The RACER Guest Mailbag with IMS President Doug Boles

Is there anyone in the world who loves their job more than Indianapolis Motor Speedway President J. Douglas Boles? (It’s a rhetorical question — the answer is clearly no!)

Since taking over the stewardship of the track in 2013, Boles has juggled the considerable day to day responsibilities of overseeing one of the world’s most famous and historic sporting venues with the unofficial role of being IMS’s biggest cheerleader — someone who recognizes that the Speedway’s biggest asset is its fans. When we invited him to take questions from RACER.com readers, he was immediately on board.

The invitation for questions drew such a massive response that Boles would have been required to subcontract out his day job in order to have the time to answer them all, but we’re hugely appreciative for the time he took to answer the submissions that he could.

As the Speedway prepares to open its doors to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship this weekend, please enjoy this opportunity to hear about all things IMS direct from the source.

Over to Doug:

Q: Can you explain the price increase in all the Vista deck seats, since those seats have failed to see the upgrades the other high-end seats have over the years?

David

DOUG BOLES: You are correct, we did make changes in the Penthouse seats (across all Penthouses – Paddock, A, B, & E) as part of Project 100 prior to the 2016 Indianapolis 500. Those locations received new seats and some of those locations (all but E Penthouse) received access to new elevators.

For the 2015 Indianapolis 500 (as part of Project 100) the NW Vista and the SW Vista both received the new large video boards for better viewing. We also upgraded the video boards visible to customers in NE Vista and SE Vista.

Since Roger Penske purchased the Speedway, we have invested in new back of grandstand video boards for customers in Turn 4 (the vast majority are NW Vista customers) and Turn 1, as well as new asphalt, restroom renovations and concession stand improvements.

With the exception of E and B Penthouses, the Vista Deck seats (the two rows above each Vista) are the most popular seats at the Speedway and the demand for those seats is significant. As we continue to look at places we can upgrade, the Vistas in general (not just the deck seats) are areas where we are looking at investing in a future year. As for pricing, it has increased on an every-other-year basis for all seats across the venue. While we do increase prices to meet rising costs and keep pace with industry standards, we work hard to keep those increases minimal and continue to provide excellent value to our customers. Compared to many other bucket-list events, the Indy 500 remains a more affordable experience.

Much has already been done to improve the fan experience at IMS in recent years, and planning for future enhancements is an ongoing mission. Chris Owens/IMS Photo

Q: Has there been any thoughts or consideration to the ticket holders about being able leave their Indy 500 tickets to family members in their will?

Robert

DB: This is a great question, and one that became one of the first things I addressed when I became president in 2013. Historically, IMS did not allow the transfer of tickets from one family member to another as a general practice. And, while I understood the reasoning (if IMS did allow it, it would make it virtually impossible for someone who was hoping to graduate up to certain locations if they could just be passed along), I was bothered by the inability of family to continue to enjoy the Indianapolis 500 in the locations where they typically attended once the account holder passed or decided to no longer purchase tickets.

I believed we should always allow family transfers (because the seats transferred have the family ties and memories that make them special to that family) and we changed that policy to allow family members to transfer tickets from another family member’s account in most instances. As part of any transfer under this policy, we did implement a one-time transfer fee.

We do not, however, transfer the seniority of one family member to another. Our main goal in these transfers is to allow family members to retain the seats that they likely sat in with their family member – and we can do that without transferring seniority. This allows a family to keep the tradition of attending the Indy 500 going and do it in the seats they expect. If we transferred seniority from one account to another, it would unfairly disadvantage our customers who also have longtime seniority in their individual accounts limiting their ability to request and receive changes or upgrades when options become available.

I hope this helps you understand our process and why we believe it is the fairest way to treat all of our customers while, at the same time, allowing families to keep the seats that have traditionally been in the family.
Thanks for this question.

Q: What changes are coming to the Lap Sponsorship Program in 2025 and beyond? IMS staff have not taken payment for the program for 2025, itself indicating a price increase, but staff also say other changes are coming. Please share the plans with existing lap sponsors as soon as possible so that constituency can consider the investment moving forward.

Also, in years past, Silver Badge holders have gotten the privilege of attending the pre-500 Saturday public drivers meeting from the pit lane. Legends Day is fairly boring as is, and watching the drivers arrive and depart from the meeting up close constitutes one of the day’s highlights. This year, yellow shirts prevented Silver Badge holders from accessing pit lane.

Kenneth

DB: We are working on Lap Sponsorship program changes and adjustments and our hope is that we will be able to roll them out in late September. We will likely continue to offer the single-lap sponsorships, as well as adding additional opportunities on each lap. We are also looking at other similar sponsorship opportunities.

And, yes, there will likely be a price increase. As you probably know, the price to sponsor a lap is less than the value of the benefits received (especially the Silver Badge access). However, we also want to keep the value high for those participating in this program that dates back nearly a century!

I was unaware that Silver Badge holders were not allowed to access pit lane during this past year’s drivers meeting and I will follow up with our team to understand the reasoning behind the change and will advocate that Silver Badge holders receive that access again.

Thanks for the input and thanks for being a Lap Sponsor!

Q: When does IMS plan on redoing the paddock penthouse press area? See the picture below for the reason I am asking.

I have had seats in the paddock press penthouse for years. There is no room to put a cooler under the seat, due to the bar going across the front of the folding chair. If you can get the cooler under the folding chair, you can’t get into it. The cooler has to be in front of your seat and it takes up room for people trying to walk by.

Scott Roales

DB: Your question is exactly why I love hearing from our fans. There are many times when we make changes, and then we learn the subtle challenges that something as simple as a putting new folding chairs in a location can create.

There are likely not any significant upgrades to the Paddock Press Box seats in the near future; however, I am going to ask the team to look into helping solve the cooler-under-the-seat issue. I can’t promise we’ll get it fixed in time for the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500, but we will definitely explore it and get a fix on the list.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention and sorry for the inconvenience the seat bar causes those with coolers and those trying to pass along the rows!

Q: Here’s a question about what was once a small but very neat race day tradition. I attended my first 500 in 1966. From then until I’m not sure when, the lettered grandstands flew flags from the roof that delineated them by the letter of the grandstand. I can’t remember how far up the main straight they went but I definitely remember A, B, E and P (for Paddock). It was these flags that got me, as a 10-year-old kid, interested in the history of IMS. That interest continues now as I’m almost 70. Do you know why the flags no longer fly, when was the last year they did, and what are the chances of bringing them back, maybe to spark the interest of another 10-year-old kid?

Dave Miller, Tampa, FL

DB: One of the main things that makes IMS and the Indianapolis 500 so special is its history and its traditions. It’s 500 miles, the 33 fastest qualifiers, “Back Home Again in Indiana,” honoring men and women who serve our country and have paid the ultimate sacrifices for our freedoms, a yard of bricks, a bottle of milk, etc.

And then there are many other “traditions” and things that make the race important to each of us individually – where we park, where we sit, what is in our coolers, etc.

The flags on top of the grandstand are one of those traditions. It used to be that the flags were only up when IMS was “open” for racing. Recently, we put the flags up at the beginning of the season and take them down after our last race of the year.

I do also recall the flags that denoted the stands themselves, but I do not know the last year they were put up over the respective stands. And, transparently, I am not sure this is something we would do again – however, we will look into it.

Thanks for reminding us of another unique thing IMS did to help fans navigate the facility that is not organized in the order the grandstands were constructed, so they do not move alphabetically! For example, starting from Turn 4 toward Turn 2 we have NW Vista, J Stand, H Stand, C Stand, Paddock, B Stand, A Stand, E Stand, SW Vista, S Vista, G Stand, & SE Vista. Our gates are the same – based on when they were opened.

The Indy 500 is built upon a bedrock of traditions, whether they be formal ones like “Back Home Again in Indiana,” or private ones created by individual fans. This group found a way to combine the two… Chris Owens/IMS Photo

Q: On the north end of the track, there used to be a big board that showed the top 10 positions and average speed. That went away several years ago, leaving us on the north end no quick way to see the top 10 (we have to wait for the positions to scroll through the screen). Any chance something is installed on the north end to show positions like that old sign did?

DJ Odom, Anderson, IN

DB: This is on our list. We definitely want to get some type of replacement on the north and south ends of the track where the old 1960s-era “carousels” were constructed. Those carousels had massive light bulbs on each side of them that showed the top 10 running order, laps completed, and MPH average. Over time, they became so outdated that the timing and scoring technology could not be used to keep the boards updated and they were beyond repair.

We continue to look at ways to either (a) speed up the scoring scroll on our current video boards or (b) just show the top 10 a majority of the time on race day to help our fans quickly see the leaderboard. We know however, this is not the same as immediately glancing up at the carousel and having the instant answer.

Thanks for asking. As I noted, this is definitely something on our radar and something that is particularly helpful for fans on the north and south sides of the racetrack.

Q: Thank you for the many upgrades at IMS including more video screens. One amenity that has gone backwards is race scanners. It has now been three seasons without over the air programming after IndyCar and Race Electronics cut ties. Many fans still use scanners, even with the IndyCar app, and manually programming frequencies for 33 cars, radio and television is tedious and time consuming. If this service is available on NASCAR weekends, why can’t we have over the air programming at the greatest race in the world?

Lee, Minneapolis, MN

DB: We still are uncertain why Racing Electronics will not support the Indianapolis 500. They do great work and offer a great product for fans, but we have not been able to get them to return to IMS and they have not provided a real reason for this. My speculation is that since they were purchased in 2018 by ISC (now NASCAR) that they have focused on their core business and supporting their events – including Charlotte on the same day as the Indianapolis 500.

We will continue to ask and push to see if we can get them to return. Otherwise, you, me, and many others will be left programming our scanners manually! At least we aren’t alone in our channel editing and at least all the teams don’t change frequencies every year!

Thanks for the question. Sorry my answer is not better!

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!

How much work goes into maintaining a massive, 115-year old facility? Not surprisingly, the answer is “a lot.” James Black/IMS Photo

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).

Q: What happened to the old scoring pylon after removal? I remember seeing it laying on its side by the facilities garage north of Turn 4.

David Teller

DB: The old scoring pylon (we are now on our third) that was up at IMS for 20 years starting in 1994 has been dismantled and most of the scoring numbers retained and stored. The top of the pylon that featured the rotating logo board and had the windsock mounting was also retained and is stored at IMS. Some of the light panels – the pylon featured nearly 6,500 30-watt bulbs – have also been saved. The remainder of the structure – mostly steel and old electronic wiring was disposed of or recycled where possible.

We also have a few remaining number panels from the first pylon that was up from 1959 through the 1993 Indianapolis 500.

While the new board is great and we can do many things with it, including make it look like the old pylons looked with just the 33 position numbers and car numbers, it will unfortunately not have cool number panels to save when it is time to replace this one (in fact, we did replace much of the LED screening prior to this year’s Indianapolis 500).

Q: I love all the improvements that have been made to the Speedway over the last few years. This year was my 48th 500 and it just gets better every year. I do have one suggestion: On race day the pedestrian traffic trying to get to or from the Pagoda Plaza south toward Turn 1 is extremely overcrowded due to the cars and equipment being taken from Gasoline Alley to the pits. Everyone must navigate up the narrow stairs across and back down on the other side.

Could you please look into putting up either a permanent or temporary pedestrian bridge over the area between Gasoline Alley and the pits to reduce this issue, which is a safety concern? We love all the activity and concessions in the Plaza, but it is nearly impossible to get there. Going around Gasoline Alley is quite the long way around as well.

Terry Cybulski

DB: Thanks for the note and the suggestion. Race day pedestrian traffic throughout IMS is something we continue to work to make easier. It is nearly 350,000 people in one location and everyone trying to get someplace at the exact same time. Fun fact, we are the second largest city in the state of Indiana inside the racetrack on race day!

We have looked into how to alleviate pedestrian traffic between the Gasoline Alley Garages and the traditional IndyCar garages. Building a bridge – permanent or temporary – has its own challenges and creates other problems without any significant relief in congestion.

Other than passing behind (or east) of the garages, you can travel under Tunnel 6 (north of the Pagoda) directly from the Pagoda Plaza area and then down toward Turn 1. Transparently, that too can be a long and crowded walk the closer you get to pre-race ceremony times.

Q: How many people are on the IMS payroll for the Indy 500 weekend? And what percentage returns year after year?

John A, WI

DB: Full-time staff at IMS is around 175 people, but on Race Day for the Indianapolis 500 it takes nearly 11,000 people to execute the Indianapolis 500 each year. This includes full-time, part-time, and seasonal IMS staff, not-for-profit groups who we pay to work the event, yellow shirts we pay to work the event, concessions staff, merchandise staff, cleaning crews, emergency and first responders, track workers, etc. Most of our not-for-profit groups return year after year, as do most of our track workers and yellow shirts.

Some elements of the old scoring pylon have been saved. Walt Kuhn/Motorsport Images

Q: The Speedway has never looked better, and I’ve been going to the race since 1968. What’s the next big dream for the Speedway? IMS continues every year to make many small but significant changes. Is there a big vision out there that can be shared? So many things make this the greatest race in the world. What would blow our minds to see 10 years down the road?

Gene Ott, Connersville, IN

DB: 1968 – Uncle Bobby would be happy to know that was your first year!
I often wonder what Carl Fisher would think if he could see IMS now. I think the fact that we are closing in on the 109th Running and the popularity of the Indianapolis 500 would blow his mind.

What’s 10 years down the road? Who knows what technology will bring – and not really from an on-track product standpoint – but more what will it do to make the customer experience better?

The big vision for us currently is to continue to invest in upgrading IMS, and much of that is taking care of deferred maintenance issues, adding more video boards, better audio capabilities, quicker concessions, etc. Longer term, how do we improve the ingress and egress, camping experiences, and Pagoda Plaza engagement.

Q: Under Roger Penske’s guidance, many improvements have been made at the Speedway. What upgrades are being planned for the near future, and are there long-term plans on major changes? What is the “want to do” list?

Dave W

DB: Thanks for the question. As everyone can tell, since 2020 the directive from the Captain was to get the IMS engine – the Indianapolis 500 – running as strong as it ever has. Nobody knew what the world would be like or what the public reception was going to be regarding attending large scale public events.

So, much of what IMS staff did when we weren’t allowed to host anyone at IMS was invest in things we couldn’t do during a normal racing season – renovated restrooms, new video boards, grandstand infrastructure maintenance, widening pedestrian passageways, repairing failing asphalt, etc. And we are continuing to focus on those less than dramatic changes to the IMS facility.

What happened after 2021 – when we were only allowed to host 135,000 fans? The Indianapolis 500 fans turned out like never before, and we continue to see growth each year – and are ahead of 2024 for 2025. We’ll keep focusing on the fan experience as our primary driver of change at IMS.

We are, however, beginning to start putting longer-term plans together and explore what might be next to improve the overall facility and fan experience. The next big thing to open will be the renovated IMS Museum prior to the 2025 Indianapolis 500.

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.

The current pylon is ready to go night racing, but it would take an immense effort — and expense — to illuminate the rest of the facility. Chris Jones/IMS Photo

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.

Q: Does IMS have any future plans to add more chair-back seats in the lower seating area?

Kentucky James, 22 years in the first turn

DB: As you know, we did add chairback seats in the penthouses in 2016. We have explored it in other areas, but unless we put in the narrowest of chairback seats (which are not comfortable for many people) in other locations, we will lose some number of seats. And, while that would not be a problem 364 days a year – for the Indianapolis 500 it would mean asking customers to either reduce the seats in their orders or arbitrarily forcing that on some customers.

Thanks for the question! And thanks for representing Turn 1!

Q: Since Mr. Penske bought IMS, what’s the most outrageous idea he has come up with to make the track better?

Nathan Gray

DB: Are you trying to get me fired? “Outrageous?” Too funny!

Honestly, what has been the most refreshing thing about Roger is how much time he spends at IMS and how much time he spends walking around the facility and opening every door and walking in every space and really allowing us to invest to make things better. He doesn’t sit in an office; he is out helping us make things better.

Want to hear a crazy story? RP calls on a February afternoon and says he just arrived in Indianapolis (we didn’t know he was coming) and wanted to know if a couple of us wanted to get dinner and talk about what was on our agenda. Of course we did! Great, he’ll pick us up at the back of the admin building and we’ll get dinner. We hop in the car (its maybe 6:15 or so, basically just dark) and he starts driving around the facility. We go through parking lots, stop and go in restrooms, check out grandstands and where we should put more video, look at some things we should paint under the grandstands. In and out of the car. Turning bright headlights on the Tahoe to illuminate areas we can’t see because we don’t have electricity in the full facility in the winter. It’s non-stop. The list keeps growing.

At 9:30, we finally are done on our “make-a-list” tour, and he stops at the door where he originally picked us up. We all had lost track of time. He looks at us and says, “Now that was a great dinner!”

So, the outrageous thing about RP? He loves IMS and the experience like we all do and the work he puts in shows it. And, if you want a project he really made better – the big board on the back side of the Pagoda – that is all RP. We were just going to replace the two boards that were on either end and we were standing explaining that to him in the plaza looking up and he looked unsettled. And, before we could finish explaining to him the plan – he said – “Let’s put a board the entire width of the Pagoda up there. It will transform the Pagoda Plaza.” He was correct.

The full-width Pagoda screen has become one of the defining features of the rejuvenated Plaza area. Doug Mathews/IMS Photo

Q: My question is motorsport-related per se, but about the operation side of the business.

My first experience attending the Indianapolis Speedway was for the U.S. Grand Prix over 20 years ago. What struck me was the organization when it came to crowd management. It reminded me of Michigan Speedway when Penske owned it – almost Disney-like in management from a spectator perspective (not to be confused with Disney’s own track at the time). Both Michigan and Indy were case study models of spectator efficiency; Indy on an even larger scale.

Has the Speedway been approached for their expertise in crowd management by others? Whether it be large festivals/events, or government agencies domestically or internationally for disaster management? And what did the Penske corporate involvement bring to the table in terms of organization skill set?

Mark T., Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

DB: Thanks for the note and thanks for the comparison to the other place that thinks it is the happiest place on Earth!

We share our experiences and learnings with all kinds of events, facilities and event organizers. Kentucky Derby, US Open, Masters, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Disney, concerts, etc. And, we have as much to learn from them as they do from us.

What is unique about IMS and our events, I believe, is our partnership and coordination with law enforcement agencies from the local folks all the way to federal agencies. They all work together leading up to and during the event to help crowd management go smoothly. And, of course, our yellow shirt team is the best in the business in terms of customer service once inside the venue.

Personally, I want us to get better every year. There are always new challenges each year and we can always improve, so for me it is less about us teaching others and more about what can we learn that works at IMS to make the experience better here.

Thanks for the question and thanks for being a fan of IMS from way back in F1 days!

Story originally appeared on Racer