Q: Just curious about your view on this topic: fencing for the pit wall along the frontstretch. I believe this was an idea Robin Miller had championed. With the advent of the “dragon move,” I get nervous when the leaders start to weave coming off Turn 4.
Rob, Rochester, NY
DB: Robin would be glad to know someone was out there pushing the question. We definitely have been looking at things we can do to make pitlane safer for drivers and participants. One of those options is the fencing between the front stretch and the pitlane walls (we have two). No decisions made yet, but definitely on the radar.
Thanks for the nod to Robin!
Q: I’ve always been curious as to the thought process regarding installing lighting to the track to allow for what would be just an amazing experience. Obviously, cost is a factor, but what other variables have been considered towards a decision to not illuminate the coolest place on the planet?
John Sullivan, King of the Speedway Realm
DB: John (or is it King John?). There have been at least two times where IMS seriously looked into lighting the facility. One of them prior to me being president, and one of them since I took the job. Our friends at Musco Lighting even sent a crew over to really help us develop a pretty firm understanding of the undertaking.
You are right that cost is a significant driver – or rather the amount of time it would take to recoup the investment. My guess is that it would be well over $50 million (for the oval only) in today’s world to light the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And remember, it isn’t just lighting the track, it would be lighting stairways, grandstands, concession stands, restrooms, parking lots, etc. Things that today are not used in the dark.
Secondly, understanding the impact of night racing on our neighbors – not just the town of Speedway, but the entirety of the westside of Indianapolis – especially if it impacted weeknights. Our racetrack was once farmland; today we are surrounded for miles on each side by neighborhoods. So, I do want to be neighborly…
Finally, and this one is pretty subjective, but adding lights to the tops of IMS grandstands and along its walls would definitely change the way the facility looks and feels. Renderings don’t always tell the full story, but it would definitely make IMS look substantially different.
All that said, we continue to talk about it. And, while it isn’t on the immediate radar, I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point in the future – especially with new LED light technology – lights were a major consideration again.
Q: Lights around the track and a night IndyCar race would be awesome. Any thoughts to adding permanent lighting that could be used for IMSA endurance races too?
An IndyCar night race on the oval would be amazing – perfect for a September end to the IndyCar season
Steve Taylor
DB: Your question is similar to that of John Sullivan. Much of my answer related to lighting IMS can be found there. However, you do bring up the point of IMSA (also SRO), which I didn’t answer there.
The lighting we have considered in the past was strictly for the oval, not the road course. Lighting the road course would add significant cost and infrastructure needs to the project. We do currently bring temporary lighting in for our sports car races that run into the dusk (last year IMSA Pilot Challenge and this year, again, the SRO Indy 8 Hour) and also count on our video boards to light much of the facility (it is impressive how much they produce). And, remember that sports cars have headlights and part of the challenge is racing in the dark.
You are correct. If we are to have an IndyCar race at night we would need a fully lighted facility. And, while I would absolutely love to see an IndyCar race on a road course under the lights, I don’t think it will happen at IMS. At least in the near future.
Q: Will the Speedway ever consider getting rid of the rumble strips to help open up the single-file racing we see at the Brickyard?
Mark
DB: We did look into the return of the “apron” several years ago as a way to widen the corners at IMS. IMS had an apron (an area of asphalt below – or to driver’s left – of the normal corner line) into the mid-1990s – but was never available since NASCAR has been at IMS.
First, we really don’t have “rumble strips” anymore at IMS. There is an area of pavement in the corners that once was the anchoring spot for rumble strips, but the rumble strips have been removed (long before I got to IMS).
Now, back to the apron. As we explored adding it back, because we believed it could help the NASCAR race, we realized that it could create a potential problem for IndyCar. Adding more racetrack means that IndyCar would likely have changes in the way they drive through the corners, and therefore the way they crash in the corners. More time for the cars to rotate means different impacts, different manners of how and where the car itself impacts, and what that does to driver safety.
Secondarily, we also were concerned about the potential development of pack racing at IMS and the safety implications of that if we added back the apron.
Ultimately, without a full understanding of the risk we might be creating, we felt we should avoid adding the apron back into the track. It doesn’t mean we couldn’t in the future (I was a proponent initially), but we need to do some homework first. And, the racing for the 500 has been better than ever over the last decade plus, so we also have to consider not impacting the current Indianapolis 500 race product.