Journey and its faithful hit high notes at Carb Day

Journey presided over a mass sing-along Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, proving the rock band’s selection as Carb Day entertainment was a crowd-pleaser.

The band, known for hit songs such as “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Faithfully” and “Separate Ways,” played inside Turn 4 at the venue that hosts the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.

Guitarist Neal Schon wished the crowd a “Happy Hundredth,” and also played a psychedelic rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” in a nod to the race’s Memorial Day context. If Schon uncorked that version on Race Day, it’s possible he’d land in the doghouse reserved for Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler after the 2001 race.

Concert attendees were part of a Carb Day crowd that NBC Sports Network commentators estimated to be 100,000, or similar to an Indy 500 qualifications turnout in the early-1990s.

Indy 500: Ranking top 33 celebs who attended 99 races

Journey was the primary draw, however, for Jessica Rowley, who was a preschooler when the band enjoyed its last Top-20 hit, 1996’s “When You Love a Woman.”

She grew up a fan of the band and caught her first-ever Journey concert from the front row on Friday.

“She loves Journey, so I had to get the best tickets,” said her husband, Brad, as the Dayton, Ohio, couple waited for the show to start.

Jessica, 24, said it’s difficult to select a favorite Journey song: “All of them. I listen to them all the time.”

The vocalist identified with most Journey hits, Steve Perry, exited the band in 1998.

“It would be awesome to see Steve Perry, but I’m just glad I get to see Journey,” Rowley said. “This guy (Arnel Pineda, vocalist since 2007) is just as good.”

On drums, Will Power assists in driving Indy 500 buzz

Pineda, who mostly matched the vocal gymnastics associated with Perry, arrived onstage in coordinated white denim jacket and pants. Schon wore a black Indy 500 Snake Pit T-shirt.

For audience members, a new stage configuration proved to be the best since Carb Day music moved north several years ago from a spot near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.

The stage, which will be used Saturday for the Firestone Legends Day concert starring Blake Shelton, faces Turn 4 and it’s not markedly smaller than the stage used by the Rolling Stones last summer at the track.

Video screens shaped to resemble wings flanked the performers and a catwalk extended into the crowd.

Natural semicircles held VIP patrons up front and general-admission patrons behind. Farther back, onlookers packed a viewing berm and some people even dotted the Turn 4 bleachers.

The VIP corral appears to have brought an era of calm to Carb Day concerts that once hinted at a society on the brink of breaking down. Instead of rampant fistfights and topless women perched on the shoulders of boyfriends, Friday’s show featured countless selfies and a tween boy perched on his father’s shoulders.

The Rowleys of Dayton weren’t the only lovebirds at Carb Day.

New York City residents Elle Miller and Mike Tinnirella came to the track a few days after becoming engaged to be married.

Miller’s family makes Carb Day a party every year, and Tinnirella had the role of rookie on Friday.

About a dozen family members, billed as “the Mud Sharks” on auto-racing adventures, set up shop before 9 a.m. in the Brickyard Plaza parking area south of 16th Street .

“The worst thing that can happen is we’ll have a good time,” Miller said as beer and champagne flowed freely.

She predicted Tinnirella would do fine with pacing himself through the day.

"That's one of the reasons why I said 'yes,' " Miller said. "I knew he could handle the 500."

In a sign that this year's Indy 500 is similar to no other, Friday's parking fee at Brickyard Plaza was $20 — twice as much as in recent years.

This year's Snake Pit is sold out — and bigger than ever

Call IndyStar reporter David Lindquist at (317) 444-6404. Follow him on Twitter: @317Lindquist.