Where Is Indiana?
A cannon thunders over the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It’s race day! Hundreds of thousands of excited fans fill the stands. Roger Penske, the speedway’s chairman, steps up to a microphone. His voice rings out: “Drivers, start your engines!” The crowd roars as thirty- three race cars roll out. Cars circle the track to warm up. A green flag is waved. The cars take off!
Engines hum like a swarm of bees as the drivers push their cars to speeds of 190 miles per hour or more. They go two hundred laps around the track, equaling five hundred miles. The drivers fight to pass each other and stay in front. The smallest mistake can cause a crash. And in the end, there can only be one winner.
This race is the Indianapolis 500, sometimes called the Indy 500. It’s held every year, usually around Memorial Day. Fifty-one American drivers have won it.
The Indy 500 has been held for more than one hundred years. It’s a unique tradition that makes people proud to live in Indiana, but it’s not the only one.
Copyright © 2026 by Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
