SPEEDWAY — The Indianapolis Motor Speedway comes alive in the month of May, but the track is a year-round obsession for some who live next to it.
Auburn Street is the closest through street to the pagoda side of IMS, which is a selling point for several people who chose to move there.
"I saw the for sale sign and said, 'Stop the car, that's it,'" said Rodney Lyden, who lives on the corner of 21st and Auburn. "My favorite part about living here is being able to see this beautiful pagoda every day."
"I've been here 16 or 17 years, I've lost track," said fellow Auburn Street resident Dennis Bogden. "It never gets old in May. We have the radio on the porch going and listen as they go around the track."
Indy 500 race weekend provides more than a great view for Auburn Street neighbors. Most of them sell parking spaces on their lawn, which they consider a significant financial benefit.
"As I like to tell people, we pay half of our year's property tax parking cars," Bogden said. "A percentage of it also goes to the Wounded Warrior Project."
"I just finished remodeling the kitchen, the bathroom, and the flooring," Lyden said. "It's basically like a whole new house inside."
The street looks like race day all year with many neighbors flying checkered flags from their front porch.
Lyden moved to the neighborhood in 2019, but he's convinced he will never leave.
"It just keeps getting better and better every year and I love it," Lyden said. "I'll do this until the day I die."
