Speedway (3,500) Built 1963
January 3, 2024: Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter vs. Speedway (Boys)
January 3, 2024: Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter vs. Speedway (Boys)
Growing up in northeast Indiana, and particularly in Amish country, the Indy 500 wasn't really something that was on my radar. Motorsports in general were somewhat of a foreign thing to me. I had an uncle who had some NASCAR signs and memorabila hung up in his basement, and I weirdly got really into fantasy NASCAR my junior year of high school, but that was about it. I knew the Indy 500 was obviously held in Indiana, but in my formative years Indianapolis might as well have been on another planet. My only exposure to it was waiting for the highlights to be covered on SportsCenter so I could get back to seeing who won the Blue Jays/Twins game the night before. Then my wife and I moved to Anderson after college, and I realized the Indy 500 isn't just a big deal in central Indiana and many other parts of the state, it's a borderline religion. In fact other than high school basketball, I don't think there's anything more beloved in this state. I quickly heard stories of people who have attended over 50 straight races, people having arguements over where the exact best spot is to sit at the track, and people making a tradition of throwing a cookout and listening to the race on the radio if they couldn't make it in person. Then the real kicker, I found out that the name of the town where it's held is literally called Speedway! That won me over.
My visit to the Speedway gym was is one that I have wanted to make for a long time. Pictures I've seen of the place looked preserved right from the era in which it was built. It reminded me of what I found when I visited Tipton last year: everything was a little worn, but in a good way. If you're not a part of the Indiana High School Basketball Fans group on Facebook, I highly suggest you join. That place is just a wealth of information. Mr. Jon Easter who is the radio station manager at Ben-Davis clued me in on the fact that Speedway, Warren Central, North Central, and Ben-Davis were all designed by the same architect named Everett Brown. Weirdly enough I've visited 3 of those gyms for the first time in the last month, and you can definitely see the similarities. Speedway retains the classic design of upper and lower sideline levels. The big difference between Speedway and the other three gyms are the permanent upper bleachers. The others all have retractables at both levels. The upper level at Speedway is made of poured concrete steps with dark stained wood bleachers fastened to them. They are fabulously old and worn. Initials and hearts are carved all over them. Another unique feature is that at the very top of the bleachers there is a 10 foot wide concrete walkway. Someone even wrote their name in the cement up there (shoutout to Roger!). This is great for maneuvering about the upper level, filming the game from above, and for my 4 year old to have lots of room to dance to the pep band and play with his cars.
One big think that I love about this gym is the color scheme. There is yellow everywhere, and it's all accented by brown. Yellow and brown isn't usually the top color combination when you think about pleasing aesthetics, but man does it work here. The Speedway mascot is fittingly the Sparkplugs, and the brown accents seem to have an oily hue to them. "Speedway Sparkplugs" is written in big letters across both baseline walls in yellow with more yellow lines following it across the wall above and below the words. The court is a nice light tan color. A big yellow "S" sits at centercourt with a brown sparkplug overlaid on it. The only other color on the court is the brown inside of the foul lanes. The perimeter of the court is trimmed in brown with "Speedway" along one baseline and "Sparkplugs" across the other in yellow. They also have "2002 State Champions" running along each sideline in pretty yellow script. They've even slapped the Indy 500 logo right along the sideline on the inside of the court which is a sweet symbol in its own right and looks great. Even the scoreboard utilizes the matching brown color. The color scheme is everywhere and it looks great.
There aren't really any athletic accomplishment banners to speak of other than a couple state runner-up and champion signs up on one baseline wall. They at least look vintage than the new standard versions you see everywhere. The opposite baseline wall has an Indiana Crossroads Conference team display that looks just like the one at Triton Central only with much better placement. One little oddity is that the bottom cinder block walls along the baselines are painted a color I can only describe as whiteish-green. It's something I would expect to find in a 1970s church basement or elementary school. You only really notice it if you get down close to it. In one bottom corner of the gym amidst this pale green wall, you'll see a door with a little window next to it that says "Director of Athletics" that overlooks the whole gym. If I had to guess, the athletic director's office probably isn't in that tiny room anymore, but it's another throwback link to the time when the gym was built.
I happened to take my son with me this time to the Speedway gym. I tend to take him once every couple of weeks when I'm making my rounds to different gyms, and it's always a different experience compared to when I'm by myself. I don't get to sit and drink my Mountain Dew in peace, pay as close attention to the coaching strategy, and wander aimlessly taking pictures. Answering a million questions about the game and dancing to the pep band is a different kind of fun, but I think I enjoy it more. Being able to share these trips with someone that has a completely different perspective than me, especially through the eyes of a child, is priceless. Growing up going to games every Friday night is what got me hooked on all this from a young age. The Speedway gym feels like it's been frozen in time in many ways. It's easy to picture the families that have faithfully cheered on their Sparkplugs here over the last 60 years. It's the convergence of Hoosier Hysteria and The Greatest Spectacle in Racing. There may not be a more quintessential Indiana place than this.
