But this is Indianapolis.

Get out your checkered flags: The Month of May is here!

Why it matters: Over the next four weeks, Indianapolis will put on a series of events leading up to the Indianapolis 500, when as many as 300,000 people will descend on the city for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

What's happening: The festivities officially begin Wednesday with the 500 Festival Kickoff event on Monument Circle.

👟 Saturday is the 500 Festival Mini Marathon and 5K. Half-marathon runners: Don't forget to kiss the bricks during your lap around the track!

🧒 May 14 is the 500 Festival Kids' Day and fun run on Monument Circle.

🟢 The roar of engines returns to IMS on May 16 for the opening day of Indy 500 practice and continues through May 18.

💨 May 19 is Fast Friday, the final day of practice ahead of qualifying.

🥞 The annual Breakfast at the Brickyard — where you, yes, eat breakfast but also get to drive your own car around the track — is May 20.

👊 Bumping is back, which brings an added level of drama to qualifying, to be held May 20 and 21.

🧑‍🎤 Bryan Adams is headlining the Carb Day concert on May 26, which follows a couple hours of practice and the annual pit stop challenge.

🎈 The 500 Festival Parade through downtown gets race weekend going, taking place this year on May 27.

🏁 May 28 is race day, baby.

Pro tip: Want to kiss the bricks without having to run a half marathon (or, you know, win the Indy 500)? Take the Kiss the Bricks Tour at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. For $25, you get a 30-minute bus tour that includes a lap around the famous 2.5-mile track and a stop at the finish line where you can kiss the bricks — just like every race winner has done since 1996. 😘

Your guide to all things Month of May

Today's super-tight housing market might be masking an overabundance of homes on the horizon.

Driving the news: Demographic trends suggest we are in a "generational housing bubble," per research published by Indiana University's Phil Powell, a clinical associate professor, and Matt Kinghorn, a senior demographer.

Why it matters: Housing demand far outstrips supply, making it hard to find or afford a home, even in Central Indiana, which is known for affordability.

Yes, but: The pendulum will swing the other way "by the mid-2030s when the annual number of homes that seniors add back to the market is expected to be 40% higher than current levels," the authors write.

Meanwhile, millennial homeowners, born from 1981 to 1996, outnumbered millennial renters for the first time last year, Axios' Kelly Tyko writes, despite creeping interest rates and a tight real estate market.

By the numbers: Millennial homeowners increased by 7.1 million between 2017 and 2022 to 18.2 million, a 64% increase, per a RentCafe report.

Reality check: Older generations still own more homes than millennials.

• Baby boomers, who were born from 1946 to 1964, own about 32.1 million homes as of 2022 but lost 354,000 homeowners in the past five years.
• Gen X, born from 1965 to 1980, own 24.4 million homes, an increase of 1.9 million.

The bottom line: Growing areas that attract young people — think Hamilton County — will be better positioned to sustain their housing markets in a decade than those with older, declining populations.

Go deeper

🏈 After snagging a quarterback, the Colts filled out their draft with cornerback Julius Brents in the second round; receiver Josh Downs in the third; offensive tackle Blake Freeland and defensive tackle Adetomiwa Adebawore in the fourth; cornerback Darius Rush, safety Daniel Scott, tight end Will Mallory and running back Evan Hull in the fifth; edge rusher Titus Leo in the sixth; and cornerback Jaylon Jones and offensive tackle Jake Witt in the seventh. (ESPN)

🚧 Indianapolis is demolishing Towne and Terrace, a condo complex at 42nd Street and Post Road that's been tied up in litigation for nine years. Towne and Terrace has been a constant site of drug deals and violence. (IndyStar)

🧑‍💼 David Adams has stepped down from his role as commissioner for the Department of Workforce Development after just eight months on the job. Gov. Eric Holcomb's office did not give a reason for the resignation, but WRTV reports the move comes after its investigation into DWD's demands for some Hoosiers to pay back unemployment benefits received during the pandemic. (WRTV)

Welcome to Meatless Monday, in which we try to find the best meat-free meals in Indy.

👋 Arika, here! This week I'm taking you to Speedway, obvi.

I have good news, meat-free friends: There are delicious meatless meals to be had just steps from the racing capital of the world. At Barbecue and Bourbon, right on Main Street, the sides are where it's at.

What to order: The three sides platter lets you choose from a dozen options. Purists will want to skip the green beans and baked beans, as they're cooked with meat, but everything else is fair game. I had the mac & cheese, greens and onion rings. It also comes with three massive hunks of jalapeño-laced cornbread. There is no going hungry here, y'all.

Cost: $9.50

Pro tip: If you're a pescatarian like me, the catfish nuggets are a solid (and shareable) app.

💼 See who’s hiring around the city.

1. Head of Branding & Collaborations at Lids.
2. Deputy Director of Behavioral Health at City of Indianapolis.
3. Chief Operating Officer at Indianapolis Fruit Company.

Want more opportunities? Check out our Job Board.

Hiring? Post a job.

The very first Indianapolis 500, then called the “International Sweepstakes,” was run May 30, 1911.

The starting lineup, pictured here, featured 40 cars and was won by Ray Harroun in the No. 32 Marmon "Wasp" racer, at an average speed of 74.6 mph.

• When Marcus Ericsson won the race last year, his average speed was 175.4 mph.