It’s hard to believe that I can sit in the air-conditioned comfort of my living room and watch the entire Carb Day event from Indianapolis. Carburetors, of course, don’t exist anymore on IndyCars and haven’t since 1963, but the last day of practice before the Indy 500 is still called by that obsolete name. The race itself is still blocked in the Indianapolis area, so I can remember going out of town to even see the race on TV. However, I still enjoy listening to the radio broadcast, that became a habit years ago as I was working on home improvement projects over the long weekend. 

I used to sell sponsorships in the race broadcast every year, working for WIBC in Indianapolis. However, we didn’t cover Carb Day back then, so it wasn’t part of the packages I sold. This is why I’m so intrigued with the fact that it’s now streamed on Peacock TV. It is technically pay-per-view but included as part of my subscription that I bought to follow IU basketball this past season.

The race and qualifying have been broadcast in their entirety for many years now, so it only makes sense to extend the coverage to Carb Day. After all, the cameras are in place, and announcers/crews already in town. Everybody gets a day off tomorrow, but it used to be two days prior to 2005 when the event was held on Thursday rather than Friday.  I’m just not sure how long they’ve been doing this live broadcast? Even the Pit Stop competition will be included from 2-4p. I’ve watched Carb Day from the infield, the stands, the pits, and from luxury suites. This is first time I’ve watched it live on TV, other than on the closed-circuit monitors at the Speedway or in the TV studios at WISH-TV, where we picked up that feed for later sports coverage. 

Years ago, the only option to see Carb Day was to drive to the Speedway, fighting the traffic to find a spot in the infield. It was then a long, hot walk through a mass of spectators to get to an air-conditioned suite, if you were lucky enough to be a guest. On some occasions, I might have had a suite parking pass, access to a golf cart, or a rare race day police escort. Otherwise, it was a hassle unless you got there really early. It was always hot and crowded, and without the right credentials hard to find a good seat near the pits. Unlike race day, it was never sold out, but seating was restricted to the main straightaway. 

So, here I am, marveled by technology, watching an event that was once only enjoyed by paying for admission or flashing a badge. It’s usually not particularly exciting, but more so than qualifying, in my opinion. Actual race day conditions are in effect and multiple cars are on the track with full tanks of fuel. Colton Herta flipped his car on Carb Day 2022, but there have been no fatalities, even on race day since 2010. “Gentlemen (and Katherine Legge) start your engines.”