101?

“We were worried that one of two things could happen,” Boles explained. “People who had been coming for a long time would view the 100th as sort of the end point — they had gotten to the 100th and they were going to do something else, listen to it on the radio, watch it on TV, but weren’t going to come.

“And the other one,” Boles said, “is we knew we’d have a lot of bucket-listers and first-timer people who were coming, and we were hoping that we could get them to come back a second or third time.”

It appears many of those first-timers will indeed be back next weekend.

After strong crowds for qualifying weekend, Boles said ticket sales are strong.

Drivers robbed

After winning the Indianapolis 500 pole, collecting a $100,000 check and doing the usual interview circuit, Scott Dixon tried to relax.

Instead, he got the scare of his life.

As he ordered dinner for his teammates at one of the few fast-food restaurants still open near Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Dixon and threetime Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti were robbed at gunpoint while waiting in the drive-thru line.

Neither was injured and two boys, ages 15 and 14, were arrested a short time later.