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Indianapolis Motor Speedway


Pre-WWII Racing Open Wheel Racing Stock Car Racing

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
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Official Site: indianapolismotorspeedway.com
Wikipedia: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

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A 2.5-mile race track in Speedway, Indiana.  Home of the Indianapolis 500, NASCAR's Brickyard 400, and formerly the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix.

History

The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's Indianapolis Motor Speedway page on 10 July 2016, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana, (an enclave suburb of Indianapolis) in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400. It is located on the corner of 16th Street and Georgetown Road, approximately six miles (10 km) west of Downtown Indianapolis.

Constructed in 1909, it is the original speedway, the first racing facility so named. It has a permanent seating capacity estimated at 235,000 with infield seating raising capacity to an approximate 400,000. It is the highest-capacity sports venue in the world.

Considered relatively flat by American standards, the track is a two-and-a-half mile, nearly rectangular oval with dimensions that have remained essentially unchanged since its inception: four 1⁄4-mile (400 m) turns, two 5⁄8-mile-long (1,000 m) straightaways between the fourth and first turns and the second and third turns, and two 1⁄8-mile (200 m) short straightaways, termed "short chutes", between the first and second, and third and fourth turns.

A modern infield road course was constructed between 1998 and 2000, incorporating the western and southern portions of the oval (including the southwest turn) to create a 2.605-mile (4.192 km) track. In 2008, the road course was modified to replace the southwest turn with an additional infield section for motorcycle racing, resulting in a 2.621-mile (4.218 km) course. 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 Site 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. From 2000 to 2007, the speedway also hosted the United States Grand Prix for Formula One. The inaugural USGP race drew an estimated 400,000 spectators, setting a Formula One attendance record. In 2008, the speedway added the Indianapolis motorcycle Grand Prix, a Grand Prix motorcycle racing event.

On the grounds of the speedway is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, which opened in 1956. The museum moved into its current building located in the infield near the short chute between turns one and two in 1975; its previous building outside the track at the corner of 16th Street and Georgetown Road was razed for the construction of current IMS administration offices. 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 of the track, along the backstretch, and four holes in the infield. The speedway was also the venue of the opening ceremonies for the 1987 Pan American Games.


Multimedia

DateMedia or Collection Name & DetailsFiles
23 June 1992Indianapolis Motor Speedway NASCAR Tire Test
NASCAR Winston Cup
John Walczak

Photo Collection Page


Photographs

Indianapolis Motor Speedway 1992 Event:  Indianapolis Motor Speedway NASCAR Tire Test
Photographer:  John Walczak
Date:  23 June 1992
View photo of Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1992 - 1,591KB
Indianapolis Motor Speedway 1992 Event:  Indianapolis Motor Speedway NASCAR Tire Test
Photographer:  John Walczak
Date:  23 June 1992
View photo of Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1992 - 1,623KB
Indianapolis Motor Speedway 2001 Location:  Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2001
Photographer:  Rick Dikeman
License:  GNU Free Documentation License
View photo of Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2001 - 54KB
Indianapolis Motor Speedway 2005 Location:  Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2005
Photographer:  Derek Jensen
Date:  21 July 2005
View photo of Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2005 - 1,823KB


Documents

DateDocument Name & DetailsDocuments
1971Indianapolis Motor Speedway Visitor Guide
Indianapolis Motor Speedway

PNG format
- 35KB - 12 pages
6 July 2009Recognizing the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
111th United States Congress, 1st Session - Senate Resolution 207
Submitted, referred to Committee on the Judicary

PDF Page
- 118KB - 4 pages
7 July 2009Recognizing the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
111th United States Congress, 1st Session - House Resolution 608
Submitted, referred to Committee on Government Reform

PDF Page
- 119KB - 4 pages


Article Index

DateArticleAuthor/Source
8 February 1909INDIANA'S AUTO SPEEDWAYThe New York Times
7 March 1909Auto News from Various Centres: 1,000-Mile a Day TripThe New York Times
6 December 1909SPEEDWAY NEARLY READY.The New York Times
17 December 1909MOTOR SPEEDWAY RACES.The New York Times
18 December 1909NEW SPEED RECORDS FOR NATIONAL CARSThe New York Times
19 December 1909MOTOR SPEEDWAY EVENTS.The New York Times
19 December 1909STRANG BREAKS WORLD'S RECORDThe New York Times
12 March 1915$100,000 AUTO RACE.The New York Times
1 November 1954Future of Speedway In Doubt Following Wilbur Shaw's DeathRome News-Tribune
4 April 2007Indianapolis Motor Speedway Media ConferenceScott Dixon
Chip Ganassi
Mike Hull
Dan Wheldon
2 October 2007Indianapolis Motor Speedway Media ConferenceTerry Angstadt
Brian Barnhart
Joie Chitwood III
20 April 2010Indianapolis Motor Speedway Media ConferenceKyle Busch
Tony Stewart
6 July 2011Indianapolis Motor Speedway Media ConferenceJeff Belskus
Tom Bledsoe
Carl Edwards
Mike Helton
Scott Pruett
Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
26 July 2012Brickyard Media ConferenceDanica Patrick
20 November 2012Brickyard Media ConferenceJeff Belskus
Mark Miles
Jack Snyder
12 August 2013Indianapolis Motor Speedway Media ConferenceMarc Marquez
1 October 2013Indianapolis Motor Speedway Media ConferenceGreg Ballard
Doug Boles
Tony Kanaan
Mark Miles
Roger Penske
Graham Rahal
26 May 2020Honoring the Heroic Service and Sacrifice of IMPD Officer Breann LeathCongressional Record: Rep. Susan W. Brooks





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