Shara Cabay moved to Indianapolis in 2022 after her boyfriend, now fiancé, Zack, a fly-in engineer who had been working in IMSA, as well as VI-Grade, was tapped for a dream job with IndyCar. He wanted to go for it. “I was like yes, let’s do this!” she says, not realizing the position would require a move to Indiana. They made the leap, and Shara landed a position with Arrow McLaren, where she worked for two seasons.
Professional lives sorted, making friends proved more challenging.
“A lot of IndyCar people are new to Indy, and their significant other is gone for seventeen race weekends plus the tests. It’s difficult to make friends and to learn a new city when you’re spending so much time alone,” Shara says.
The idea took shape at a Milwaukee race weekend, when Shara made the trip with two of Zack’s coworkers’ significant others. The Milwaukee doubleheader gave them two full days together in a walkable downtown. “I had so much fun,” she says. “We hung out the whole time enjoying brunch, exploring the city and I thought, what if we asked other people if they wanted to join us?”
Read about Shara’s story in the Summer26 issue of Speedwell Magazine
