16th Street Speedway The first Night Before the 500 event was held in 1946 at
16th Street Speedway (formerly Indianapolis Midget Speedway, and sometimes known as West 16th Street Speedway), a short track that was once located across the street from the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The headline event was a double feature of
Midget car racing sanctioned by the
AAA Contest Board, held the night before the
1946 Indianapolis 500. The features were won by Benny Emerick and
Leroy Warriner. The event quickly grew in popularity and prestige, and drew large fields of cars and large crowds. After doubleheader features in 1946–1947, the event expanded to a tripleheader of features beginning in 1948. The three races were considered entirely separate events, each with their own practice and time trials, and occasionally a consolation race. The first race typically began around 2 p.m., the second race began around 7 p.m., and the third race (sometimes nicknames the "owl" race), began as late as 10 p.m. or even midnight. The racing typically continued well into the overnight hours, ending sometimes after 2 a.m. After the first feature, the grandstands were emptied, and the fans were required to exit the gates. After a brief wait, fans could buy tickets for the second feature, and re-enter. The process repeated after the second feature. Many spectators in attendance watched the races then walked across the street to get in line to wait for the gates to open at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the
Indianapolis 500 the following morning. In the first few years, the event had no official name. In 1954, the first appearance of the traditional moniker appeared, as the race was officially advertised as the "Now Famous - Night Before the 500". Likewise, the "Night Before the 500" midget race at the Speedrome were also rained out, and postponed until Sunday night May 27.
1980–2014 In 1980, IRP completed an improvement project which included new lights, and the Night Before the 500 classic was moved back to the facility permanently. In addition to the traditional Midget feature, various support races began being scheduled as part of the evening.
Formula Super Vee ran at the oval for five races.
Mark Smith won the race in 1989. His fastest lap of 0:19.581 is still the current track record. In 1983,
Jeff Andretti won a
Formula Ford race. From 2010 to 2016, the
Road to Indy U.S. F2000 National Championship and
Pro Mazda Championship supported the event. During the 1980s and 1990s, several future stars of
NASCAR and
IndyCar headlined the event. Drivers such as
Ken Schrader,
Jeff Gordon,
Ryan Newman,
Kasey Kahne,
Jason Leffler were among those with wins in the midget feature.
2015 Following USAC ceasing sanctioning of paved midget cars, for 2015 the event switched to the
USAC Silver Crown Series. In addition, the event was moved up to Saturday afternoon in an effort to boost attendance and give fans a better opportunity to take in the event, without conflicting with the many other events of the busy racing weekend. The name of the event was changed to the
Day Before the 500 and was part of four days of USAC events in the area including also the
Hulman Classic, the
Hoosier Hundred, and the
Little 500.
2016–present The move to daytime was short-lived, and for 2016, the event was revamped once again. For many years the Night Before the 500 classic was held on the same night and at the same time as the
Little 500, splitting fans (and some competitors) between both events. It was decided to move the event permanently to Friday night of Memorial Day weekend. Once again, it would be held under-the-lights, and it was renamed the '
Carb Night Classic...The Race Before the 500'''''. The name derived from
Carb Day at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the traditional final day of practice for the
Indianapolis 500, which was earlier in the afternoon. The move made for four USAC events over four consecutive nights, leading up to the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday. The
Hulman Classic would be scheduled for Wednesday night, the
Hoosier Hundred Thursday night, the Carb Night Classic Friday night, and the
Little 500 on Saturday night. After former winner
Dave Steele's death, the track began starting in 2018, to name the event in his memory. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, the
2020 Indianapolis 500 was postponed to August 23, therefore the Carb Night Classic was held on August 21, whereas a revival of the Night Before the 500 race was held on August 22. The sprint and midget races are non-championship, because USAC does not sanction midget or sprint car championship races on pavement. The USAC midgets continued having a non-points race the following editions of the event. ==Race winners==