Fan to attend his 56th Indy 500, going to race since age 12

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Bob Receveur has been to more than half of the 104 runnings of the Indianapolis 500. He says he was 12 years old when his dad took him to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1965.

“He had to go to the bank to get cash downtown because the tickets were $7 a piece, and that was a lot of money,” Receveur said.

This is his 56th Indy 500 in a row. That includes the 2020 race that allowed no fans to attend — he still camped at the American Legion lot.

Bob lives in Tennessee, but he grew up in Indiana. He says he actually fell in love with racing around the age of 5.

“I had people at home that were involved in racing on a lot less grand scale, and it was just impressive and it made an impression on me that’s lasted my lifetime,” Receveur said.

Over the years, he bought at least two IndyCars, including a 1998 Riley and Scott MKV IndyCar, which ran 12th in the 1999 Indy 500. He also owns a 1961 Roadster.

“A.J. Foyt has always been my man. As a matter of fact, I built a replica of his ’61 Indy 500 winning, which I have driven around this track and others across the country,” Receveur said.

But that’s not all.

“I have several Corvette pace cars that I have collected over the years, and they’ve all been autographed, but as a spinoff traction to the 500, the Corvette pace car had been something that I’ve enjoyed,” Receveur said.

If you ask him what his most memorable moment was.

“Probably ’92. It was in the 50s or 40s. It was very cold. There were a lot of accidents, but that’s not really the interesting part. For that race, it was the finish. At the time it was the closest in history. Al Unser Jr. won it,” Receveur said.

Now Bob comes back every year to camp out with his wife Patsy and their dogs right across from the speedway at the American Legion.

“I’ve been to Final Fours and a lot of different sporting events, and nothing matches the excitement of the start of the Indy 500, and to me it’s the pinnacle of sporting event,” Receveur said.

Receveur says his wife has been coming with him to the Indy 500 since they got married more than 30 years ago.