Joining IndyCar’s 200 MPH Club isn’t just about speed

Very few IndyCar fans have gone 200 MPH with Mario Andretti. But joining the 200 MPH Club isn’t only about speed; it’s about community, history and courage.

The day after the Indianapolis 500 is one of the most quiet in the IndyCar season—unless you’re in the 200 MPH Club.

Less than a hundred people have come to Indianapolis Motor Speedway after the Indy 500, where they’ve gotten to experience the legendary track at 200 miles an hour while being driven by living legend Mario Andretti.

Most people will never know what it means to go that fast; fewer still can say they’ve reached that speed with a racing icon. It’s both the thrill of a lifetime and the challenge of one, too, because it’s roughly 25 miles faster than the average speed in this year’s Indy 500.

But there’s much more to the 200 MPH Club than going fast. Its real value is in the experience of doing it, and who you do it with.

Courtesy of Indy Racing Experience, the day-long event truly makes IndyCar fans feel as if they’re part of an elite company. Only 33 people are able to participate each year, some of whom are back for their second or third time. It creates a certain camaraderie—everyone knows that they’re now out of the ordinary, and they’re all going through this together. Whether you’re a repeat participant or a newcomer, you’ve got a place in the group.

There are different reasons for showing up. Some people want the thrill of going that fast. Others want to ride with Mario Andretti. Everyone, in the end, shares the same communal experience that they’ll remember for the rest of their lives.

As someone who’d already gone 150 MPH in an IndyCar two-seater on the streets of Long Beach, I thought I was prepared for this. But nothing can truly prepare you for the 200 mark; it’s a whole other level of speed, where your helmet feels like it’s coming off your head and your neck strains with the G-forces. In racing, people sometimes say that everything looks like a blur; at points, this really looks like a blur.

Those extra 50 MPH truly push your body, and there’s a certain thrill in pushing yourself that hard, rising to the occasion. For somebody who was once told I would never walk, I got no small amount of pride out of knowing I’d gone only 26 miles slower than the fastest lap in the Indy 500. And to do it on the same racetrack, the one where decades of motorsports history had been made? That was priceless.

But what I remember first is the community. It’s the round of applause I got when I climbed out of that car, from people who had only met me that morning. Not only had I accomplished something I wasn’t sure I could do, but I did it with their encouragement.

It’s the smile on my face when I realized I got to ride in a pace car with Gabby Chaves—IndyCar’s 2015 Rookie of the Year—and how I burst out laughing when he started honking the horn at the slower car in front of us.

It’s the support of Scott, Shonda and the entire Indy Racing Experience team; they aren’t just there to run the show. They want everyone to feel valued and to have that memorable moment, and so they put together an amazing event that also includes a cocktail party and an official certificate to remember your accomplishment by.

It’s sharing the same space with Mario Andretti. When in the presence of an icon, it’s hard to find the right words to say, but it means a lot that someone of his stature would take the time out of his life—particularly this year, on the 50th anniversary of his Indy 500 win—just to enable a few people to achieve their high-speed dreams. He couldn’t have been more gracious or awesome in letting me step into his world (and his car).

Going 200 MPH is a thrill. But being part of the 200 MPH Club is an honor. And as that short list will continue to grow, that’s just more people to share this unbelievable experience with—every IndyCar fan should be this lucky.

Learn more about the Indy Racing Experience here. For complete coverage of the 2019 IndyCar season, follow the IndyCar category at FanSided.