Live from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Sunday, May 28th, 2023, was the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500. The world’s most popular race is 500 miles of intense speed and fast-paced action. 33 drivers battled throughout 200 laps around the revered 2.5-mile IMS track.
On the morning of the big race: The Indy 500 on Memorial Day Sunday May 28th, we had an exclusive interview with the guy that built a Treehouse to Watch the Indy 500! This “Treehouse Guy” who during Covid built a Treehouse that was actually on the property of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that had a view overlooking the actual track, that provided him with a view of the actual Indy 500 race! You well learn the funny and amazing facts of how this man overcame the odds to build this Treehouse so he could watch the Indy 500, despite the fact that due to Covid-19 the race was run without any people that were allowed inside the stadium to watch the race- so this guy figured out a way around that!
The “Treehouse Guy’ is Joe Malia who is from Chicago, and is an apprentice instructor for the Plaster and Cement Masons Local 502. In 2020 Joe wanted to find a way to watch the Indy 500 in person despite it being held without fans due to COVID-19 concerns, so as millions of fans watched the race on TV, Joe was sitting atop a platform nearly 40 feet high just past the fence around the track. He was in a tree overlooking the backstretch. He has watched the Indy 500 in person for the past 39 races, and this race makes the 40th!
As Joe was watching qualifications, there was an onboard camera, and he kept seeing this tree. It was right there hovering over the track on the backstretch! So he decided to pay the homeowner who owned that tree- to build a platform in his backyard tree. The homeowner took Joe to see the tree, which is so close to the track that there is a 10-foot tall barbed wire fence right by it to separate the yard from the Speedway, so Joe gave the homeowner $100 to start building the platform. And like some sort of IndyCar omen, the man just happened to have wood lying by his garage. “I gave him money right there and said, ‘Listen, if it works it works. If it doesn’t, keep the money and have a good day.'” Joe said. He then offered another $100 to the man when the platform was finished, and when Joe got the pictures that he liked so much, he gave the homeowner $200 more! Joe is used to sitting in the Turn 1 penthouse for the race, what he calls the best seat in the house. So for this race- after all the work he did, he again ended up getting the best seat in the house! So when Joe came to test the platform he was thrilled with it, and history was made as he watched his 40th Indy 500 from a Treehouse over looking the track, and to top all of that off- he was noticed on TV as the sports announcers spotted him as they called the race for NBC TV! You can see this half-hour interview on our show on events at the Indy 500, from Indianapolis, Indiana. Below is Joe down on the Indy 500 race track, as part of a tour to check out the track, and to see how far away the track is from the tree:
Our reporter for Entertainment & Sports Today TV: Richard Marcella, is a racing expert, with over 30 years of covering NASCAR, and The Indy 500, and will bring you all the action from right down on the track at The Indy 500, with 5 full days of news coverage- up close and personal. Richard personally has raced cars over 40 years ago, in car #508- which is now in a car museum in Southern California!
