There is just something about those green folding chairs that we will all miss. The ongoing grandstand renovation project will eliminate most of these nostalgic green chairs.

They date back to the 1950s. They replaced wooden chairs that were once used for the same purpose. They were used in the Penthouse upper decks (E stand, B stand, A stand, and Paddock), as well as the lowest rows of E, B, A, and Paddock. They popped up everywhere around the grounds, the garage area, the old press room, the Safety Patrol booths, the museum, the golf course, gift shops, and pretty much every corner of the property.

It appears that the green chairs were used nearly all the way to the top of some of the stands in the 1960s. At some point (1970s) many of the upper rows in Paddock Box, A Box, B Box, and E Box, were replaced with gray wooden benches, but the green chairs remained in the lower ten rows or so. The green chairs were also used for the two rows of “trackside” seats on the frontstrech right in front of the fence. Those were taken out after the 1973 race.

I am not sure why they chose green, as the color green was long considered “bad luck” in racing.

EDIT: In the spring of 2018, the Speedway began offering the leftover green folding chairs for sale.