Carb Day kicks off the Memorial Day weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, marked by the final Indianapolis 500 practice, a Wienermobile race, a pit stop challenge and a concert. It’s a great day to prepare for the race (and expand your weekend by a day).
But, Carb Day? What’s that about? While fans will ingest a lot of carbs at the track, that’s something different.
Decades ago, the track hosted Carburetion Day, when race teams had their last chance to tune the carburetors on their gasoline-powered cars. The cars that race at IMS haven’t used carburetors in decades, but at a facility steeped in tradition, the name stuck.
Carburetion Day was held on a random day the week before the Indianapolis 500 and wasn’t open to the public until the mid-1950s. From 1969-2004, the event was held on Thursday of race week. In 2005, Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials moved it to Friday and started the party.
Carb Day is still serious business for the race teams, which make sure their cars are in top shape and practice pit stops at race speed.
Indy 500 Carb Day schedule for today, May 22
Will to rain on Carb Day? Indianapolis weather for Carb Day, today, May 22
Cloudy skies with rain possible and highs in the upper 60s.
Carb Day tickets
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Indy 500 tickets
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What is a carburetor?
Carburetors mix air and fuel in a proper ratio for combustion engines, such as those in passenger cars.
Do Indy 500 cars have carburetors?
No. The last time a car with a carburetor qualified for the race was in 1963. Fuel injectors replaced carburetors.
Zion Brown is IndyStar’s motorsports reporter. Follow him at @z10nbr0wn. Get IndyStar’s motor sports coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Motor Sports newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indy 500 2026: Why it’s called Carb Day when Indy cars don’t use carburetors
Reporting by Scott Horner and Zion Brown, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
