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Scorching heat turns mountains of track trash into steaming dump

SPEEDWAY, Ind. (WISH) — The sun rose Monday morning at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, illuminating mountains of trash – as well as furniture, grills, clothing and what appeared to be an abandoned vehicle – left behind by Indy 500 attendees. 

Volunteers arrived at daybreak and began the daunting task of restoring the track to its pre-race glory, using equipment reminiscent of hay balers, leaf blowers and farm tractors to stockpile garbage.

Clean-up crews marched, unfazed, through fields of discarded water bottles, liquor handles and beer cans – and grass damp with morning dew and other questionable fluids. 

Abandoned couches and kiddie pools drew little surprise from volunteers familiar with the annual scourge of track trash, but the sight of perfectly browned chicken wings sitting untouched on an abandoned grill elicited several laughs. 

Volunteers estimated the total amount of trash left behind by Indy 500 attendees to weigh in at “tens of thousands of pounds.”