Night Before the 500
| Venue | Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis |
|---|---|
| Location |
Brownsburg, Indiana 39°48′46″N 86°20′27″W / 39.81278°N 86.34083°WCoordinates: 39°48′46″N 86°20′27″W / 39.81278°N 86.34083°W |
| First race | 1946 |
| Most wins (driver) |
 Eddie Haddad (4) |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 0.686 mi (1.104 km) |
| Turns | 4 |
| Lap record | 0:19.581 (Mark Smith, Ralt RT5, 1989, Formula Super Vee) |
The Carb Night CLassic (also called the Day before the 500) is an annual autosport event in the state of Indiana. It occurs the Friday (starting in 2016) or Saturday (in previous years) of Indianapolis 500 race weekend. It is one of the Indianapolis 500 traditions.
The first Night before the 500 event was held at the 16th Street Speedway. The headline event was a double feature with USAC midget cars. The feature races were won by Leroy Warriner and Benny Emerick. In the following decades the event switched between local short courses in the state of Indiana. After leaving 16th Street Speedway, Kokomo Speedway, Indianapolis Speedrome, Indianapolis Raceway Park and the Indiana State Fairgrounds were used. As of 1980 the Indianapolis Raceway Park is the location for this prestigious event.
Various racing series supported the midget race. Formula Super Vee ran at the oval for five races. Mark Smith won the race in 1989. His fastest lap of 0:19.581 is still the current track record. In 1983, Jeff Andretti won a Formula Ford race. Froum 2010 to 2016, the Road to Indy USF2000 and Star Mazda formula racing series supported the event.
Following USAC ceasing sanctioning of paved midget cars, the event in 2015, which was held on Saturday afternoon, was reassigned for the USAC Silver Crown cars, which are the only USAC series to race on paved tracks.
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