Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a historic motor racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana — an enclave suburb of Indianapolis — and is the home of the Indianapolis 500, the world’s largest single-day sporting event by attendance. Built in 1909 and spanning 890 acres, IMS has a permanent capacity of 250,000 and at full attendance can accommodate over 300,000 spectators, making it the highest-capacity sports venue on Earth. The track hosted the United States Grand Prix from 2000 to 2007 and is the most storied venue in American motorsport.
At a glance
- Type
- Permanent motor racing oval (with infield road course)
- Period
- Built and opened 1909; Indianapolis 500 first held 1911
- Style
- Classic banked oval; infield road course added for modern multi-discipline events
- Location
- 4790 West 16th Street, Speedway, Indiana 46222, USA
- Coordinates
- 39.7950° N, 86.2352° W
- Track length
- 4.023 km (2.5 miles) oval; 4.192 km (2.605 miles) road course
- Owner
- Hulman-George family / Penske Entertainment Corp.
Overview
Indianapolis Motor Speedway — universally known as IMS or “The Brickyard” — is the defining institution of American oval racing and one of the world’s most significant sports heritage sites. Its 2.5-mile rectangular oval with banked turns has been the scene of the Indianapolis 500 every year since 1911 (except during the two World Wars), attracting drivers from across the world and generating some of the most celebrated moments in motorsport history.
Six miles west of downtown Indianapolis, IMS sits in the town of Speedway — a municipality founded specifically to serve the racetrack — and functions as a year-round destination encompassing a museum, hotel, golf course and event facilities far beyond its race calendar.
History
The speedway was conceived by Carl Fisher, James Allison, Arthur Newby and Frank Wheeler as a testing facility for the rapidly expanding Indiana automotive industry. Opening in 1909 with a crushed limestone and tar surface that quickly broke up, the track was subsequently paved with 3.2 million bricks — giving rise to the enduring nickname “The Brickyard.” The first Indianapolis 500 was held on 30 May 1911 and was won by Ray Harroun driving a Marmon Wasp at an average speed of 74.6 mph.
By the 1930s the race was already the most prestigious in American motorsport and one of the three races comprising the informal “Triple Crown of Motorsport” (alongside Monaco and Le Mans). The track was purchased by Anton “Tony” Hulman in 1945 after wartime closure and neglect had brought it to the verge of permanent closure; Hulman’s family and their successors the Penske Corporation have maintained it since. The track’s asphalt surface retains a small strip of the original bricks at the start-finish line, which winning drivers traditionally kiss.
What you see
The scale of IMS is its most immediate impression: the grandstands stretch along the main straight for what seems like miles, and the infield — large enough to contain several golf holes and multiple support facilities — gives a sense of a small city within the oval. The Pagoda, the distinctive multi-storey timing and scoring tower at the pit lane entrance, is the visual centrepiece of the facility and an architectural landmark of American sporting culture.
The IMS Museum in the infield houses over 75 historic racing cars including multiple Indy 500 winners, trophies, photographs and archival material spanning the full history of the track. A small strip of original bricks is preserved at the start-finish line — the traditional “kissing the bricks” ceremony for Indy 500 winners.
Cultural significance
The Indianapolis 500 is among the most watched annual sporting events in the world and a cornerstone of American popular culture. “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” has drawn drivers including A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi, Al Unser, and Hélio Castroneves, creating a mythology of speed, endurance and engineering that transcends motorsport. The speedway also holds a place in the history of automotive technology: a century of racing at IMS has directly influenced the development of disc brakes, rear-view mirrors and numerous safety innovations used in passenger cars worldwide.
Practical information
- Address
- 4790 West 16th Street, Speedway, IN 46222, USA
- Museum
- IMS Museum open Tuesday–Sunday year-round (closed Mondays and major holidays); check official website for hours
- Track tours
- Bus tours of the track available on non-event days; pit lane walk on select dates
- Indianapolis 500
- Held annually on the last Sunday of May; tickets via IMS official website
Getting there
IMS is located in Speedway, Indiana, 6 miles west of downtown Indianapolis. By public transport, take IndyGo Bus Route 25 (16th Street) from downtown, which stops adjacent to the main gate. By car, take I-465 to Exit 16A (West 16th Street) and follow signs to the speedway; ample parking is available on site. On Indianapolis 500 race day, traffic management is extensive and visitors are advised to arrive early and use designated remote parking with shuttle services.