Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum

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The Hall of Fame museum
The Hall of Fame museum

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum is an automotive museum on the grounds of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. It is intrinsically linked to the Indianapolis 500, but it also includes exhibits reflecting other forms of motorsports, passenger cars and general automotive history. In 2006, it celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Contents

[edit] History

The first museum at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was completed April 7, 1956[1][2][3] It was located on the southwest corner of the property, outside turn one of the famous oval, at the corner of 16th Street and Georgetown Road. Its exhibits included Ray Harroun's 1911 Indy 500 winning car, and a handful of other vehicles. Karl Kizer became the first curator.[1] When it opened, it only had six cars.[1] Within a number of years, dozens of collector cars were being donated and acquired. It did not take long for management to realize that the building was of insufficient size.[3][1]

In 1975, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway broke ground on a new 96,000 square foot museum and administration building, located in the infield of the track.[2] The two-story white building was made of Wyoming quartz, and along with the museum, housed office space, the ticket office, a gift shop, and photography department. It officially opened to the public on April 5, 1976,[1] coinciding with the year-long United States Bicentennial celebration.[2]

The museum, representing the entire facility, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987.[3]

In the summer of 1993, the original museum building outside of turn one was demolished. In its place a multi-million dollar administration building was erected. The administrative and ticket offices were moved out of the infield museum building, and relocated to the new admin office. This freed up floor space in the museum for an expanded gift shop and other exhibits.

In 1993, the museum parking lot hosted the first Indy 500 Expo during race festivities, an outdoor interactive spectator exhibit. In 1995, it was expanded and renamed Indy 500 FanFest. It was discontinued after 1997, but in recent years, smaller displays sponsored by Chevrolet have featured former pace cars and other exhibits.

[edit] Exhibits

The museum rotates a display of over 75 cars at any given time.[1] Due to considerable space restraints, only a small portion of the total collection can be displayed.[3] Many cars are stored in the invitation-only basement, or at separate off-site facilities. Frequently, cars are sent on loan for display at other museums, historical car shows, parades, and other activities.

The collection includes[2][3][1] over 30 Indianapolis 500 winning cars, various other Indy cars, and several racing cars from other disciplines. Other items on display include trophies, plaques, racing paraphernalia such as helmets, gloves, and driver's suits. A collection of models, photographs, toys, and paintings are also for view. One display exhibits a timeline of scoring devices.

[edit] Indy 500 winning cars

[edit] Other Indy cars

[edit] Passenger cars

  • At least one Indy 500 pace car from 1911, 1930, 1964, 1966, and 1975-2007.[4]
  • 1935 Duesenberg Model JN four-door convertible passenger car
  • 1925 McFarlan TV6 passenger roadster.
  • 1905 Premier owned by Carl Fisher

[edit] Other race cars

[edit] Trophies

[edit] Selected exhibits


[edit] Hall of Fame

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame, in early years, referred to as "Racing's Hall of Fame," dates back to 1952. It was established and supported by the AAA and Ford Foundation[1]. It was originally the brainchild of Tony Hulman[1] who had expressed interest in starting a racing hall of fame shortly after he purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1946.[1]

The AAA dropped out of racing entirely in 1955. After being established for only three years, and after only a handfull of handfull of inductees, the hall of fame went dormant. A year later, the first Indianapolis Motor Speedway museum opened its doors. In 1961, Hulman acquired and revived the hall of fame[1], and incorporated it into the Speedway's museum organization.

Candidates can be nominated after at least twenty years from the first date of active participation in professional-level auto racing. Inductees must receive 75 percent of the votes of a 100-member panel of racing officials, living hall of fame members, and selected media representatives. Voting is held usually annually in February or March, and members are inducted about a week before the race in conjunction with the annual Indy 500 Oldtimers' Club Banquet. There is no set number of inductees for each year, and the number varies annually.

Al Unser, Jr. was the lone inducteee for the class of 2007. No candidates received enough votes for induction in 2008.

[edit] Inductees

Indy 500 winners[5] (wins)

Other drivers[5]

Contributors[5]

[edit] Eligible

The following Indianapolis 500 winners, as of 2007, are currently eligible for the Hall of Fame, but have not yet been voted as a member:

[edit] Future

In 2007, the town of Speedway, Indiana unveiled a large redevolpment plan for the vicinity of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.[6] Some plans have included a new larger Hall of Fame Museum, located outside the track to the south. No official plans have been announced.

[edit] Gallery

Indiana state historical marker outside the IMS Hall of Fame Museum

Trophy cabinet at the Hall of Fame Museum

Racing cars at the Hall of Fame Museum

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k ."1996 Indianapolis 500 Official Program", Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 1996-05-26. 
  2. ^ a b c d "Hall of Fame Museum", IndianapolisMotorSpeedway.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-31. 
  3. ^ a b c d e "Museum displays auto racing history", USAToday.com, 2007-05-07. Retrieved on 2008-03-31. 
  4. ^ "Indy 500 Pace Car Reunion Bringing Classic Autos To IMS This Weekend", Indy500.com, 2006-05-18. Retrieved on 2008-04-14. 
  5. ^ a b c "2002 Record Book: Indianapolis 500", Indianapolis Star, 2002. 
  6. ^ "Speedway Redevelopment Commission", Speedway Redevelopment Commission. Retrieved on 2008-03-31. 

[edit] External links