The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum is one of Tony Hulman’s lasting legacies. After buying IMS, he began thinking about a museum focused on racing cars and accessories. At the 1947 One Hundred Mile an Hour Dinner honoring those drivers who had driven an Indianapolis 500 with an average speed of 100 mph, Hulman disclosed his idea. “I have felt for some time that there should be some place where fans can see the historic cars and trophies of American auto racing.”
Grandstand R, the oldest grandstand in the facility, which was in Turn One was slated to be torn down in the late 1940s or early 1950s. The destruction of this grandstand was delayed both by Hulman’s mandate that the Speedway be self-sustaining and by the partial collapse of another grandstand in 1949. It would be several years before Grandstand R was demolished and the Museum was built.
The museum’s collection began shortly after Wilbur Shaw’s untimely death in a plane crash in October 1954. Karl Kizer, a veteran of the speedway and riding mechanic to Earl Cooper, broached the idea of dedicating the Museum to Shaw, who not only was the president of IMS but also the driving force behind the saving of the historic track. Hulman quizzed Kizer who would take care of the Museum and Kizer, the owner of Century Tire in Indianapolis, said he would do what he could.
The first car acquired was Shaw’s 1939 “pay car” in which he won the Indianapolis 500 in 1939 and 1940. Kizer paid $3,750 for the Maserati. Kizer added some cars from his personal collection including the Miller-Hartz car driven by Fred Frame to victory in 1932.
The Speedway offices had traditionally been in downtown Indianapolis. When Hulman decided to relocate the offices to the track, the design included space for the museum. Groundbreaking for the new administration building took place on October 25, 1955, with about 100 in attendance. The new building was completed in March 1956 at a cost of $125,000 and included space for the ticket office, administration, and the museum.
While the building was under construction, Kizer wanted to add two historic cars to the collection—the Marmon Wasp which won the inaugural 1911 Indianapolis 500 and the National which Joe Dawson piloted to victory in the 1912 Indianapolis 500. Kizer was able to find both autos and the owners were willing to sell them to the Speedway. When the Museum opened in March 1956, there were six racing cars on display including the Marmon Wasp, the 1932 Miller-Hartz, Shaw’s Maserati, the Cummins Diesel Special which started from the pole in 1952, the Junior Eight Special which was the first front-drive racer which finished second in 1925, and the sixteen-cylinder double engine Samson Special developed under Frank Lockhart’s direction for his 1928 attempt to set a world record at Daytona Beach. There was also a display by Firestone Tire and Rubber of the history of racing tires, the Wheeler-Schebler Trophy, and photos of the thirty-three winners of the Indianapolis 500.
By 1959, the Museum had over 100,000 visitors. The collection grew rapidly. In 1966, the Museum was bursting at its seams and owned eighty-five racing cars, eleven of which won the Indianapolis 500, and nearly ninety vintage cars. The size of the collection permitted the displays to be rotated with some cars on display at the Early Wheels Museum which was also owned by Hulman in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Needing more space and wanting to consolidate the collection, a new museum with 96,960 square foot building constructed with cement and Wyoming quartz opened in 1975. Today, the museum’s collection includes over 200 antique racing, pace cars, and historic race cars as well as over 55,000 artifacts that include helmets, trophies, and other things.
The IMS Museum is a tax-exempt 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit and a separate entity from IMS. They launched an ambitious $89 million capital campaign—The Stories Behind the Spectacle—to fund a complete transformation of the Museum. The Museum will close on November 6, 2023, for 18 months. It is anticipated to be reopened in April 2025. The planning for the renovation of the building began several years ago. The $89 million capital campaign includes $64 million for the renovation of the current facility and state-of-the-art technology to create immersive exhibitions and experiences. It will also fund a new $15 million automobile and equipment restoration facility which will allow visitors to see automobile restoration work being done and will provide additional space to put nearly 150 vehicles in the collection on display. The IMS Museum also plans to use $10 million to create an endowment which will allow the Museum to acquire new artifacts.
The reimagined facility will have seven permanent and three rotating collections. In a behind-the-scenes tour, visitors will be able to get up close to some of the world’s most unique and valuable racing artifacts. Visitors will learn to use the tools and equipment of the racing trade while competing in a “pit stop.” It will also have a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) classroom to inspire student learning and a racing simulator.
The first phase of the renovations has been completed. The 140-car collection housed in the basement has been moved to several secure storage facilities using special haulers. The second phase involves the moving of roughly 60 plus cars and artifacts currently on display in the Museum’s two levels which will begin after the Museum is closed.
The third phase is the tear-down and renovation of the interior of the museum. The finished product will be a state-of-the-art facility. While the footprint of the facility will remain the same, the project designers will add a 6,000 square foot mezzanine above the Winner’s Gallery. After the Museum reopens, the 24,000 square-foot lower level will be open to the public. Guests will also be able to go to the restoration and storage location and watch the restoration crew work on the vehicles, prep the vehicles and see the cars that are not on display.