SPEEDWAY, Ind. — The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum closed for renovations last fall. Now, as race day 2024 approaches, work crews say the progress inside the museum is on track.
Decades of history, hundreds of cars and more than 55,000 artifacts will fill the reimagined space, starting in what organizers have coined Gasoline Alley.
"What is unique about this is we have seven garages on your right that will transport you through history," said Jason Vansickle, the vice president of curation and education at the IMS Museum.
Vansickle said each garage will represent a few decades of history at the track, complete with the tools of the time.
"Even the surface will change, reflecting what the track surface was at the time," Vansickle said.
Vansickle said the "most current" garage will also feature a pretty special, record-setting car for visitors to see up close.
Around the corner from the museum's Gasoline Alley will sit one of many immersive experiences for fans.
"You can't replicate what it feels like to be on the grid on Race Day, but this is going to be our chance to catch lightning in a bottle and showcasing that," Vansickle said.
Inside the Startling Line Experience, a giant LED video board – on the walls and on the ceiling – will take fans to the starting line for the pageantry of race morning.
The six-minute video presentation will include everything from the opening cannon to the flyover during the national anthem.
Amid all the upgrades, some of the fan-favorite areas of the museum are also getting some much-needed attention, including the Winners Gallery, home to more than 30 winning IndyCars and the iconic Borg-Warner Trophy.
The area, however, will now be complimented by 6,000 square feet of new mezzanine space above the main display.
In all, Vansickle said the renovation is a $89 million project, which he said is on track to reopen next year.
So far, $55 million is secured, according to Vansickle.
"Our goal of opening this in April 2025 is really on the help of our supporters, donors and things like that," Vansickle said.
As guests arrive in the coming months, the outside of the museum will be a familiar face.
"We are not expanding, but what we are doing is being very creative in certain areas to almost double the display space," Vansickle said.
It's a space that will display, honor and preserve the history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and all that is has to offer.
"It takes a small army of us to get this together," Vansickle said. "We are going to be working hard up until April, when we reopen, on making this museum world-class and an experience that is unlike any other."
Until the museum's expected reopening, guests can still experience the magic of the track.
"We are offering tours when there is no activity on the racetrack," Vansickle said.
