Getting Mooned: Experiencing the Total Solar Eclipse at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

My family lives in Los Angeles and I work as a photo editor in the entertainment industry. Seeing celebrities is pretty common.

But a trip to Indiana this week provided the most amazing experience with the biggest star ever: the sun.

We went to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway— home to the Indy 500, Brickyard 400, and other races—for a fantastic total solar eclipse event hosted by Purdue University.

Planning the Trip and Getting There

I’ve always wanted to experience a total solar eclipse. This particular event worked out great. The path of totality covered Indianapolis — not too far from where René and Lisa de Lambert’s South Bend area residence. (They experienced the 2017 event — and are eclipsed veterans!) So, we spent a few days getting caught up with them, enjoying some delicious food and beverages, and taking in some sights such as Notre Dame and Tippecanoe Place.

Rene found out about the Purdue event at the Indy Speedway and ordered tickets. They were just $20 each and included parking on the raceway’s infield.

We flew Delta Air Lines roundtrip. I used Delta eCredits to pay for my reservation. We used my Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card‘s Companion Certificate for my daughter’s tickets.

We picked up some sub sandwiches during the drive from South Bend to Indianapolis. Road construction delayed us a bit, but we reached the Speedway in plenty of time.

That’s where things got interesting.

Arriving at the Venue

Whoever was in charge of traffic planning didn’t seem to do a good job. Signage directing people to correct gates (i.e., those who already had tickets) was non-existent. I’m sure the Indianapolis police officers working the Main Gate area are fantastic at enforcing laws and helping prevent crime. But this must have been their first day of directing traffic.

One of them held back our road for four to five minutes while waving through a perpendicular street, causing it to get gridlocked. Another stood there shaking his head and barking at people making u-turns.

I have no idea how these people help facilitate events such as the Indianapolis 500 when almost 300,000 people attend.

But that was the worst of it.

The Speedway staff was welcoming and efficient. After winding our way through a series of turns in the parking lot (sort of like a course in the old-school Pole Position!) we got a spot next to one of the main grandstands. Rene and Lisa brought some camping chairs and had a little tailgate party.

The “Opening Act”

Purdue really pulled out all the stops. Educational forums and exhibits ran all day. Space experts — including about a half-dozen astronauts— were there.

And, of course, there was an Indy car demonstration! Three-time Indy 500 pole position winner Ed Carpenter treated us to several laps at over 200 miles-per-hour. That was amazing!

Attendees could basically roam around and hang out wherever they wanted (some grandstands appeared to be closed). Volunteers handed out complimentary souvenir eclipse glasses.

Stadium video boards played NASA TV’s live broadcast of other North American cities as they experienced totality.

A partial eclipse started around 1:55 PM. Our daughter was fairly ambivalent about the eclipse — until she saw the moon’s shadow gradually overtaking the sun. Stuff started getting real.

That got her pretty excited.

So, here’s the best I could do with an iPhone and shooting through a filter.

As we approached totality, speedway employees opened part of the track for spectators who wanted to watch the eclipse on the famous raceway.

We heard there were around 50,000 people who attended. The pictures don’t reflect this. But keep in mind the Indianapolis Motor Speedway grounds spreads across about 560 acres. You can fit more than five Vatican Cities in that space.

There was plenty of room (at least where we were) for people to spread out and get a good view.

The Indianapolis Total Solar Eclipse of 2024

Things started getting trippy around 2:50 PM. The sun was more than half gone. The wind whipped up a bit, and temperatures cooled down. Daylight gradually turned shadier by the minute.

Around 3:11 PM, the crowd loudly started cheering the moon on as it powered its way across the sun.

Dusk settled over the city when nearly four minutes of totality started at 3:14 PM. The crowd roared just like when the lights go down at a concert. Someone in the neighborhood shot off fireworks.

“That is so cool!” My daughter squealed we took off our eclipse glasses to soak in the amazing celestial sight.

I tried getting the best pictures I could — but my hands shook with excitement.

What appeared to be red explosions were visible on the bottom of the sun’s ring. This Scientific American post explains the phenomenon. The 2024 eclipse was apparently one for the ages!

The moon soon continued on its way. We saw a small glimmering of the sun — a phenomenon known as the “diamond effect.” That was the signal to put our eclipse glasses back on. We watched a few seconds of the sun gradually reappear — and the crowd again roared.

The weird shadow effect returned for a few minutes. Then temperatures gradually warmed up and daylight (closer to) as we know it soon resumed.

We looked at each other, our jaws dropped and eyes wide open. Everyone kept saying to anyone around them (and themselves) expressions such as, “That was amazing!” “That was so cool!” “I can’t believe that!” “I just—wow!”

Our group ventured down from the bleachers and onto the racetrack, where we marveled at the pole straightaway’s narrowness. We enjoyed another tailgate while waiting for traffic to thin out. Exiting the massive Speedway grounds was much easier than getting in.

Final Approach

Seeing a total eclipse of the sun was truly stunning and a lifetime memory. The building anticipation and actual totality were so much fun.

I’m kind of hooked on eclipses. (This page shows you the next ten solar eclipses.)

Congratulations and thank you to Purdue University and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for putting on such a special, well-organized event!