Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a motor racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400 and formerly the home of the United States Grand Prix and Indianapolis motorcycle Grand Prix. It is located six miles (9.7 km) west of Downtown Indianapolis.
| The "Brickyard"
IMS | |
|---|---|
Indianapolis Motor Speedway aerial in 2016 | |
| Location | Speedway, Indiana |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (UTC-4 DST) |
| Coordinates | 39°47′54″N 86°13′58″W |
| Capacity | 257,327 (permanent seats) – 400,000 grand total |
| FIA Grade | 1 (F1) 2 (IndyCar) |
| Owner | Penske Entertainment Group (2020–present) Hulman & Company (1945–2019) Eddie Rickenbacker (1927–1945) Carl G. Fisher (1909–1927) |
| Operator | IMS, LLC (subsidiary of Penske Entertainment Group.) |
| Address | 4790 West 16th Street |
| Broke ground | March 15, 1909 |
| Opened | August 14, 1909 |
| Construction cost | US$3 million ($86 million 2021 dollars) |
| Architect | Carl G. Fisher, James A. Allison, F. H. Wheeler, and Arthur C. Newby |
| Major events | Current:
Former:
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| Website | http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/ |
| Rectangular Oval Track (1909–present) | |
| Surface | Asphalt and brick (start-finish line) |
| Length | 2.500 miles (4.023 km) |
| Turns | 4 |
| Banking | Turns: 9.2° Straights: 0° |
| Race lap record | 0:38.119 ( Eddie Cheever, Lola T95/00, 1996, IndyCar) |
| Grand Prix Road Course (2014–present) | |
| Surface | Asphalt and brick (start-finish line) |
| Length | 2.439 miles (3.925 km) |
| Turns | 14 |
| Race lap record | 1:09.3888 ( Josef Newgarden, Dallara DW12, 2017, IndyCar) |
| Modified Motorcycle Course (2014–present) | |
| Surface | Asphalt and brick |
| Length | 2.591 miles (4.170 km) |
| Turns | 16 |
| Race lap record | 1:32.625 ( Marc Márquez, Honda RC213V, 2015, MotoGP) |
| SCCA Runoffs Road Course (2014–present) | |
| Surface | Asphalt and brick (start-finish line) |
| Length | 2.589 miles (4.166 km) |
| Turns | 15 |
| Race lap record | 1:34.089 ( Alessandro Pier Guidi, Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020, 2021, GT3) |
| Original Motorcycle Course (2008–2013) | |
| Surface | Asphalt and brick |
| Length | 2.621 miles (4.218 km) |
| Turns | 16 |
| Race lap record | 1:39.044 ( Marc Márquez, Honda RC213V, 2013, MotoGP) |
| Grand Prix Road Course (2008–2013) | |
| Surface | Asphalt and brick (start-finish line) |
| Length | 2.534 miles (4.078 km) |
| Turns | 13 |
| Race lap record | 1:22.191 ( Scott Pruett, Riley Mk XXVI, 2013, DP) |
| Grand Prix Road Course (2000–2007) | |
| Surface | Asphalt and brick (start-finish line) |
| Length | 2.605 miles (4.192 km) |
| Turns | 13 |
| Race lap record | 1:10.399 ( Rubens Barrichello, Ferrari F2004, 2004, F1) |
Indianapolis Motor Speedway | |
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway under construction | |
| Location | 4790 W. 16th St., Speedway, Indiana |
| Built | 1909 |
| Architect | Andrews, Park Taliaferro |
| Architectural style | Motor racing circuit |
| NRHP reference No. | 75000044 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | March 7, 1975 |
| Designated NHLD | February 27, 1987 |
Constructed in 1909, it is the second purpose-built, banked oval racing circuit after Brooklands and the first to be called a 'speedway'. It is the third-oldest permanent automobile race track in the world, behind Brooklands and the Milwaukee Mile. With a permanent seating capacity of 257,325, it is the highest-capacity sports venue in the world.
The track is a 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km) rectangular oval with dimensions that have remained essentially unchanged since its construction. It has two 5⁄8-mile-long (1,000 m) straightaways, four geometrically identical 1⁄4-mile (400 m) turns, connected by two 1⁄8-mile (200 m) short straightaways, termed "short chutes", between turns 1 and 2, and between turns 3 and 4. The turns have 9°12' banking, considered relatively flat by American standards.
A modern, FIA Grade One infield road course was completed in 2000, incorporating part of the oval, including the main stretch and the southeast turn, measuring 2.605 mi (4.192 km). In 2008, and again in 2014, the road course layout was modified to accommodate motorcycle racing, as well as to improve competition. Altogether, the current grounds have expanded from an original 320 acres (1.3 km2) on which the speedway was first built to cover an area of over 559 acres (2.3 km2). Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987, it is the only such site to be affiliated with automotive racing history.
In addition to the Indianapolis 500, the speedway also hosts NASCAR's Brickyard 400 and Pennzoil 250. From 2000 to 2007, the speedway hosted the Formula One United States Grand Prix, and from 2008 to 2015 the Moto GP. The speedway served as the venue for the opening ceremonies for the 1987 Pan American Games.
On the grounds of the speedway is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, which opened in 1956, and houses the Hall of Fame. The museum moved into its current building located in the infield in 1976. Also on the grounds is the Brickyard Crossing Golf Resort, which originally opened as the Speedway Golf Course in 1929. The golf course has 14 holes outside the track, along the backstretch, and four holes in the infield. The site is among the most visited attractions in the Indianapolis metropolitan area, with 1 million guests annually.The track is nicknamed "The Brickyard" (see below), and the venue self-describes as the "Racing Capital of the World". The garage area is known as Gasoline Alley, though Indy 500 racecars have used methanol and currently ethanol.
The Speedway is owned by Roger Penske's company Penske Corporation, following its 2019 purchase of Hulman & Company and its assets, which included the Speedway, the IndyCar Series, and associated enterprises.