GEARING UP FOR INDY 2018 INFORMATIONAL TEXT DO YOU KNOW YOUR RACE FLAGS? CHECK THE BACK COVER FOR ANSWERS. 500festival.com IMS.com the track is still generally the same, except the surface has In 1927, the track changed ownership and a new group of A HISTORY & TIMELINE been changed several times through the years. The original people led by Captain Eddie Rickenbacker took charge. surface was crushed stone sprayed with tar, but this fell Rickenbacker was worried about safety at the track. In OF THE INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY apart and caused many accidents. The Wabash Valley Clay 1935, he decided to have warning lights added to the track. Company of Veedersburg, Indiana delivered 3,200,000 ten- The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was the first track in the The Indianapolis Motor Speedway® (IMS) is known 1909. The first Indianapolis 500-Mile Race was held in pound street paving bricks. These bricks were used to create world to use warning lights. During this year, there was throughout the world as the home of the Indianapolis 500®. 1911. (The race was not run from 1917-1918 due to World a stronger surface. The track remained brick for 25 years. also a rule made that required drivers to wear helmets while This automobile race is held each May on Memorial Day War I and from 1942-1945 due to World War II. Other This is why the Speedway is often called “The Brickyard.” driving at the Speedway. Weekend. Since the first race in 1911, the Indianapolis 500 than the war years, the race has been run every year since In 1936, many of the bricks were patched with blacktop. has become more than just an automobile race. This sporting 1911.) The track was originally built to serve as a testing By fall 1961, the entire track, with the exception of the start/ Louis Meyer was a famous driver. He was the first driver event is a month-long celebration of activities presented by facility for the rapidly growing local automobile industry. By finish line, was covered with blacktop. to win the race three times; he was the first to drink milk in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the 500 Festival. 1913, Indiana ranked second in the country in number of Victory Circle; and he was the first to win the Borg-Warner automobiles made. However, the passenger cars being made The first Indianapolis 500 was held May 30, 1911. Forty Trophy. (The Borg-Warner Trophy is displayed in the Hall The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been listed on the could go faster than any Indiana dirt road would permit. cars met the average speed of 75 miles per hour (mph) and of Fame Museum. The trophy stands at nearly 5 feet tall National Register of Historical places since 1975, and it Thus, Carl Fisher, a Greensburg, Indiana native, and his were allowed to race. The race was won in a time of six hours and weighs 110 pounds. The face of the winner is added to was named a National Historic Landmark in 1987. The partners, Arthur Newby, Frank Wheeler, and James Allison, and 42 minutes. The winner, Ray Harroun, ran an average the trophy each year.) Speedway was built in the spring of 1909 and the first built the Speedway for testing. speed of 74.602 mph. He won the first “500” with the help competitive event was a balloon race on June 5, 1909. The of what is believed to be the very first rearview mirror ever During World War II, the track was beginning to fall apart. first motorized race was a motorcycle event held August 14, Workers created a 2.5-mile track with banked turns. Today used on an automobile. Anton Hulman, Jr. from Terre Haute, Indiana, bought the 1909: Founders (left to right) Arthur Newby, Frank Wheeler, Carl Fisher, and James Allison joined to build the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Fisher’s vision was to build an automobile testing ground. 1909 circa 1914 circa 1930 1948 Since 1909, the Speedway’s “Winged-Wheel” has been one of the most Through the years, the logo has had hundreds of variations, recognizable logos in all of sports. The wheel represents the founders’ usually custom-made for a program, credential, ticket, or plan of an automobile testing ground, and the wings represent the role poster. The seven racing flags became a major part of the aviation played in the early years at the Speedway. logo by the mid-1950s. 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 WORLD WAR I WORLD WAR II 1927: Eddie Rickenbacker and 1936: The Borg-Warner Trophy became the November 14, 1945: May 30, 1911: Ray Harroun won the first his partners purchased the Speedway official prize for Indianapolis 500 winners. Tony Hulman bought Indianapolis 500 at an average speed of for $750,000, which equals about Each winner gets a sterling silver face mounted the Indianapolis Motor 74.602 miles per hour. Harroun’s $8.5 million today. to the trophy. Speedway from Eddie race car, a Marmon “Wasp,” Rickenbacker for was the first $750,000. car to use a August 1909: The first race on the track, a rearview motorcycle event, took place on the brand mirror. 1936: After new IMS oval. The oval was made of winning his third crushed stone and tar. Indianapolis 500, Louis Meyer asked December 1909: A new track surface was for a bottle of completed. The track was repaved with 3.2 buttermilk in million bricks. Victory Lane. This was the inspiration for the race winner to drink milk, an 1957: The 500 Festival annual tradition. was created to organize civic events to celebrate the Indianapolis 500. Today, more than 500,000 Hoosiers and visitors participate in 1935: IMS was the first track in the world to 1938: A wall was built in Pit Lane to separate the activities during the crews’ work area from the pit area, creating a safer month of May. 1 have safety-warning lights and the first track 2 to require participants to wear helmets. working environment. Speedway. Since 1945, the Hulman-George family has Series uses the environmentally friendly E-85 (85 percent In 2010, Ana Beatriz, Simona DeSilvestro, Sarah Fisher, and included the Cadillac Eldorado, Camaro, SSR, and Corvette owned it. For many years, the prize money was $60,000. ethanol, 15 percent gasoline) to fuel its cars. Ethanol is Danica Patrick all qualified for the race, marking the first among many other types of cars. Being the honorary pace This money was divided among the drivers in the race. produced from field crops, such as corn, that are not grown time four women have done so in the same year. car driver is a big responsibility. Pace car drivers have After Tony Hulman bought the track, the award money for people to eat. Ethanol burns clean and is better for the included former race car drivers such as Sam Hanks, A.J. increased year to year. From a record $115,679 in 1946 the environment. The Speedway is always looking for ways to The finishes at the Indianapolis 500 continue to be thrilling. Foyt, Dario Franchitti and military officers such as General prize money has soared to over $13 million today with the make racecar driving safer. The second closest finish in history occurred in 2014 when Chuck Yeager and General Colin Powell. Comedian Jay winning team collecting nearly $3 million. Ryan Hunter-Reay won his first Indianapolis 500. Hunter- Leno, actor Patrick Dempsey, and news anchor Robin The year 1977 was a year of records. Tom Sneva recorded Reay beat Helio Castroneves to the finish line by .06 seconds. Roberts were pace car drivers for the Indianapolis 500. Through the years, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has official speeds over 200 mph to qualify for the race. A.J. Foyt Juan Pablo Montoya claimed his second Indianapolis 500 in been a leader in safety. In 1911, Ray Harroun used the first became the first driver to win the “500” four times while 2015 by crossing the Yard of Bricks .104 of a second ahead 2009-2011 marked the Centennial Era celebration. The rearview mirror. During the 1930’s colored warning lights Janet Guthrie was the first female to run in the race. Rick of Will Power. Indianapolis Motor Speedway celebrated 100 years of (green and yellow) were added to the track; drivers were Mears and Al Unser later joined Foyt in winning the race history and tradition. During the Centennial Era, the required to wear helmets; and a pit wall was built to protect four times. In 1996, Arie Luyendyk topped the qualification The start of the Indianapolis 500 is one of the most exciting opening of the track in 1909 and the inaugural, or first, the crews when they worked on the cars. In 1959, all drivers charts with a qualifying lap of 237.498 mph. Al Unser, Jr. moments in sports. Each year, the 33 cars follow a special Indianapolis 500 in 1911 were celebrated. Since the races were required to wear special fire resistant racing uniforms. and Scott Goodyear battled for the closest finish in history car known as the pace car. The pace car driver leads the cars were not run during World War I or World War II, 2016 The Speedway funded the research and development of the in 1992 with Unser’s victory margin of .043 seconds.