INDIANAPOLIS — We all know the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is home to the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing," but on Monday, it's hoping to turn race fans into space fans.
"Oh my gosh, eclipses and racecars. Can you have any more cool stuff happening in one day?" NASA scientist Nicki Rayle said.
Rayle and her family traveled to Indy from Washington, D.C. to experience a phenomenon that is out of this world: a total solar eclipse. They plan to see it at IMS.
"Of course it's on the path of totality, and we have a long duration of totality here in Indy," said Rayle, who's here to study the eclipse.
It's not only Rayle's first time in Indy, but also her first time seeing a total solar eclipse.
"A lot of firsts, and oh my gosh, it's been what, 800 years since a (total solar) eclipse in Indy, and another 100 after this. What an incredible event for the community," Rayle said.
IMS is expecting 50,000 people to fill the seats from all 50 states and 26 countries. But instead of looking at the famous track, they'll all be looking up.
"This is an incredible phenomenon for so many people across the country to see, but it's also incredible for science," Rayle said. "We can visualize the corona, or the outer atmosphere of the sun, which we can't usually see in the presence of visible light. But it's an incredible time for everyone here on Earth to be able to observe this."
IMS is not the only place people are planning to watch the eclipse. Just a few miles away, people arrived early to camp at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, which has a family-friendly environment with entertainment, activities and an unobscured view of the eclipse.
For Don Leonard and his family, the most important thing it will provide is memories.
"The most impressive from the last one was just...in August (2017) with the eclipse happening, all the animals going silent and everything just being eerie, I think it will be something that he'll remember," Leonard said.
It's a memory that will last a lifetime.