Q: Can you give us some idea of the engineering challenges/problems that come with keeping a 100+ year facility viable and functional, and how they are addressed over the course of a year?
As a corollary question, what is the coolest ancient archeology item that you’ve found in the depths of the track?
PP, in the mountains of VT
DB: There are always surprises at IMS and there are definitely things that happen that are unexpected. Most recently (just a few weeks before the Brickyard) it was a sinkhole at oval pit out in pit lane. The cause? The underground creek that passes under the track just north of Turn 1 and out the track under the south end of the track between Turn 1 and Turn 2. Really, the cause was a failing steel pipe (one I tried to go under in a recent episode of “Behind the Bricks”) that was placed decades ago to help the water flow under the track.
Racetrack surface maintenance, steel maintenance throughout the facility grandstands, audio and video fiber and cabling, asphalt repair and replacement, nearly 100 separate electric meters, an 18-hole golf course, maintenance vehicles, tunnels, drainage throughout, 5,000 restroom fixtures, etc. The list goes on and on.
One of the questions I get the most is, “What do you do the remainder of the year?” I remind people we have on track activity over 140 days a year (363 days a year if you include the museum tour buses), we have nearly 1,000 acres, we’re 115 years old, there is no shortage of to do list maintenance – not to mention new projects.
The coolest archeological find? Probably when we were taking core samples of the racetrack to understand some water issues we were having – especially in the corners – in the fall of 2017. We took a core sample on the backstretch where Scott Dixon thought there was a timing line bump and when the six-inch diameter core came out, it had asphalt in the middle and a bit of brick on either edge. I called Donald Davidson to see what he thought, and he said that in the 1930s IMS would sometimes remove an entire row of bricks that was buckling and causing a bump and fill it with asphalt. So, nearly 90 years later, we were still dealing with a bump! That was cool – until we pulled a core sample at the exit of Turn 3 and removed a full brick, with each layer of asphalt on top of it. It was the perfect representation of our entire history!
Thanks for asking! Fun question!
Q: I just recently started attending the 500 and now renew my tickets every year. I love it. A few observations and questions:
1. What are the next big renovations coming to IMS in the next five years?
2. If you could start from scratch, what one thing would you change about IMS?
3. Other than May, what is another great time of year to come visit the track/museum and see some racing?
4. Are there track days at IMS?
Jeff
DB: Thanks for the questions. Have you read Wilbur Shaw’s autobiography? It’s funny, because even back in the early 1950s he was asking the same question. What can the Speedway do each year to continue to improve the experience for the fans?
Next on the horizon, likely more video boards, continued investment in our concession areas to help throughout so fans don’t have to stand in line as long, understanding technology that can help us improve parking ingress and egress, continued upgrades in our fan safety measures like our metal detector gates, and obviously the IMS Museum renovation that will be completed in time for the 2025 Indianapolis 500.
Starting from scratch, not sure I would want to change too much. What we have at IMS and especially the Indianapolis 500 is hard (likely impossible) to replicate. But, what I might have put at the top of the consideration list in 1909 was traffic ingress and egress and more ways to get people in and out of the facility, and probably a second tunnel capable of bringing in vehicles over eight feet tall.
The Indianapolis 500 is my favorite day of the year – like so many of us! I enjoy Brickyard Weekend, love the GTP cars racing the road course, and find the Indy 8 Hours GT race a great way to end the season. But, for me, my second-favorite time of year at IMS is the Driven to Save Lives BC39 USAC Midget weekend.
We do not have traditional track days at IMS. Many manufacturers do track days or schools at IMS, but that would be the closest to a track day!
Thanks for the four questions in one! We like fours at IMS (AJ, Al Sr., Rick, Helio, and my favorite number).