SPEEDWAY, Ind. – The streets near the corner of 16th and Crawfordsville Road in Speedway are quiet, even sleepy, 11 months out of the year, but not in May.
”May there is an energy surrounding our little community,” said Fran Zore. “It’s the best place to live in the month of May.”
Shawn and Fran are the proud owners of a home within a minute’s walk from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
”It is the greatest spectacle in racing and it just happens to be in our backyard,” Fran said.
Once practice for the Indy 500 starts up in May, you can hear the sounds of the cars echoing throughout their home and neighborhood.
”We try and have the radio on and you still can’t quite hear the radio,” said Shawn Zore.
Shawn and Fran are just about as close as you can get without being on Indianapolis Motor Speedway property.
Everything inside and outside the house is all about the race. The décor is all street signs, the colors of the furniture are all black and white.
”We wanted everything to be race-related and car-related,” Shawn said.
Their back porch gives them a prime view of what they call “their jumbotron.” It’s a huge screen inside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that shows the entire race while it’s happening.
”We can literally watch the race from our back porch, “Fran said.
“That’s what sold it,” Shawn added.
That’s quite the luxury when you think about the local blackouts that make it impossible for most people in the area to watch the race on TV.
The couple said they have people stop by to check out the house all the time, especially during weekends at the track. Their house is right next to a bridge that takes people onto IMS property.
”Everybody is in a good mood, the energy is really high, everybody wants to stop and talk,” Shawn said.
The people watching is one of their favorite parts of the location.
”It’s funny to watch how they go in one way and they come out a different way,” said Shawn.
Local realtors will tell you these perfectly placed homes for race fans are hot real estate.
”Last year we had four on the market and they were all sold within three days,” said Jayne Gauci, a Speedway realtor.
When one does go up for sale – there are plenty of people waiting.
”I probably have a working list of about 10 buyers that are waiting for a property,” Gauci said.
Shawn and Fran happened into their race house by chance.
”It was a nice day on a Sunday, we just happened to take a drive around and saw the sign, called, sold,” Fran said. “That quick.”
Every now and then, people will stop and ask how much it would take for Shawn and Fran to part with their beloved race house… but they’re not looking to sell.
”There’s no price to put on the memories we make with our friends that come to park, our friends that come to stay, our families,” Fran said. “It’s priceless, really.”
Because here on the front porch of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it’s all about the Indy 500.
“It is quite literally the best day ever,” Fran said.
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