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It’s about as much of an American tradition as apple pie and today the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 will rev into high gear. The world’s most famous and prestigious race will also be greeted with pleasant weather.
Partly cloudy skies will greet racers for the 12:19 p.m. start time while a brief shower is possible during the course of the afternoon, fading in the evening. The temperature will reach around 85 degrees with a bit of humidity making it feel uncomfortable to spectators. If the race can’t be completed today, Memorial Day make-up day will feature ample sunshine with less mugginess to the air.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway— commonly called "The Brickyard" — was originally constructed as a test facility for the Indianapolis` burgeoning automobile industry in 1909. About a year later, 3.2 million bricks were used to pave the 2.5-mile racetrack -- later re-paved with asphalt. The speedway would grow over the subsequent decades and is now the world`s largest sports venue, seating about 235,000 people, with room for another 165,000-plus people in the infield. This is the first year that the race has been sold out.
Race car drivers in the Indianapolis 500 will breeze around the oval track 200 times to compete in the 500-mile race that averages about 3 hours. It always takes place on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend and as one can imagine, the race has seen its fair share of late-May weather extremes from deadly heat to soaking rain since it first began in 1911.
Here`s a look at past Indy 500 racing weather extremes:
The hottest race day? 92 degrees in 1937. In 1953, the unofficial temperature of the track reached 100 degrees. Racecar driver Carl Scarborough died from heat exhaustion shortly after his 12th place finish in this race.
The coldest race days? Low temperature of 37 degrees in 1947. The coldest high temperature during race day was 58 degrees in 1992.
The wettest? 3.80 inches in 2004.
Shortest race due to rain? 102 laps or 255 miles completed in 1976. Johnny Rutherford won.
The highest winds? 18 mph in 1995.
What`s the typical weather in Indianapolis for race day?
Low temperature: 56 degrees
High temperature: 76 degrees
< > 0.16 inch.Average wind speed: 9 mph. Source: Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, WeatherBug Research
Contributing: WeatherBug Meteorologist, Chad Merrill
Image: This May 30, 1922 , photo provided by Indianapolis Motor Speedway , shows Indianapolis Motor Speedway before the start of the 10th Indianapolis 500 auto race, in Indianapolis, Ind. The 100th running of the Indy 500 is on Sunday, May 29, 2016 . (IMS via AP)