The largest crowd in the world for a sports event since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic showed up in joyous force Sunday with 135,000 people packing the stands at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
It was only 40 per cent of capacity -- that was the figure deemed safe in the pandemic -- but it felt like a full house nonetheless.
Indy fans and dignitaries mixed with NFL players, pro wrestlers and social media celebrities at the Brickyard. Josh Richards, who boasts 25 million Tik Tok followers, reached 100,000 views within 30 minutes of posting a video from the grid. Indy is in a whole new era -- long gone are the days Mrs. Brady and Gomer Pyle taking center stage -- and that includes for fans who for the first time gawked at lineup intros and other hype videos around the track on 30 LED display boards added since 2019.
Danica Patrick was once assumed to usher in a generation of female drivers at Indy after her inspring third-place finish in 2009. Working for NBC, the retired Patrick still drew a packed crowd in front of the pagoda, the Speedway's most visible landmark. She also drove the pace car.
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