The 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 is Sunday. For the surrounding community of Speedway, which bills itself as the racing capital of the world, many residents will be watching from home, and they are filled with sadness.
The network is hoping to deliver a broadcast that educates what could be one of the largest audiences in race history while also turning some casual fans into avid ones.
Marco Andretti was 2 months old the last time his venerable racing family led the field to green at the Indianapolis 500.
The former Formula One champion, who failed to qualify for the race last year in a spectacularly woeful effort by McLaren, has returned to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a third attempt at winning.
The race had been postponed from its usual Memorial Day weekend date to Aug. 23, before announcements that the track would limit seating to 50% and then later 25%—with masks required—and now with no fans at all.
Officials said that ticket sales for the Aug. 23 race will not be permitted after Friday, which could further limit the number of people who attend the 104th running of the Indy 500.
Penske gave a two-hour tour of the speedway this week, showing off with dizzying detail the new landscaping, paved lots, planted trees, picnic tables, widened pedestrian paths, hand dryers in every bathroom, improved sight lines, pressure-washed buildings, freshly painted signs and LED monitors everywhere.
About 175,000 tickets—most of them renewals—have been sold for the race, IMS confirmed to IBJ. Ticket requests are still being accepted, going into a queue for fulfillment after existing ticketholders have been accommodated.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials are putting all their energy into running the Indy 500 with fans in August, despite continuing concerns about big crowds and the coronavirus.
IBJ talked with IMS President Doug Boles about plans for the Indy 500, which is scheduled for Aug. 23. That’s about seven weeks after the state’s reopening plan calls for sporting events to resume.
NBC Sports said Saturday night’s season-opening IndyCar telecast drew nearly 1.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched series race outside the Indianapolis 500 on any network since 2016.
The race—rescheduled for Aug. 23—is on an otherwise open weekend in the city’s summer event calendar, which could fill hotel rooms at a time they would otherwise have been empty.
The not-for-profit organization that plans community events around the Indianapolis 500 race said it is continuing to plan for events after April 11, including the One America Mini Marathon, scheduled for May 2.
There were four events on the series’ 2020 schedule before action was set to return to Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Fernando Alonso will again attempt to complete motorsports’ Triple Crown with a return to the Indianapolis 500 in May with McLaren and a sponsorship from Ruoff Mortgage.
Driver James Hinchcliffe had to scramble to find anything at all for 2020 when he learned late last year that he was out at Arrow McLaren SP with a year remaining on his contract.
The motorsports mogul who bought the Hulman family racing empire earlier this year is promising a beefed-up prize purse, more video boards, renovated restrooms and a turbo-charged qualifying weekend.
Once the Hulman-George clan decided it was time to sell the family keepsake, could you think of anyone better? Anyone at all? Roger Penske has the magic name and the money and the expertise and credibility and the track record—both on and off the track.
A deal that will make Penske Corp. the owner of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the IndyCar Series received overwhelmingly positive reactions from motorsports insiders on Monday morning.
The England-based company plans to return to full-time IndyCar competition next season for the first time since 1979 in a partnership with existing team Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.
