Planning an Indy 500 Party

Sunday's Indy 500 has a lot to live up to after Friday's thrilling four-wide, closest-ever finish in the Firestone Indy Lights' Freedom 100. Wow! I did not even think cars could go four-wide at the Speedway. Peter Dempsey's fourth-to-first push on the last turn will be talked about for many years to come. In case you missed it, check out the video below. The Indy Lights feeder series has received some criticism this year because of its small field, but who cares how big the field is when you have finishes like this!?

The Indy 500 is like Christmas for me, something I look forward to every year with great anticipation. And this year I have been trying to harness some of that excitement into a true celebration. Typically on Indy 500 day I will wake up, flip on the TV, watch the pre-show with my coffee, and settle in for a long but exciting afternoon. But I got to thinking this year...Texas Motor Speedway (along with other tracks I'm sure) hosts a Daytona 500 viewing party but not an Indy 500 viewing party. And you know, there's always Super Bowl parties and theme parties, so why can't I have an Indy 500 party?

Well, for starters, I'm the only IndyCar fan I know. My boyfriend is a casual fan thanks to me, and he enjoys watching the races, but he's nowhere near the passionate superfan that I am. So if I decided to throw an Indy 500-themed party, there would only be two guests.

I also did some research online, searching for food and beverage ideas for an Indy 500-style party and I was immensely disappointed in what I found. Most of the suggestions were for a children's race-car-theme party, with stock car/NASCAR-type decorations and food options, which is fine but not quite what I was looking for. I guess if someone wants to throw an Indy 500 party, he or she will have to get creative. (Unfortunately I'm not the most creative apple in the bunch.)

But all is not lost. Here's what I have come up with so far: Taste of Home's website has a menu of racing theme party items such as Hot Dog Race Cars and Winner's Trophy Dessert (which I am going to try this year). I also found, on an Australian website, a fun idea for Milky Way race cars. You take fun-size Milky Ways, insert a Teddy Graham for a driver, and use frosting to attach either M & M's (or Mini Oreos, which is what I'll be using since they look more like wheels) to the side of the candy bar for wheels. Sounds fun and tasty! Best of all, it's truly an "open-wheel" race car, unlike some of the other recipes I found. Here's a picture of my creations:

For entertainment during the race, one of my go-to favorites is Bingo. You can create Indy-500-themed Bingo cards very easily, with squares such as "mechanical failure," "three-wide," "caution flag," "car commercial," etc. I do this all the time for the Super Bowl and my guests really love it. It's a great way to keep non-race guests interested in the action.

When the Indy 500 winner crosses the finish line, there's no reason you can't celebrate with a glass of milk yourself. Or spice up that glass of milk with an adult beverage (Kahlua goes nicely!).

So there are a few ideas to start your Indy 500-theme party engines. I'll continue to put on my creative thinking cap and brainstorm other ideas. But no matter what happens, I will still enjoy the greatest spectacle in racing!