It's (one of) the Most Wonderful Time(s) of the Year

The warm weather is upon central Indiana.  Baseball season has started, grass is growing, leaves are appearing, and soon enough, the calendar will flip to May (and it can't come soon enough, as Milka Duno is this month's "racer" in the Sam Schmidt calendar).  With it, comes the opening of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

IMS released their calendar for the month of May today, highlighting their 12 days of on-track activity; while 12 days may seem a little small for some fans, those 12 days promise to be action-packed, beginning with Opening Day on Saturday, May 15.

Prior to practice, the hot-air balloons will once again race from IMS, on May 8.

A week's worth of practice will set up Pole Day on May 22, where 24 spots in the 33-car field will be filled; and, according to various reports (Curt Cavin's is here), the final hour or two of Pole Day could see a variation of the Firestone Fast 6, giving the top of the field one more chance at the pole.

(And if you want to try and win free Pole Day tickets, but Miller Lite - they usually have a ticket promotion during May.)

Sunday will feature Bump Day, and with the potential for 40 cars attempting to qualify, it could actually be one of the more exciting bump days in recent memory.

The week following will feature the May Indy Tweetup, which will run into the weekend of the 500, which kicks off with Carb Day (and ZZ Top) on May 28, followed by Cavin's Carb Day Burger Bash at 96th Street Steakburgers that evening.

The 94th running of the Indianapolis 500 will be on Sunday, May 30.

So begin your preparations accordingly.