The Official Blog of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Any seasoned party animal knows that one of the most imperative elements to a successful bash is the pre-party. That’s why this year the Indianapolis Motor Speedway street team is getting an early start on the festivities and bringing a little BITE of the Snake Pit to you.

The tour kicked off April 7 at Jake’s Roadhouse at Purdue – but don’t worry there are still two events left, coming to bar near you!

Read closely because what I’m about to tell you will be crucial information regarding your Indy 500 Race Day celebration. Showing up at one of the following locations is the only way you will be able to score a VIP pass to the Snake Pit party.

So come and join the IMS Street Team for the pre-party action, including special Snake Pit Tour specials. Be sure to sign up for the hot bod and bikini contest brought to you by Avant Gard and Radio Now-the winner will receive $500 and be crowned the King/Queen Snake Pit. Also they will be giving away a couple of race day tickets for all three IMS events, Carb day tickets, Live Nation concert tickets and more.

Stay tuned for upcoming inside information about the biggest party in May, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Snake Pit!

Remaining Snake Pit Tour Locations:

Downtown Indianapolis, Indiana | Friday, April 29^th, 8pm – 12am at Kilroy’s

Broad Ripple | Saturday, April 30^th 8pm-10pm at Brother’s

One more tour closer to Race Day | TBA (Keep an eye on our Facebook page and on Twitter @IMSStreetTeam)

You must have a VIP Pass and any Race Day Ticket to enter the Snake Pit. Must be 21 to enter.

[More]

As February rolled around, the IMS Street Team turned its attention to the Dealer Expo. This year’s expo, the country’s largest power sports trade show, took place Friday, Feb. 18 through Sunday, Feb. 20. In efforts to share the exciting news about the fourth annual Red Bull Indianapolis GP, the Street Team and IMS staff headed to the newly expanded Indiana Convention Center for the weekend.

The team shared some key highlights that are being added to this year’s Red Bull Indianapolis GP such as “Main Street,” which can be seen below and will be filled with vendors, entertainment and, of course, motorcycles. “Main Street” will be located between Turns 9 and 10, along the green, dotted path which will be a “cruise path” so fans can cruise in and out as they please.

One of our biggest changes that we were eager to tell everyone is that our gates will be open until 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 26 and Saturday, Aug. 27! There will be more than 12 hours of activity on and off the track each day! Fans and motorcycle enthusiasts were just as excited to hear this news as we were to tell it.

The entire weekend at Dealer Expo gave us a great opportunity to talk to folks who have been attending the race since 2008 and some who we will attend for the first time this August. Additional information can be found here.

The weekend didn’t stop there, by any means! IMS hosted a kick-off party for the start of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on Sunday. Fans join us at Jillian’s Downtown in Indianapolis to watch the Daytona 500 and get a chance to win some prizes, play games and enjoy some great racing.

This weekend also is full of events for the team. Friday through Sunday, the team and a few partners will be at the 20th annual Motorcycle Expo at the Indiana State Fairgrounds continuing to promote the Red Bull Indianapolis GP. On Saturday, Feb. 26, the team will be at the Children’s Museum for Engineer’s Day. If your child, niece, nephew, grandchild or neighborhood friend is an IMS Kids Club member, this will be the first of many fun opportunities for them to attend this year. (Spoiler Alert: If you purchase a Kids Club membership at the Children’s Museum on Saturday, you will receive free IMS Silly Bandz!)

This is yet another exciting weekend for the IMS Street Team, and there will be many, many more to come! March has lots of surprises in store for the collegiate crowd, including our first ever Snake Pit Tour! Stay tuned for those dates. Until next time, remember – only 93 days left until the start of the Indianapolis 500!

The IMS Street Team has one goal: to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Indianapolis 500 by making this year’s Snake Pit one to remember.

Preparations for May are underway, but the Street Team is on the search for former Snake Pit participants to participate in a Fan Forum at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, January 27th at 6:30 PM (EST).

Did you attend last year’s Snake Pit at the Indianapolis 500 or the Brickyard 400 Beach Bash? Are you the person in your group that always takes charge of your entire party crew at the race? Then we are looking for your feedback and input on how to make these events even more fun in 2011.

Please leave your contact information below if interested in participating in this week’s fan forum and a member of the IMS Street Team will contact you directly with more details. Not from Indianapolis? No worries, leave your suggestions below and we will make sure to discuss your ideas with the group on Thursday!

So, will you join us for the Indianapolis 500 Snake Pit and Brickyard 400 Beach Bash this year? What ideas do you have to help make these events bigger and better?!

Last week, at the Hall of Fame Museum, the Macy’s Santa Claus Tour stopped by to spread holiday cheer to everyone (Miss it? Find out more here–). The team (or elves for the time being) helped Make-A-Wish children and their families write their letters to Santa Claus and passed out plenty of cookies, milk, and candy canes. This was the perfect event to help the IMS Street Team reflect on the 2010 season and take a look at what is ahead.

With the new Indianapolis Motor Speedway Kid’s Club, the upcoming Snake Pit Tour, and several other events (we’ll bite out tongue and try to keep them secrets for now!) before May, the team will be as busy as ever. Whether you got a chance to meet up with us during the resurrection of the Snake Pit in turn 3, partied with us at the Inaugural Brickyard Beach Bash, saw us at the State Fair, or had a great time with us at Motorcycles on Meridian, there will be that and much more next year. Some of our favorite stops this year include: going to the Evansville Fall Festival, being a part of Zoo Boo at the Indianapolis Zoo, passing out giveaways at the Hauler Parade, and our 1 Lap, 1 Great Cause food drive.

The IMS Street Team will hit the ground running in 2011. Their first stop will be the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Pacer Night January 14th. Come support the Indianapolis Pacers as they take on the Chicago Bulls at Conseco Fieldhouse, and grab any goodies the team and the 2010 500 Festival Princesses will be passing out!

Until next time, see you in the New Year and have a safe and Happy Holidays!

- Your Indianapolis Motor Speedway Street Team

As an avid LEGO fan, I could barely believe my eyes when I opened an e-mail one day making the rounds at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Someone had stumbled across Dr. Brian Darrow’s Flickr page and his most bodacious creation, and decided to share it with some colleagues. I opened the e-mail and discovered his LEGO replica of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  I was mesmerized and hooked instantly. This would be perfect content for our website.

I contacted Brian as both a fan and staff member of IMS – this creation had to be shared with our online community. And as a race and LEGO enthusiast, I wanted closer access to this massive, incredible action. Brian and I exchanged e-mails and phone calls. He offered to set it up for us. Today I met him at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.

[More]

In the next few months the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Street Team will still be in full force preparing for the Indianapolis 500. The team just wrapped up a weekend at the International Motorsports Industry Show where they promoted the Grounds Tour of IMS and all three Speedway events in 2011, additional coverage of the event can be found here.

With the launch of our new Indianapolis Motor Speedway Kids Club we will be focusing on family-friendly events throughout the holiday season. The official launch for the Kids Club will be made tomorrow at the Children’s Museum (shhh! you heard it here first!).

Once 2011 approaches the team will change gears and focus on the collegiate side of things. Being college students themselves, the team is going to engage young consumers and invite them out to track for the most important race in history! Purdue University, Indiana University, and Ball State will get a little taste of what’s to come in May as we launch our Snake Pit Tour.

More exciting details are to come for this event after the 1st of the year. As always, follow us on Twitter and friend us on Facebook for the latest happenings with the IMS Street Team.

With a few more days before the race, it is time to start thinking about the big day.  My photo staff consists of my 4 Indy Car Series travel team and myself and more than 30 other photographers who come back year after year.  I assign them to specific areas of the track to do the various assignments we are asked to shoot on race day.  While most people think we concentrate on the cars and drivers, there are more elements of the event that we have assignments for.  2010 we will be shooting things like the people coming in the gates early in the morning, the celebrities arriving and the fans early morning activities such as tailgating, partying and having fun all around the Speedway grounds. Morning festivities also include the suites and grandstands as people arrive and the Corporate parties.

Pre-race activities are always colorful and we have several of our photographers concentrating on that element. During the race, while several are shooting in turns and in the pit area, others will be roaming the infield looking for the fans partying and having fun, picnicking and watching the event.

When the race is over, as people funnel out of the infield and grandstands, we will be shooting the mass exit, the awards regarding the race and the trash left behind all over the grounds.  Long after the people are gone, we will be uploading and filing photos for their use on the IMS and Indy Car websites and for Media around the world.

The weather decided to hold off long enough today to allow fans an enjoyable day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We had a good showing from the fans, giving us plenty of opportunity to find today’s lucky fan of the day. But it wasn’t the rows of bleachers where we found our fan of the day, he was hanging around the plaza with a friend. He wore a straw hat and seemed to walk with an attitude of a true IndyCar fan. Today’s fan of the day is Michael Dollar…

When was your first Indy 500?

Michael’s first Indianapolis 500 attendance occurred in 1982. Though he has not been to every one since then he has attended a good number, around 15 he estimates.

Who is your favorite driver and why?

When Mario Andretti was still an active driver Michael Dollar says he was definitely his favorite driver. Currently he always like to cheer on the female driver’s because the girls add a different angle to the sport. His favorite female driver is Danica Patrick.

What is your favorite Indy 500 memory?

Every year that Michael visited the “Snake Pit” is a favorite memory of his. He claims he was “not as crazy as some” but he definitely has some crazy pictures captured during his time in the “Snake Pit”.

How should the Indianapolis Motor Speedway celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500 next year?

He would love to see anything from the past come back and create the old feeling he used to feel when visiting IMS

Any great memories to share of your time spent in the Snake Pit?

1989 Indy Five Hundred, my sweet sixteen memory

---

My father had been taking us to the track since 1981. He wouldn’t let us go to the actual race until we turned sixteen years old, it was like a Monroe right of passage, especially since what went on in the infield at the time. My dad got me up on race day to travel from Rushville, IN for I had to work the night before at my job at McDonalds.  We got to the area of the track at 300am, you could just feel the electricity in the air and the race was still almost a half day away.  I saw people who were still out from the night before, the police cars were everywhere on the 30th street.  As the sun slowly rose we entered the track and I was gleaming with excitement for it was my first 500 of many to come.  We drove the old Plymouth passenger van into the track, I was with Delbert and Shawn Frazier as well.  My dad and Delbert rested as Shawn and I hung out until my father was ready to take us to the Snake Pit.  I saw it all in the snake pit, Bartles and James asking women to…well it is Indy and at the time it was more appropriate than today.  Another guy had a beer can strapped to the bottom of his squirt gun shooting people with it.

We got to our seats in turn three, we saw 33 cars go screaming by, the end was one that I will never forget.  The dual between Al Unser Jr and Emerson Fittipaldi.  Side by side action that the end of the 500 can bring as two men are racing for imortality. As the end drew near the two fought until one survived. I can remember Al Unser Jr go sliding backwards down the track against the wall and coming to rest in the short shoot.  I saw him getting out of his car and clapping his hands at Fittipaldi.

What I witnessed was a great start to my appetite for Memorial Day weekend racing at the legendary speedway.  One that I can thank my father for forever.