I went to the last two years at indy, and when they first moved back to columbus, it was a blast as the cops let alot of crazy stuff go on, but then there was an accident at a different event (non-mopar) and they clamped down on the burnouts and such, although youll still see plenty along brice road.
As for the nationals, there is really nothing like it. I recall one year when I didnt go until saturday, but I was actually in columbus for work until friday. Starting wednesday morning, looking into the hotel parking lot...it was like looking out of a hotel window into a 1970s parking lot.
wing cars....
hemi cars....
vans with murals on the sides...
theres really nothing like sitting in a traffic jam surrounded by a rolling car show of almost all mopars....