page_title: Carb Night Classic
section_title: 1956-1978
hierarchical_section_title: Carb Night Classic / History / 1956-1978
caption_attribution_description: English: In 1989 Mark Smith won The Night Before the 500 at Indianapolis Raceway Park as his brother Mike did the year before. Both Super Vee victories were achieved driving for Ralt of America (Owner: Brian Robertson, Crew Chief: Dave McMillan). At the 1989 race Mark set a qualifying record when he lapped IRP's 0.686 mile oval at 126.122 mph( 19.581seconds). As of 2011 Mark's lap record still stands. From left to right: Robbie Groff, Mark Smith, John Brooks.
context_page_description: The Dave Steele Carb Night Classic is a USAC Silver Crown Series race held at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis in Brownsburg, Indiana. Since 2016, the race has been scheduled for the Friday night of Memorial Day weekend, two nights before the Indianapolis 500 which is held at the nearby Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
  For nearly 70 years, the event was better known as the Night Before the 500 and was traditionally scheduled the night immediately before the Indianapolis 500 and held under-the-lights. From its inception in 1946 through 2014 the event was held as a Midget car race, and was held in high prestige. Over its history, the event has been held at several different short tracks in Indiana, but since 1980, it has permanently been hosted at Lucas Oil Raceway.
  The event has long been considered one of the Indianapolis 500 traditions, along with the Hoosier Hundred and Little 500, which are also held over the same weekend at different venues in Indiana. Over the course of its history, numerous Indy 500 drivers have competed in the Night Before the 500, some winning. In 2015, the race was switched to the Silver Crown series and held in the afternoon.
context_section_description: USAC took over sanctioning of the event beginning in 1956. The popular tripleheader format at 16th Street Speedway was maintained, and used through 1958. However, after the 1958 season, 16th Street Speedway was closed and later demolished. Over the next two decades, the event bounced around between several short tracks in Indiana. Kokomo Speedway, about an hour north of Indianapolis, held the event from 1959-1961, then it moved to the Indianapolis Speedrome for 1962-1964. It returned to Kokomo for 1965 to 1968, then moved to Indianapolis Raceway Park beginning in 1969.
  In 1956, Shorty Templeman became the first and only driver to sweep all three features of the tripleheader in a single night. Templeman had failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 that year, and pocketed about $1,500 in prize money for the three-race sweep.
  By 1959, the doubleheader and tripleheader formats had been mostly abandoned in favor of one longer feature. In addition, support races were filling the docket to improve the show for fans. The event moved to the Indiana State Fairgrounds oval in 1972-1973 and was held as two 50-lap features. But the 1973 Night Before the 500 was plagued by rain, much like the 1973 Indianapolis 500. The Night Before the 500 twin 50-lap Midget races were rained out on Sunday May 27 and initially rescheduled for June 17. However, a scheduling conflict saw the event rescheduled a second time until July 4 and the race was renamed the "Firecracker Fifties." On July 4, the event was cancelled due to heavy rain, and never rescheduled. After that much-maligned event, the Night Before the 500 returned to IRP the following season.
  Beginning in 1974, the Indianapolis 500 was permanently moved to Sunday, which meant the Night Before the 500 races were likewise permanently moved to Saturday night each year.
  During the period when the "Night Before the 500" was held at Kokomo, the Speedrome, or the Fairgrounds, IRP sometimes also held their own docket of races the same night (and vice versa). But these races were not considered part of the continuous lineage of the traditional "Night Before the 500" classic. When the races were at Kokomo, organizers regularly set up bus service from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to Kokomo (which was about an hour to the north) in an effort to boost attendance.
caption: 1989 Formula Super Vee race winner Mark Smith
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