| Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum | |
| Pushpin Map: | USA Indianapolis |
| Coordinates: | 39.7903°N -86.2336°W |
| Former Name: | Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum |
| Location: | 4750 West 16th Street Indianapolis, Indiana 46222 |
| Type: | Automotive |
| Visitors: | 1 million (2019)[1] |
| Website: | Official website |
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum is an automotive museum on the grounds of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, which houses the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame. It is intrinsically linked to the Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard 400, but it also includes exhibits reflecting other forms of motorsports, passenger cars, and general automotive history. In 2006, it celebrated its 50th anniversary. The museum foundation possesses several former Indianapolis 500 winning cars, and pace cars, and they are regularly rotated onto the display floor exhibits.
The museum is independently owned and operated by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation, Inc., a registered 501(c)(3) organization.[2] The museum dates back to 1956, and moved to the current building in 1976. It is located in the infield of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway race course, and is open year-round, except on certain holidays including Thanksgiving and Christmas.
In November 2023 the museum closed for substantial renovations. It is scheduled to reopen in 2025 after an $89 million renovation and modernization project.[3]
The first museum at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was completed April 7, 1956. The original building was designed by C. Wilbur Foster and Associates and sited on the property's southwest corner at the intersection of 16th Street and Georgetown Road.[4] Exhibits included Ray Harroun's 1911 Indianapolis 500-winning car and a handful of other vehicles. Karl Kizer became the first curator. When it opened, it only had six cars; however, within a few years, dozens of collector cars were being donated and acquired, quickly outgrowing available space. According to Speedway publicist Al Bloemker, by 1961, the museum was seeing an average of 5,000 visitors per week (not including month of May crowds).[5]
In 1975, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway broke ground on a new 96000square feet museum and administration building inside the track's infield. In addition to the museum, the two-story building housed the Speedway's administrative offices, ticket office, a gift shop, and photography department. The expanded museum opened to the public on April 5, 1976, coinciding with the year-long United States Bicentennial celebration. It officially operated under the name Hall of Fame Museum, but was known colloquially as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum. The original museum building outside turn one was converted into additional office space.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987. A plaque commemorating the property's historic designation is displayed in the museum.
In the summer of 1993, the original museum building outside of turn one was demolished. In its place, a multi-million dollar administration building was erected. The administrative and ticket offices were moved out of the infield museum building and relocated to the new administration building. This freed up floor space and allowed for an expanded gift shop.
In 1993, the museum parking lot hosted the first "Indy 500 Expo" during race festivities, an outdoor interactive spectator exhibit. In 1995, it was expanded and renamed "Indy 500 FanFest". It was discontinued after 1997, but in recent years, smaller displays sponsored by Chevrolet have featured former pace cars and other exhibits. Also, at some point in the 1990s, the photography department added a Halon fire suppression system to the storage room where original film negatives and even glass plates for every race hosted at the track since the inaugural Indianapolis 500 in 1911. (However, no known negatives exist for the inaugural 1909 balloon race event.)
In 2016, a revitalization and modernization project was initiated to expand the museum's floor space and add interactive displays. In April 2016, the museum was officially renamed the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, and the mission was changed "to specifically honor achievement at, and outstanding contributions to, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway."[6] A substantial process of deaccession began to further refine, improve, and update the collection. In late 2023, the museum close for substantial renovations and is scheduled to reopen in April 2025.
The museum has about 75 cars on display at any given time. With floor space totaling 37,500 square feet, only a small portion of the total collection can be displayed. Frequently, cars are sent on loan for display at other museums, historical car shows, parades, and other activities.
The collection includes over thirty Indianapolis 500 winning cars, various other Indy cars, and several racing cars from other disciplines. It also includes pace cars and passenger cars, with a particular focus on those manufactured in Indiana and by Indiana companies. Other items on display include trophies, plaques, and racing paraphernalia such as helmets, gloves, and driver's suits. Rotating exhibits include such elements as model cars, photographs, toys, and paintings. Displays include highlights of the history of Speedway ownership, the evolution of the track, and memorabilia from past years.
In recent years, the museum has featured one or two special exhibits per year, one running roughly from early spring through the fall, and another in the intervening months.
Due to the size of the collection, and space constraints on the display floor, a large portion of the collection is in storage. Some cars are rotated into display, while others remain in storage permanently, out of public view. The museum's storage areas are strictly off-limits to the public, and admittance is by invitation only. The contents of the stored collection has become a source of folklore and mystique, as it includes some extremely rare vehicles that few visitors are allowed to see, and photography is strictly forbidden.
In 2016, the museum display floor was expanded by 7,500 square feet after Speedway staff offices were relocated to another building.[10] The new North Hall is used to display additional cars, and offers a view of a portion of the Speedway road course.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame, formerly known as the Auto Racing Hall of Fame, dates back to 1952. It was established and supported by the American Automobile Association (AAA) and the Ford Foundation. It was originally the brainchild of Tony Hulman who had expressed interest in starting a racing hall of fame shortly after he purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1945. As of 2023, there have been 163 inductees enshrined into the hall.
AAA dropped out of racing entirely after 1955. After being established for only three years, and after only a handful of historical, "veterans committee" inductees, the hall of fame went dormant. A year later, the first Indianapolis Motor Speedway museum opened its doors. In 1961, Hulman acquired and revived the hall of fame, and incorporated it into the Speedway museum's organization.
Candidates can be nominated after at least twenty years have elapsed from the first date of participation in activities involved with professional-level auto racing. Drivers do not have to be retired from racing in order to be considered. Inductees are elected by a panel of roughly 150 members consisting of racing officials, living hall of fame members, historians, and select media representatives. In 2018, the scope of the Hall of Fame was redefined and clarified as encompassing participants in all major racing events at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway: the Indianapolis 500, Brickyard 400/Verizon 200, U.S. Grand Prix (2000–2007), and major AMA-sanctioned motorcycle racing (such as MotoGP and MotoAmerica). Subsequent to that, Jeff Gordon became the first driver inducted whose accomplishments were primarily or exclusively attributed to a race other than the Indianapolis 500.
Voting is held annually and inductees are typically announced in the spring. In some years, they have been announced on or around Founders Day (March 20), the date on which the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was incorporated in 1909. The new members are formally inducted in May, a few days before the Indianapolis 500 race, during a special ceremony. There is no set number of inductees for each year, and the number varies annually.
The 2024 hall of fame class will consist of Tony Kanaan and Juan Pablo Montoya.[11]
(W) — Denotes Indianapolis 500 winning driver
(O) — Denotes Indianapolis 500 winning owner
(BY) — Denotes Brickyard 400 winning driver
(GP) — Denotes U.S.G.P. winning driver