Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum facts for kids

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Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum in 2005
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Former name	Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum
Established	April 7, 1956; 69 years ago (1956-04-07)
Location	4750 West 16th Street Indianapolis, Indiana 46222
Type	Automotive
Visitors	1 million (2019)

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum is a cool car museum right inside the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. It's home to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame, celebrating racing legends! This museum is super connected to big races like the Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard 400. But it also shows off other types of racing cars, regular cars, and the history of cars in general.

The museum owns many cars that won the Indianapolis 500. It also has many pace cars. These special cars are often changed around so visitors can see different ones. The museum is run by a special group called the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation. It first opened in 1956. Then, it moved to its current building in 1976. You can find it in the middle of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway race track. It's open all year, except for some holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

In November 2023, the museum closed for a big update. It plans to open again in 2025. This huge project will cost $89 million to make the museum even better and more modern.

The Museum's Story: How it Started and Grew
What You Can See: Awesome Cars and More!
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame: Honoring Racing Heroes
- Hall of Fame Drivers
- Hall of Fame Owners, Mechanics, and Other Contributors
Images for kids
See Also

The Museum's Story: How it Started and Grew

The museum's main area in 2015

The very first museum at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened on April 7, 1956. It was built on the southwest side of the property. At first, it only had a few cars. One was Ray Harroun's car that won the 1911 Indianapolis 500. Karl Kizer was the first person in charge of the museum.

Soon, many more collector cars were given to the museum. It quickly ran out of space! By 1961, about 5,000 people visited the museum each week. This number didn't even include the huge crowds during May, when the big race happens.

In 1975, work began on a new, much bigger museum. This new building was inside the track. It was 96,000 square feet! Besides the museum, it had offices, a gift shop, and a photo department. The bigger museum opened on April 5, 1976. It was called the Hall of Fame Museum. The old museum building was then used for more offices.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway itself became a special historic place in 1975. It was named a National Historic Landmark in 1987. You can see a sign about this history at the museum.

In 1993, the first museum building was taken down. A new office building was built there. This meant the museum building inside the track had more room. The gift shop got bigger too! From 1993 to 1997, the museum parking lot hosted fun events for fans. These events showed off old pace cars and other cool displays.

In 2016, the museum started a project to make it more modern. It added more space and interactive displays. The museum was officially renamed the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. Its main goal became to honor achievements at the Speedway. In late 2023, the museum closed for more big renovations. It is set to reopen in April 2025.

What You Can See: Awesome Cars and More!

Indianapolis Speedway Museum - Main Display Hall 2019

The museum usually has about 75 cars on display. But it has a much larger collection! Since the display area is 37,500 square feet, only a small part of all the cars can be shown at once. Often, cars are loaned out to other museums or car shows.

The collection includes over thirty cars that won the Indianapolis 500. It also has many other Indy cars and racing cars from different types of races. You can see pace cars and regular cars too. The museum especially focuses on cars made in Indiana. Other items on display include trophies, awards, and racing gear. This includes helmets, gloves, and driver's suits. Sometimes, there are special displays of model cars, photos, toys, and paintings. You can also learn about the history of the Speedway and see items from past races.

Indianapolis 500 Winning Cars

Harroun's 1911-winning Marmon "Wasp" on display at the museum.

The winning cars of Arie Luyendyk (30), Jacques Villeneuve (27) and Eddie Cheever (51) on display at the museum in 2008.

A. J. Foyt's 1977 winning car

The museum has many cars that won the famous Indianapolis 500 race. Here are some of them:

1911 Marmon Wasp (the first Indy 500 winner) (Ray Harroun)
1912 National (Joe Dawson)
1914 Delage (Rene Thomas)
1922 Duesenberg (Jimmy Murphy)
1925/1927 Duesenberg (driven by Peter DePaolo in 1925, and by George Souders in 1927)
1928 Miller (Louis Meyer)
1939–1940 Boyle Special Maserati (won two years in a row) (driven by Wilbur Shaw)
1946 Thorne Engineering (George Robson)
1947–1948 Blue Crown Spark Plug Special (won two years in a row) (driven by Mauri Rose)
1950 Wynn's Offy (Johnnie Parsons)
1953–1954 Fuel Injection Offy (won two years in a row) (Bill Vukovich)
1955 John Zink Offy (Bob Sweikert)
1957–1958 Belond Special Offy (won two years in a row) (Sam Hanks in 1957; Jimmy Bryan in 1958)
1961 Bowes Seal Fast Offy (A. J. Foyt)
1962 Leader Card Watson Roadster (Rodger Ward)
1964 Sheraton-Thompson Watson Offy (A. J. Foyt)
1967 Sheraton-Thompson Coyote Foyt (A. J. Foyt)
1968 Rislone Special Eagle (Bobby Unser)
1972 Sunoco McLaren (Mark Donohue)
1977 Gilmore Racing Team Coyote/Foyt (A. J. Foyt)
1978 First National City Traveler's Checks Lola/Cosworth (Al Unser Sr.)
1980 Pennzoil Chapparal (Johnny Rutherford)
1982 STP Wildcat/Cosworth (Gordon Johncock)
1983 Texaco Star (Tom Sneva)
1986 Budweiser Truesports March\Cosworth (Bobby Rahal)
1990 Domino's Pizza Hot One Lola/Chevrolet (Arie Luyendyk)
1995 Player's Ltd. Reynard/Ford Cosworth BX (Jacques Villeneuve)

Other Cool Race Cars

1925 Miller Junior Eight on display at the museum

The museum also displays many other famous Indy cars and race cars from different series:

1912 Fiat (finished second in the race)
1931 Cummins Diesel (the first car to finish the Indy 500 without stopping for fuel)
1952 Ferrari Special
1961 Cooper Climax (driven by Jack Brabham, one of the first rear-engine cars)
1963 Lotus Powered by Ford (driven by Jim Clark)
1977 Bryant Heating & Cooling Lightning/Offy (driven by Janet Guthrie, the first woman to race in the Indy 500)
2005 Panoz/Honda (driven by Danica Patrick, the first woman to lead a lap in the Indy 500)
A NASCAR Winston Cup stock car donated by Richard Petty
A sprint car driven by A. J. Foyt
1965 Le Mans-winning Ferrari 250 LM
1998 Stewart SF02-Ford Formula One car
1907 Itala G.P. race car

Regular Cars and Trophies

Rubens Barrichello's SF02 on display at the museum

Sid Collins exhibit

PPG Trophy for the Brickyard 400

Entrance to the basement at the IMS Museum

North wing

The museum also has a collection of regular cars, especially those made in Indiana. It usually has at least one Indy 500 pace car from different years. You can see very old cars like an 1886 Daimler "Motor Carriage" and an 1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen.

The museum is the permanent home for the famous Borg-Warner Trophy, which is given to the winner of the Indianapolis 500. It also has the Wheeler-Schebler Trophy, which is even older. You can see the PPG trophy for the Brickyard 400 winner too. There are display cases full of historic trophies and medals from many different races.

Special Displays and Tours

The museum has different paintings and photographs by famous artists. There's an exhibit about the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network with old radio equipment. You can also watch a short film about the history of the race in the Tony Hulman theatre. For an extra fee, you can take a bus tour around the race track!

In recent years, the museum has featured special exhibits. These often focus on famous drivers or teams. For example:

2016: Team Penske 50th Anniversary
2017: A. J. Foyt exhibit
2018: The Amazing Unsers (celebrating the Unser racing family)
2019: Mario Andretti exhibit ("Mario Andretti: Icon")
2021: Rick Mears exhibit ("Rocket Rick Mears")

Hidden Treasures: The Basement and North Hall

Because the museum has so many cars, a lot of them are kept in storage. Some cars are brought out for display, while others stay hidden from public view. The storage areas are usually off-limits to visitors. People often wonder what rare cars are kept down there!

In 2016, the museum added 7,500 square feet of display space. This new area is called the North Hall. It shows more cars and even offers a view of part of the Speedway race course.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame: Honoring Racing Heroes

The Auto Racing Hall of Fame

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame honors people who have made big contributions to racing. It started in 1952. As of 2023, 163 people have been added to the Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame was paused for a few years. But in 1961, Tony Hulman, who owned the Speedway, brought it back. He made it part of the museum. To be nominated, a person must have been involved in professional auto racing for at least twenty years. Drivers don't have to be retired to be considered. A group of about 150 people, including racing officials and historians, vote for new members.

In 2018, the Hall of Fame decided to include people from all major races at the Speedway. This includes the Indianapolis 500, Brickyard 400, and even motorcycle races. Because of this, Jeff Gordon became the first driver inducted mainly for his wins in the Brickyard 400.

New members are usually announced in the spring. They are officially welcomed into the Hall of Fame in May, just before the Indianapolis 500 race. The number of new members changes each year. For 2024, Tony Kanaan and Juan Pablo Montoya will be inducted.

W — Means they won the Indianapolis 500 as a driver O — Means they won the Indianapolis 500 as a car owner BY — Means they won the Brickyard 400 as a driver GP — Means they won the U.S. Grand Prix at Indianapolis as a driver