WHAT IS A PADDOCK?!?!
The Paddock is like the locker room by comparison to hockey, football, basketball or baseball. It is better known as the GARAGE area in the racing industry. Whenever the cars are not on the race track during an event weekend they will be found inside the Paddock. Race teams are assigned a space for housing each car and accompanying equipment, and the impressive, purpose-built transporter trucks transform into a fully functional temporary garage for race weekend.
A real hub of buzzing activity, this is where all of the backstage action goes down. Race teams and drivers use this area as their ‘office’ for the weekend. Team meetings are held to strategize and review performance while mechanics vigorously make precise adjustments to the cars between on-track sessions, looking for every little tweak to improve the cars performance.
WHERE DID THE TERM “PADDOCK” COME FROM?!?!
The origin of the word paddock comes from the Old English word parreoc which meant ‘an enclosure’. The term was originally used in reference to an enclosure for horses. As horse racing became more popular in the UK, the area where horses were saddled and prepped prior to the race was called a paddock. As a natural progression of motorsports racing became more prominent, the term carried over to the area for preparation for a race by motorsports teams.
WHAT IS A PADDOCK PASS?!?!
In many professional sports, it is extremely rara for fans to have ‘game day’ access to the locker room, athletes and equipment, but the paddock pass allows fans to be at the heart of the action amongst drivers, mechanics, officials, team owners and, of course, the ‘other’ stars of the show -the mighty machines themselves – the very Indy cars that will take to the track at record speeds in the main event.
Fans with a PADDOCK PASS can gain access and explore the paddock throughout the event weekend. The best times to visit the IndyCar paddock are following on-track practice or qualifying sessions, when the area will be a buzz of activity.
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