End of racing era as Speedway MCL closes: 'Indy 500 drivers, teams basically lived there'

INDIANAPOLIS -- The location wasn't flashy. From the outside, it didn't look like a place where champions would dine. This MCL cafeteria was in a run-of-the-mill strip mall shopping center on Crawfordsville Road next to a Harbor Freight Tools, Mattress Firm Clearance Center and across the street from a Great Clips.

But this restaurant that served comfort food and divine slices of pie for six decades also happened to be just 2.5 miles from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.And because of that, especially in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, it was the place where Indy 500 drivers, team owners and the who's who of IndyCar racing came for a home-cooked plate of meat, vegetables, potatoes and hot dinner rolls.



And sometimes a carry-out order of fried chicken to take back to the track.On Sunday, the Speedway MCL served its last meal, ending a nostalgic, Indy 500 dining tradition. A sign on the door welcomed its final customers and said goodbye at the same time.

"Our Speedway MCL location will be permanently closing after April 20, 2025. We thank you in the Speedway community for years of support and patronage. We hope to see you at one of our other local MCL locations.

"The restaurant at6002 Crawfordsville Road is still reminiscent of an eatery that would have been bustling in an age before cell phones, computers and the options of food delivery with a click of a button.Tony Hulman, owner of IMS before his death in 1977, was a regular patron, which was open seven days a week 11 a.m.

to 8 p.m.And so were all the Indy 500 drivers and their teams, who Scott Gauger said affectionately called the Speedway MCL the "Medicare Lounge," due to its reputation of serving older diners.

The restaurant walls were decorated with photos of drivers and Indy 500 history. A giant race car was splashed on a wall in the dining area."It never got old just walking in there," said Gauger, a team member with Meyer Shank Racing, who has multiple championship rings.

"And there was always race drivers in there and racing teams basically lived there. They ate there every night at MCL. It was just a local close-by hangout with home food, basically home cooking.

" Through the years, the restaurant catered to race fans, too, with specials for the Indy 500. In 2020, it offered the fried chicken family meal -- four orders of fried chicken, two quarts of sides (mashed potatoes, green beans, macaroni and cheese, corn on the cob) and four portions of bread (cloverleaf roll, honey wheat roll, cornbread) for $34.95.

"End of an era. Today is the final day of the Speedway MCL," Jake Query, a veteran announcer with IndyCar Radio Network and host of sports radio show "Query & Company," posted to Facebook Sunday. "I imagine my grandparents, Aunt Dawty, my great uncles Walt & Bill, my great aunts Helen & Rosalie ate here a lot.

Called up fellow MCL employee alum Oreo to enjoy a final lunch."After decades as a west side institution, the Speedway MCL is open for its final day. Had to meet @IndyOreo for lunch.

Fun fact: We both worked at MCL in younger years. pic.twitter.

com/qcT7X4FCML— Jake Query (@jakequery) April 20, 2025MCL opened as a single restaurant in 1950 and has since expanded to locations in Indiana and Ohio. Follow IndyStar sports reporter Dana Benbow on X: @DanaBenbow. Reach her via email: dbenbow@indystar.

com.This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Speedway MCL closes: 'Indy 500 drivers, teams basically lived there'.