Summer is saved! Tens of millions of Americans travel for Memorial Day weekend as COVID rules relax, with 2.5 million boarding planes, demand pushing gas prices to their highest in seven years, and 135,000 people flocking to watch the Indy 500 in person
A total of 37 million people are expected to travel this weekend, with 34.4 million of those journeys in cars
The figure also includes 2.5 million Americans set to fly from airports across the US as COVID-19 rules relax
Roads are busier than normal across much of the US, with expressways in NYC jammed with traffic
Department of Homeland Security boss Alejandro Majorkas said airport travelers should expect lines
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Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced Thursday that it had sold all tickets available for Sunday s Indy 500 and would lift the Indianapolis-area blackout. The track sold 135,000 seats the limit IMS wanted to sell with continued pandemic effects. That s roughly 40% of the venue s unofficial 350,000 capacity. We ve hit our capacity for this year s Indianapolis 500 and look forward to hosting 135,000 fans at the world s largest sports event since the pandemic began, a statement from Indianapolis Motor Speedway read of the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500. We re thrilled to welcome fans, Back Home Again and appreciate our loyal customers and their continued support. With no more tickets available and 40% of venue capacity reached, we have decided to life the local broadcast delay for this year s race. We look forward to an exciting an historic edition of the Indy 500 this weekend.
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Numerous social media posts and photos from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway over the weekend show many a maskless scofflaw and people crowded closely together, driving concern over what the race stands might look like this Sunday.
Clumps of people sit clustered together, a disquieting look for those concerned about the potential impact of one of the largest gatherings since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
When asked by IndyStar, IMS officials acknowledged that masking behavior was less than ideal at recent events
and said they plan to have hundreds of mask ambassadors to try to enforce the rules on race day.