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Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Indianapolis, United States

Capacity: 257325

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Complete venue guide for sports travelers — capacity, transportation, hotels, and match day tips for your trip to Indianapolis.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis — seating, transport and United States sports travel venue guide

Venue Overview

Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the oldest continuously operating purpose-built motor racing circuit in the world, the highest-capacity sports venue on Earth, and the undisputed cathedral of American open-wheel racing. Stretching 2.5 miles around a rectangular oval with four distinct turns banked at 9 degrees 12 minutes, IMS has hosted the Indianapolis 500 every Memorial Day weekend since 1911 — excepting America's two World War suspensions. The facility occupies roughly 1,025 acres on the western edge of Indianapolis, and within its infield you could simultaneously fit Vatican City, the entire grounds of Wimbledon, the Rose Bowl, Churchill Downs, and Yankee Stadium with room to spare. The iconic Pagoda control tower, the Bombardier Learjet pagoda suite level, the famed Gasoline Alley garages, the massive infield infield mounds, the Snake Pit concert stage, the newly renovated Pit Lane Terrace, the IMS Museum, and the 2.6-mile combined road course used for the Verizon 200 NASCAR weekend and the Formula One United States Grand Prix when it returned between 2000 and 2007 — all combine to make a single Indianapolis 500 weekend a three or four day destination rather than merely a Sunday race ticket. Travelers arrive from every US state and roughly 70 foreign countries, turning the west side of Indianapolis and the adjacent Town of Speedway into a global motorsports village every May.

Original 2.5-mile oval was paved with 3.2 million bricks in 1909, giving the track its enduring 'Brickyard' nickname. The 36-inch wide Yard of Bricks at the start/finish line is the last visible remnant.

Location & Capacity

Capacity 257325
City Indianapolis
Country United States
Opened 1909
Architect Carl G. Fisher, James A. Allison, Frank H. Wheeler, Arthur C. Newby
Sports Motorsport, IndyCar, NASCAR, Formula 1

IMS sits six miles due west of downtown Indianapolis, directly astride Interstate 74 and a short hop from Interstate 465's west belt. The official address is 4790 West 16th Street, Speedway, Indiana 46224, and the property straddles the City of Indianapolis and the Town of Speedway municipal boundary. The main spectator entrances are clustered along 16th Street on the north side of the property (Gate 1, Gate 2, Gate 3) for most grandstand ticketholders, along Georgetown Road on the west for Turn 2 and Turn 3 patrons, and along Holt Road on the southeast for the infield, the Snake Pit, and Lot 1 tailgating. Downtown Indianapolis is a 20-minute drive west along 16th Street or I-74 in light traffic, but inflates to 45 to 90 minutes on race morning. Indianapolis International Airport (IND) is 12 miles southwest, a 25-minute ride on a normal day and 60 to 90 minutes on Indy 500 Sunday. The immediate neighborhood around the track is dominated by speed shops, race-themed diners, craft breweries, small independent motels, and more than a thousand hand-painted private yard signs welcoming the 500 Festival each spring.

Event History

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was financed and built in 1909 by four Indiana businessmen — Carl G. Fisher, James A. Allison, Frank Wheeler, and Arthur Newby — who envisioned a proving ground for the young American automobile industry. The first automobile race was run on August 19, 1909, and after two serious accidents on the crushed-stone-and-tar surface the owners decided to repave the entire 2.5-mile oval with 3.2 million bricks over a 63-day construction window in the autumn of 1909, instantly giving birth to the Brickyard name. The first Indianapolis 500 Mile International Sweepstakes was held on May 30, 1911, won by Ray Harroun driving the Marmon Wasp at an average speed of 74.59 miles per hour, and it has run every Memorial Day weekend since except for the war suspensions of 1917-1918 and 1942-1945. Over 108 editions the 500 has crowned winners including Wilbur Shaw, Mauri Rose, Bill Vukovich, A. J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr., Rick Mears, Emerson Fittipaldi, Jacques Villeneuve, Helio Castroneves (the only active four-time winner), and Scott Dixon. Since 2016 the speedway has also hosted the NASCAR Cup Series Verizon 200 on its combined road course, a revived SCCA run-offs event, and the Gallagher Grand Prix IndyCar weekend on the same road course the weekend preceding the 500.

Where to Sit: Seating Guide

Indianapolis Motor Speedway grandstand seating is organized into six primary zones: the Paddock grandstands along the main straight looking directly at Gasoline Alley and pit lane, the Tower Terrace corners immediately flanking the Pagoda in the infield, the Turn 1 grandstands H and J with a panoramic view of the end of the main straight and the exit of Turn 1, the Turn 2 Vista View deck seating above the Turn 2 suites, the Turn 3 Northwest Vista stands, and the Turn 4 grandstands overlooking the Snake Pit infield concert stage. General admission infield tickets grant access to the infield mounds on the inside of Turn 3 and Turn 4 and the famous Snake Pit, but do not guarantee a line-of-sight seat for the race itself. Paddock Penthouse and Tower Terrace Penthouse tickets come with covered seating, elevator access, catered lounge access, and pit walk vouchers for the mornings of practice, qualifying, and the race.

Premium Seats

Paddock Penthouse Suites and the private Pagoda suite levels offer climate-controlled interior lounges, open-air box seats overlooking pit lane and the main straight, catered breakfast and dinner service, open premium bars, elevator access, and a post-race rooftop reception with views of the victory circle celebration.

Best Views

Turn 1 grandstands H and J and the E Penthouse are widely considered the best sightlines at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, offering an unobstructed view of the cars entering Turn 1 at 235+ miles per hour, exiting the turn onto the back straight, and making pit stops directly in front of the stands during mid-race yellow-flag pit sequences.

Best Value

General Admission infield tickets are the cheapest way into the speedway on race day, and provide full access to the Snake Pit concert stage, the infield mounds, the museum (for an extra fee), and all food and merchandise stands, though they do not guarantee a seated view of the actual race.

Getting to Indianapolis Motor Speedway

IndyGo Red Line + Route 10 Shuttle

IndyGo Red Line BRT terminates at the University of Indianapolis near downtown and connects to the official Indy 500 shuttle route operated as Route 10 Express between downtown's transit center and IMS Gate 1. Buses run every 10 to 15 minutes from 5 a.m. through midnight on race day, accept IndyGo fare cards and contactless payments, and drop passengers directly on 16th Street within a three-minute walk of the north grandstand entrances.

Official IMS Park & Ride Lots

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway operates six satellite park-and-ride lots on Indy 500 race day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum west lot, the former Stapleton Airport hangars along High School Road, the FedEx hub off Perry Worth Road, the Eagle Creek golf overflow, the Lucas Oil Raceway complex in Brownsburg, and the IND airport cell phone lot with a connecting transfer coach. Reservations open in January and sell out by early April for most weekends in May.

Uber / Lyft Designated Zone

Uber and Lyft drop-offs and pickups are restricted to the official rideshare staging lot at the former GM stamping plant site across 16th Street from Gate 2, connected to the grandstands by a lighted 600-foot covered pedestrian walkway. Surge pricing typically kicks in around 6 a.m. on race morning and spikes hardest immediately after the race, so travellers planning to leave during the final 20 laps should expect waits of 60 to 90 minutes inside the staging corral.

IND Airport Private Transfer

Indianapolis International Airport offers dedicated Indy 500 black-car sedan and SUV transfers through the Ground Transportation Center booth 14, averaging 89 to 119 USD one-way depending on party size and whether the booking includes a race-day meet-and-greet at baggage claim 5. Many race fans combine airport transfer with a Wednesday or Thursday evening trip to the Speedway Museum and the 16th Street bar corridor.

Parking

On-site paid parking at IMS fills to capacity roughly 30 minutes after the lots open on Indy 500 Sunday, so most race patrons rely on one of four strategies. Reserved on-site parking in Lots 2, 3, 4, and 7 along 16th Street and Georgetown Road is sold through IMS ticketing in January and generally ranges from 220 to 550 USD per space depending on the lot and the day of the week. Unreserved general parking opens to the public on race morning in the satellite lots along High School Road, Eagle Creek park, and the now-closed Indiana State Fairgrounds west campus, each with shuttle bus service included in the 50 to 80 USD daily fee. Private paid parking is also available on roughly 400 independent homeowner yards within a one-mile radius of the track, advertised on hand-painted signs and ranging from 30 to 120 USD per car depending on the lot's walking distance to a grandstand entrance. Finally, street parking is technically legal in the residential blocks of the Town of Speedway west of the track, but the posted 2-mile tow-away zone for expired tags makes this the least reliable option on race day.

Match Day Experience

An Indy 500 race day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway moves through a slow-burning ceremonial build-up that makes the eventual green flag feel earned and cinematic. Spectators begin streaming through the gates shortly after 5 a.m., tailgating fires go up in every lot before sunrise, and the first marching band strikes up in the Paddock by 7:30 a.m. The official pre-race ceremony begins roughly two hours before the green flag with the Purdue University All-American Marching Band, the 500 Festival Princess court, a mass flyover of military aircraft, the singing of America the Beautiful and then, for more than a century, a soloist performing Back Home Again in Indiana as tens of thousands of helium-filled balloons are released from the infield. The command 'Gentlemen, start your engines' — updated in recent years to include women drivers with the gender-neutral 'Drivers, start your engines' for road course events — echoes over the 140-speaker PA system and immediately sends 33 cars roaring out of Gasoline Alley for their pace laps. The green flag itself produces a wall of 33 Chevrolet and Honda twin-turbo V6 engines at 12,000 RPM that you feel through the concrete bleachers beneath your seat, and for the next three and a half to four hours every caution period, every pit stop sequence, and every pass for the lead unfolds across the 2.5-mile oval in a combination of visual speed, radio call theatre, and shared crowd reaction that no other North American sporting event can match. After the winner takes the checkered flag and the 500 Festival wreath is placed over their shoulders, roughly half the crowd will stay for the victory circle ceremonies, the BorgWarner Trophy kiss, the winner's interview on the ABC stage, and the now-iconic driver's milk toast — a tradition since 1936 and one of the most instantly recognizable moments in global motorsports.

Match Day Timeline

  1. 05:00 a.m.

    Gates open & Tailgating Starts

    All spectator gates open at 5 a.m. local time. Tailgating grills and canopies have been going up in lots 1 through 10 since 3:30 a.m., and the first portable coffee carts open on the main concourse 15 minutes after the gates unlock.

  2. 07:30 a.m.

    Pre-Race Ceremonies Begin

    The Purdue marching band takes the infield stage, followed by the 500 Festival Queen coronation, the Armed Forces color guard, the national anthem, the balloon release, and the soloist rendition of Back Home Again in Indiana.

  3. 09:45 a.m.

    Driver Introductions

    The 33 starting drivers are introduced from the back of a flatbed truck driving slowly along the pit lane wall, starting with the 33rd qualifier and ending with the pole-sitter on the front row.

  4. 12:38 p.m.

    Command to Start Engines

    The honorary starter delivers the legendary command, 33 engines spool to redline in Gasoline Alley, the pace car leads the field onto the oval for four warm-up pace laps, and the field crosses the Yard of Bricks under yellow before the green flag.

  5. 04:15 p.m.

    Checkered Flag & Victory Circle

    The 500-mile race typically ends between 4 and 4:45 p.m. depending on cautions and red flags. The BorgWarner Trophy is wheeled to victory lane, the winner receives the 500 Festival floral wreath, drinks the ceremonial bottle of milk, and conducts a 45-minute media program while the infield stage begins the post-race concert.

Food & Drink

IMS Famous Pork Tenderloin Sandwich

The signature Speedway concession staple since 1974, a hand-breaded 6-ounce pork cutlet pounded to the size of a dinner plate, served on a plain white hamburger bun with dill pickle chips and yellow mustard. Available from every permanent concession stand and most portable carts along the main concourse.

Brickyard Crossing Grill Infield

Open only to infield ticket holders and suite guests, the Brickyard Crossing Grill sits behind Turn 2 inside the Pete Dye-designed Brickyard Crossing golf course clubhouse and serves dry-aged ribeye burgers, shrimp cocktail, hand-cut waffle fries, and local Sun King Brewing Co. draft beer with an open-air patio that overlooks the driving range and Turn 2 race surface.

Gasoline Alley Garage Snack Stations

Curated small-bite concessions operated by Indianapolis's Milktooth restaurant group and St. Elmo's Steakhouse, available in the Gasoline Alley walkthrough on Carb Day and race morning. Offerings include St. Elmo's legendary shrimp cocktail cups, Milktooth's cheddar chive biscuits, and chocolate-covered pecan turtle clusters made by Shapiro's Delicatessen.

Nearby Hotels

Places to stay within easy reach of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We may earn a small commission when you book through our links.

Hotel Indy Tribute Portfolio Downtown

Boutique Tribute Portfolio property one block from the Indianapolis Cultural Trail and Monument Circle, with a rooftop bar that runs Indy 500 watch parties, a dedicated Bellhop desk staffed with IMS credentialed concierges, and a complimentary pre-race shuttle that drops patrons at Gate 1 90 minutes before the command to start engines.

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Crowne Plaza Indianapolis Airport

Full-service Crowne Plaza directly connected to the IND airport terminal skywalk, offering 4 a.m. breakfast on race day, a park-and-race package that includes secure guest vehicle parking for the full week, and direct coach transfers to the IMS infield media center entrance with a later return for Carb Day patrons.

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Comfort Suites Speedway Indianapolis

Two-diamond all-suites Comfort Suites on Crawfordsville Road, a 12-minute walk from Gate 3 and directly adjacent to the Gasoline Alley south service tunnel. Rooms come with mini-fridges and pull-out sofas suitable for four-person race crews, and the hotel's rear parking lot holds an informal Saturday night tailgate that typically attracts 100 to 150 out-of-state fans.

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What's Nearby

The neighborhood immediately surrounding Indianapolis Motor Speedway, anchored by the Town of Speedway's Main Street five minutes west of Gate 10, has remade itself over the past decade into a walkable small-city destination rather than purely a race-day annex. Main Street Speedway is home to a handful of locally owned race-themed craft breweries including Big Woods Brewing, Daredevil Brewing, and the new IMS-branded Brickyard Brewing taproom, along with the Foyt Wine Vault tasting room run by four-time Indy winner A. J. Foyt's grandson Larry. The Dallara IndyCar factory and simulator visitor center is a 10-minute drive north on Main Street and offers paid tours of the chassis assembly floor and a half-million-dollar motion-simulator lap around IMS. Brownsburg, a 20-minute drive west along I-74, is the home of roughly 70 percent of the IndyCar team headquarters including Penske, Andretti, Ganassi, and Rahal, and most teams host limited open-house sessions on the Wednesday before the 500. Downtown Indianapolis, reachable via the Route 10 shuttle all weekend, is anchored by Monument Circle, the 285-acre White River State Park, the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, the NCAA Hall of Champions, and the Mass Ave cultural arts district, all of which are packed with 500 Festival-branded events throughout the entire month of May.

Match Day Tips

  1. Arrive before 7:30 a.m. on Indy 500 Sunday even though the green flag drops after 12:45 p.m. Traffic backs up severely on I-465 and Crawfordsville Road starting at 6 a.m., and the pre-race ceremonies — the Purdue marching band, the balloon parade, the flyover, the 500 Princess court, Back Home Again in Indiana, and the driver introductions on the back of a flatbed truck — are a huge part of the day.
  2. Carry a clear plastic bag no larger than 18x14x8 inches per the speedway's longstanding bag policy. Coolers are allowed through the gates but must be soft-sided and under 14 inches tall, and no glass containers of any kind are permitted. Factory-sealed water bottles up to one liter are allowed, and each ticketed guest may bring two.
  3. Do not skip Carb Day on the Friday before the 500. The 90-minute final practice session is followed by the Pit Stop Challenge head-to-head competition between the crews, then a post-practice stadium-sized concert on the Turn 4 infield stage that has drawn headliners including the Foo Fighters, Blake Shelton, and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
  4. If you hold grandstand seats in Turn 2 or Turn 3, enter through Georgetown Road gates 7, 8, or 9 rather than trying to walk the perimeter from Gate 1. The perimeter walk is over a mile long, and the shade along Georgetown Road is limited on hot May afternoons.
  5. Download the official IMS mobile app and turn on the in-seat audio stream. Every grandstand seat comes with a headphone jack and a short-range FM channel carrying the IMS Radio Network call, but the app stream has a 6-second lag that aligns better with the 4G data signal in the grandstands on race day and includes live scoring and pit stop stopwatch tools.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best way to get to Indianapolis Motor Speedway without driving on race day?

Use the IndyGo Route 10 Express shuttle from the downtown transit center, which departs every 10 minutes starting at 5 a.m. on Indy 500 Sunday and drops at Gate 1, or book an official park-and-ride reservation through the IMS ticketing portal before they sell out in early April. Uber and Lyft are available but face surge pricing and a 60 to 90 minute post-race pickup queue.

How long should I plan to stay in Indianapolis for the Indy 500?

Plan for a minimum of three nights and ideally four or five. Thursday is the 500 Festival Parade downtown, Friday is Carb Day practice, the Pit Stop Challenge and the infield concert, Saturday is Legends Day with vintage race car laps and autograph sessions, and Sunday is the 500-mile race itself.

Can I bring food or drinks into Indianapolis Motor Speedway?

Yes. Patrons may bring soft-sided coolers up to 14 inches tall, factory-sealed water bottles up to one liter each (two per person), and most snacks. Glass containers, hard-sided coolers, cans, kegs, and outside alcoholic beverages are all prohibited under the speedway bag policy.

Where should I sit at IMS for my first Indy 500?

First-time visitors should prioritize Paddock grandstands across the main straight near Pit Lane and the Pagoda, or Turn 1 grandstands H and J, which offer the clearest view of the start, the first-lap chaos, and pit stops. Turn 4 grandstands are ideal if you prioritize concert access at the Snake Pit infield stage.

Is the IMS Museum worth visiting?

Absolutely. The IMS Museum is housed in the infield Rotunda building and holds more than 75 historic race cars including every Indianapolis 500-winning chassis since 1911, A. J. Foyt's four-winning collection, the original Marmon Wasp, and a BorgWarner Trophy exhibit. It is open Tuesday through Sunday year round and requires a separate admission ticket from the race.

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