SPEEDWAY, Ind. (WTHR) - Those famous blue envelopes with Indy 500 tickets will soon arrive in your mailbox.
Workers at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway mailed more than 150,000 race tickets in more than 26,000 envelopes to race fans. The tickets are going to each of the 50 states, plus fans in 35 countries worldwide, including the United States.
The process of packaging ticket orders to mail takes 9-10 weeks, with 38 IMS employees filling ticket envelopes by hand for more than 800 person hours.
IndyCar driver Zach Veach got to take part in the mailing process Monday, less than a week before the IndyCar season opener.
"It's always funny how big the Indianapolis 500 is in our minds. We're five days away from our first race in St. Petersburg kicking off the 2019 season this weekend, but every single one of us is still thinking about the Indianapolis 500," Veach said.
Veach's efforts marked the first time a driver helped with the IMS ticket mailings.
"For our fans to think one of the race drivers actually helped to put that in the mail is kinda a cool story to tell our fans as well," said IMS President Doug Boles.
The ticket envelopes have been blue since 1994, when the IMS offices needed a way to distinguish which race, the Indianapolis 500 or Brickyard 400, the tickets inside were for.
The 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge will be held Sunday, May 26. Channel 13 is your home for the Indy 500 this year, as well as all the fun leading up to it.
It gets started with the 500 Festival Mini Marathon on May 4 and wraps up with the Victory Banquet the night after the race.