INDIANAPOLIS -- With the nation's terror alert at orange, Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials emphasized the heightened security that would be in place during Sunday's Indianapolis 500. While more police were in place than usual on race day, many fans said the security measures were not much more extensive.
"From what I've read there's more security, but I haven't seen it," said Dave Richmond, who was at his 29th consecutive 500.
Richmond and his wife carried backpacks as they entered the track, but neither were searched, he said. He said he encountered less security this year than last year.
"Last year they checked our bag coming in the main gate, and they checked our bag as we entered our specific stand," Richmond said. "(This year) we walked right by. I was surprised."
Jack Murray, attending his 20th straight Indianapolis 500, had a large cooler with him that was not searched. He too walked past the security checks without being stopped, he said.
"People were all lined up down the street, waiting to get searched at these tables," Murray said, "but if you went down the middle (of the two tables on either side of the entrance), there was no line and you got right in.
"They were searching people who were volunteering to get searched."
Director of public relations for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Ron Green said more bags were checked this year, but it was impossible to check all 300,000 fans.
"We're not saying it's a complete check of every bag and cooler, but (security officials) are doing the best they can," Green said. "They're doing as many as they can. When you're dealing with the volume of people that are coming through our gates today, obviously the challenges are unlike any other sporting venue in the world."
The fans who did get their bags and coolers checked said the searches were complete without being intrusive and did not take long.
Lance Brockman came to the race with his family carrying nine bags and coolers containing mostly food. He said every bag was checked as he entered the track.
"They weren't real intrusive," Brockman said. "They just took a quick glance in all the bags."
Brockman, who has been to the race before, said more searches were being done than he had seen in the past.
Jane Fletcher came to the 500 with her 11-year-old twins Kyle and Clayton. They brought a large cooler and a small bag carrying a pair of binoculars. She said both were searched thoroughly.
"We came in the (west) side, and they stopped everybody as we came in," Fletcher said. "There was a pretty long line to get in."
Although some fans who had been to the race in the past said the searches were nothing more than usual, they said that they did notice more police officers around the track than usual.
"I can see there's more police," Richmond said. "There's supposed to be more plain-clothes patrols, but that's hard to tell."
Murray said the hands-on security, such as searches, wasn't more than in years past, but the security was more visible and more officers were on duty than he had seen before.
"There's a lot more presence of cops," Murray said. "So it's a presence, but it's not really security because you can't really do it (secure the entire Speedway)."
Green said he understood how many fans could feel like Murray, but said it's because many of the security measures were meant to be unobtrusive, thus invisible, to fans.
"There are a lot of things going on today that fans won't even realize," Green said. "Searching of some vehicles and parking lots may be part of that."
Green added that undercover patrols were one of the security measures put in place that fans didn't see.
Most spectators understood that not every person could be checked and said they feel safe at the Speedway.
"There's no way you can check every single person, so we feel safe," Brockman said, speaking for his family.
Murray agreed that there's no way to check every person. He said even if it were possible, it would still be hard to prevent an attack.
"The way I look at it is, if somebody is going to try to do some terrorist act they're going to do it," Murray said. "They're going to be the one who's going to figure out how to get around security. If somebody wanted to do something, they're going to figure out how to do it.
"I feel safe. The only thing that's unsafe is if a car breaks up into pieces or something."
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