By Austin Lawton, Staff Writer
After undergoing a 17 month renovation, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum opened its doors to the public last Wednesday. The Museum, open daily from 9 a.m-5 p.m, was packed with fans wanting to get a look at the refreshed exhibitions.
The $60.5 million project added 40,000 square feet of additional exhibit space inside of the Museum, its first major update since 1985. Fans get to experience new, interactive exhibits showcasing the history of IMS and IndyCar, in a modern setting.
Fans can also experience new exhibits such as, “Gasoline Alley”. This showcases various eras of the Indianapolis 500 with period accurate garage stalls, featuring seven cars, along with artifacts from that era.
After leaving “Gasoline Alley”, fans will make their way to the “Starting Line Experience”. This room has show cars wrapped in the liveries of the 2024 “500” front row. Fans will get to see a six minute video showing Indy 500 race day morning, from when crews arrive at 4:30 a.m. to the green flag flying. This exhibit gives fans a chance to be right on the starting line of the “500” and interact with the cars presented.
“Qualifying Zone” gives fans a more hands-on look into racing, with interactive pit stop challenges, driving simulators and a strategy challenge. This exhibit gives fans of all ages a chance to be a driver, strategist or pit crew member, with a heavy focus on interactivity.
Next to the “Qualifying Zone”, is the “Innovation Workshop”. This is a classroom that will offer STEM experiences for grades K-12. This space will be fully interactive with students able to see what it takes to be a part of a racing team, through team-based activities, as well as potentially explore career opportunities in auto racing.
Adjacent to the “Innovation Workshop”, is the “Penske Gallery”. This space is entirely dedicated to Team Penske’s success at Indianapolis. A museum within the IMS Museum, the gallery is entirely curated by Team Penske, the exhibit features all 20 of Roger Penkske’s Baby Borg Warner trophies, five cars representing Team Penske’s successes, including Josef Newgarden’s 2024 winner and Lee Wallard’s 1951 winner, which was the first race Penske attended at Indianapolis. Each driver that has won a “500” for Penske has a fire suit featured, along with the various Penske artifacts already included. Penske’s Presidential Medal of Honor is also showcased.
Fans can see the story of the Speedway on the upstairs Mezzanine. Each race held at IMS (Indy 500, Brickyard 400, IMSA Battle on the Bricks and BC 39), will have winners cabinets showing firesuits, helmets and other memorabilia. The different ownership eras of the Speedway are shown off, along with other Speedway traditions, like the drinking of milk and the Purdue Marching Band. Past races such as Formula 1 and the Red Bull Air Race also have cabinets on this level.
Race winning cars are showcased on the main and downstairs level of the Museum, along with the Borg-Warner Trophy. The Museum opened their basement, which was previously closed off, only to exclusive tours, to the public for the first time. In the basement, fans can view eight Brickyard 400 winning cars, 12 “500” winners and the “Four-Time Winners Gallery”, showcasing the four, four-time winners of the “500”: AJ Foyt, Al Unser, Rick Mears and Helio Castroneves.
Jason Vansickle is the Vice President of Curation and Education at the Museum. In that position, Vansickle played a hand in getting some of the cars and artifacts that fans will see as they make their way to the Museum in the coming weeks. With all of the hard work now available for everyone to see, Vansickle is excited to welcome race fans back.
“It’s a bit surreal the last couple of weeks, as this thing has really come together,” Vansickle says. “I’ve been with the museum in some capacity for over 10 years and this has been a project in different configurations that has started, stopped, started and stopped. To think, when this version of the project started, in 2021, to be here now and open on time and under budget and welcome race fans back into the Museum in a configuration they’ve never seen before, it’s really exciting to embark on that.”
Even IndyCar drivers are excited about the new-look Museum. Conor Daly, driver of the No.76 Chevy for Juncos Hollinger Racing, is a fan of racing history, boasted his excitement on seeing the renovations for the first time
“I’m probably going to shed a tear,” Daly said. “ I love the Speedway, I love the history, I love the moments. I think [the renovations] are going to be awesome, especially for new folks.”
With the Museum having a modern look, Vansickle, who is a fan of racing history, expressed excitement in the renovations and how it plays a part in the history of the IMS Museum.
“You have to be able to tell the stories in a way that gets people excited, but also add interactivity to where the casual fan is not going to be overwhelmed, ” Vansickle said. “With things like the “Qualifying Zone”, “Innovation Workshop” and hands-on learning experiences, I hope to build the next generations of race fans coming to IMS for the variety of different of events here. This is just another milestone in the history of the IMS Museum and it’s a good foundation for future generations to continue to appreciate the race.”