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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

Motor Speedway no longer just for racecars

Lisa Kuhn, Kathy Jones and David Jones celebrated Independence Day by attending the Rolling Stones concert at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  The Rolling Stones played in front of an estimated crowd of 50,000.

Outside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, people dressed in patriotic outfits played cornhole, drank beer and listened to rock music. It seemed Hoosiers had figured out the ultimate way to celebrate Independence Day.

The crowd of around 50,000 people were gathered not for a race, but a performance from one of the most legendary bands in the world — The Rolling Stones.

This Saturday marked the first time in over a century the IMS has hosted a concert on a weekend when there wasn’t also a race.

IMS President Doug Boles reported to the Indianapolis Star he hopes fans won’t have to wait another hundred years before the next show comes to the historic racetrack.

The speedway is 1,025 acres, easily fitting the Stones’ nearly 200-foot wide stage along with a long catwalk, giant screens and 100,000 audience members, though only half that were in attendance. If the track continues to host musical performances, it will be one of the largest concert venues in the country.

The day was also special because it was the first time the Rolling Stones had visited Indiana since 1994. The concert was the last stop of their “Zip Code” tour.

“They’re coming to the end of their time,” Chrissy Caban, a concertgoer, said of the band members, the youngest of whom is 68 years old. “Mick Jagger is not going to be rocking much longer, so you have to get out and see them while you can.”

Though the band first formed in 1962, many among the younger generation were excited for the show.

“When I was a kid, I grew up with my dad always playing them in the car, and I’ve just loved the Stones ever since,” Austin Jackson, a student from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said.

Jackson was not the only attendee who saw the band’s music as a way to connect generations. John and Colleen Marion were present with their two young children, Connor and Lilly. It was the kids’ first ever concert.

Though many of the younger crowd members weren’t die-hard fans, they were curious to see the old men who have managed to captivate Americans for 50 years.

“These guys were jammin’ before I was even a blip on the radar,” Zach Hamlin, an Indianapolis resident in his early 30s, said. “Anyone who can carry that sort of career, that’s a show that I want to see.”

Though the band members are British, American flags covered the field outside the stadium as fans funneled in through the gates.

“The Rolling Stones are British, but they modeled their music after Chicago blues music,” Phillip Cox, another young fan, said. “They were obsessed with America, so it’s perfect for the Fourth.”

An especially enthusiastic group arrived at the track in the city’s beloved Chicken Limo, a limosene shaped like a chicken.

“We’re making history right now,” Lisa Hamilton, an IU alumna, said. “It’s the ultimate American weekend at the greatest speedway in the country.”

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