Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Hall of Fame Museum

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.
Location	4790 West 16th Street Speedway, Indiana 46222
Time zone	GMT−5
Construction cost	$

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum is an automotive museum on the grounds of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, which houses the Auto Racing Hall of Fame. 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. Many Indy 500-winning cars are on display.

History

The first museum at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was completed April 7, 1956 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. When it opened, it only had six cars. 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.

In 1975, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway broke ground on a new 96,000-square-foot (8,900 m²) museum and administration building, located in the infield of the track. 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, coinciding with the year-long United States Bicentennial celebration. The original museum building outside turn one was kept intact, and converted into additional office space.

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.

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.

Exhibits

The museum rotates a display of over 75 cars at any given time. Due to considerable space restraints, only a small portion of the total collection can be displayed. Many cars are stored in the invitation-only basement, or at separate off-site facilities. Some of the cars in storage, however, are not restored to display condition. Frequently, cars are sent on loan for display at other museums, historical car shows, parades, and other activities.

The collection includes 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.

Indy 500 winning cars

Harroun's 1911-winning Marmon "Wasp" on display at the museum.

The winning cars of Arie Luyendyk (30), Jacques Villeneuve (27) and Eddie Cheever (51) on display at the museum in 2008.

A. J. Foyt's 1977 winning car

• 1911 Marmon Wasp (winner of first Indianapolis 500) (Ray Harroun)
• 1912 National (Joe Dawson)
• 1914 Delage (Rene Thomas)
• 1922 Duesenberg (also won 1921 French Grand Prix at Le Mans; painted in 1921 livery) (Jimmy Murphy)
• 1925/1927 Duesenberg (driven by Peter DePaolo in 1925, and by George Souders in 1927.)
• 1928 Miller (Louis Meyer)
• 1932 Miller-Hartz (Fred Frame)
• 1939-1940 Boyle Special Maserati (back-to-back winner) (driven both years by Wilbur Shaw.)
• 1941 Noc-Out Hose Clamp Special (Floyd Davis/Mauri Rose)
• 1946 Thorne Engineering (first race under Hulman ownership) (George Robson)
• 1947-1948 Blue Crown Spark Plug Special (back-to-back winner) (driven both years by Mauri Rose)
• 1950 Wynn's Offy (Johnnie Parsons)
• 1951 Belanger Special (Lee Wallard)
• 1953-1954 Fuel Injection Offy (back-to-back winner) (Bill Vukovich)
• 1955 John Zink Offy (Bob Sweikert)
• 1957-1958 Belond Special Offy (back-to-back winner) (Driven by Sam Hanks in 1957, and Jimmy Bryan in 1958)
• 1960 Ken Paul Special (replica) (Jim Rathmann)
• 1961 Bowes Seal Fast Offy (first of A. J. Foyt's four wins)
• 1962 Leader Card Watson Roadster (Rodger Ward)
• 1963 Agajanian Watson Offy (Old Calhoun) (Parnelli Jones)
• 1964 Sheraton-Thompson Watson Offy (second of A. J. Foyt's four wins)
• 1967 Sheraton-Thompson Coyote Foyt (third of A. J. Foyt's four wins)
• 1968 Rislone Special Eagle (Bobby Unser)
• 1969 STP Hawk Ford (replica)(Mario Andretti)
• 1972 Sunoco McLaren (Mark Donohue)
• 1973 STP Eagle Offy (replica, first win for Gordon Johncock)
• 1977 Gilmore Racing Team Coyote/Foyt (fourth of A. J. Foyt's four wins)
• 1978 First National City Traveler's Checks Lola/Cosworth (Al Unser, Sr.)
• 1980 Pennzoil Chapparal (Johnny Rutherford)
• 1982 STP Wildcat/Cosworth (Gordon Johncock)
• 1983 Texaco Star (Tom Sneva)
• 1988 Pennzoil Z-7 Special (Rick Mears; on temporary loan from Penske Racing in 2008)
• 1990 Domino's Pizza Hot One Lola/Chevrolet (winner of fastest Indy 500 won by Arie Luyendyk)
• 1995 Player's Ltd. Reynard/Ford Cosworth BX (Jacques Villeneuve)
• 1998 Rachel's Potato Chips Dallara/Aurora (Eddie Cheever)
• 1999 Powerteam Aurora (Kenny Bräck; on temporary loan from A. J. Foyt Enterprises)

Other Indy cars

1925 Miller Junior Eight on display at the museum.

• 1912 Fiat driven by Teddy Tetzlaff to second place
• 1925 Miller Junior Eight
• 1925 Miller Special
• 1931 Cummins Diesel driven by Dave Evans (first car to complete the Indianapolis 500 without a pit stop)
• 1935 Miller-Ford
• 1938 Bowes Seal Fast Special driven by Louis Meyer (flipped car during race, and retired)
• 1940 Sampson Special
• 1948 Alfa Romeo Tipo 308 driven by Johnny Mauro
• 1950 Cummins Diesel Special driven by Jimmy Jackson
• 1950 Russo-Nichels Special (won the open wheel race at Darlington by Paul Russo)
• 1952 Ferrari Special
• 1954 Dean Van Lines Special (Jimmy Bryan; 2nd place finisher)
• 1956 Wolcott Special (driven by Len Sutton, and Rodger Ward at Darlington)
• 1957 Dean Van Lines Special (winner of 1957 Race of Two Worlds)
• 1958 Leader Card Monza (winner of 1958 Race of Two Worlds)
• 1961 Cooper Climax driven by Jack Brabham, the first car of the European rear-engined revolution.
• 1963 Lotus Powered by Ford driven by Jim Clark
• 1967 STP-Paxton Turbocar driven by Parnelli Jones (on loan from the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History)
• 1976 Bryant Heating & Cooling Offy driven by Janet Guthrie during practice.
• 1977 Bryant Heating & Cooling Lightning/Offy driven by Janet Guthrie, the first female to qualify for the Indy 500.
• 1968 STP Wedge Lotus/Turbine
• 1994 Reynard/Ford Cosworth XB driven by Arie Luyendyk (set current IMS track record in 1996)
• 2005 Panoz/Honda driven by Danica Patrick, the first female driver to lead a lap during the Indianapolis 500

Passenger cars

• At least one Indy 500 pace car from 1911, 1930, 1964, 1966, and 1975-2008.
• 1886 Daimler "Motor Carriage"
• 1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen
• 1903 Premier
• 1903 Premier Special owned by Carl Fisher
• 1908 Richmond Surrey
• 1909 Haynes
• 1911 Cole 30
• 1914 Marmon roadster
• 1925 McFarlan TV6 passenger roadster.
• 1935 Duesenberg Model JN four-door convertible passenger car

Other race cars

Rubens Barrichello's SF02 on display at the museum.

• A NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car driven and donated by Richard Petty.
• A sprint car driven by A. J. Foyt and George Snider
• 2007 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard winning car driven by Tony Stewart
• 1998 Stewart SF02-Ford Formula One car
• 1991 Benetton B191B Ford Formula One car
• 1979 Porsche 935 K-3 (Whittington Brothers)
• 1965 Le Mans-winning Ferrari 250 LM.
• 1964 Hussein 1/Dodge Zerex Special driven by A. J. Foyt
• 1961 Birdcage Maserati
• 1957 SSI Corvette
• 1954-55 Mercedes-Benz Formula One car
• 1929 Bugatti 35-B
• 1907 Itala G.P. race car
• 1906 Laurin & Klement race car
• 1906 Renault

Trophies

• Permanent home for the Borg-Warner Trophy
• The Wheeler-Schebler Trophy, which pre-dates the Borg-Warner
• Permanent home for the PPG trophy, awarded to the winner of the Brickyard 400
• Historic Race of Two Worlds trophy

Selected exhibits

• Indianapolis 500 picture wall including winner's portrait and car photograph of every Indianapolis 500 winner from 1911–2008
• Speedway photography department, including over 4 million images
• Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network exhibit, including antique radio equipment
• The Tony Hulman theatre, showing a short film about the history of the race
• An additional admission includes a bus tour of the track
• Louis Chevrolet Memorial

Basement

Due to the size of the collection, and space constraints on the display floor, a large portion of the collection is stored in the basement. Some cars are rotated into display, while others remain downstairs permanently, out of view from the public. The basement at the museum is strictly off-limits to the public, and admittance is by invitation only. The contents of the basement collection has become a source of folklore and mystique, as only a chosen few have been allowed to enter, and photography is not allowed.

Hall of Fame

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

The AAA dropped out of racing entirely in 1955. After being established for only three years, and after only a handful of historical, "veterans committee" 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, 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 roughly 150-member panel of racing officials, living hall of fame members, and selected media representatives. Participation and accomplishments in the Indianapolis 500 are heavily weighed, but are not the lone factors in consideration. Voting is usually held annually in the spring, and members are inducted about a week before the race during a special ceremony. There is no set number of inductees for each year, and the number varies annually.

Inductees that are deceased are sometimes assigned Speedway historian Donald Davidson to accept the award in their memory. In 2004, former car owner Roger Penske accepted the award on behalf of Emerson Fittipaldi, who could not make the trip from Brazil. The current inductees are summarized below.

The 2011 inductees will be Jackie Stewart and Jim McGee

Inductee chart - Drivers

Inductee	Class	Category	Indianapolis 500 Win(s) Green indicates winning owner
Foyt, A. J.A. J. Foyt	1978	Driver	1961, 1964, 1967, 1977, 1999
Unser, Sr., AlAl Unser, Sr.	1986	Driver	1970, 1971, 1978, 1987
Mears, RickRick Mears	1998	Driver	1979, 1984, 1988, 1991
Meyer, LouisLouis Meyer	1963	Driver	1928, 1933, 1936
Shaw, WilburWilbur Shaw	1963	Driver	1937, 1939, 1940
Rose, MauriMauri Rose	1967	Driver	1941, 1947, 1948
Rutherford, JohnnyJohnny Rutherford	1987	Driver	1974, 1976, 1980
Unser, BobbyBobby Unser	1990	Driver	1968, 1975, 1981
Milton, TommyTommy Milton	1953-54	Driver	1921, 1923
Vukovich, BillBill Vukovich	1972	Driver	1953, 1954
Ward, RodgerRodger Ward	1981	Driver	1959, 1962
Johncock, GordonGordon Johncock	1997	Driver	1973, 1982
Fittipaldi, EmersonEmerson Fittipaldi	2004	Driver	1989, 1993
Unser, Jr., AlAl Unser, Jr.	2007	Driver	1992, 1994
Harroun, RayRay Harroun	1952	Driver	1911
Dawson, JoeJoe Dawson	1976	Driver	1912
Goux, JulesJules Goux	1989	Driver	1913
DePalma, RalphRalph DePalma	1953-54	Driver	1915
Resta, DarioDario Resta	1953-54	Driver	1916
Wilcox, HowdyHowdy Wilcox	1963	Driver	1919
Chevrolet, GastonGaston Chevrolet	1964	Driver	1920
Murphy, JimmyJimmy Murphy	1964	Driver	1922
Boyer, JoeJoe Boyer	1985	Driver	1924
DePaolo, PetePete DePaolo	1963	Driver	1925
Lockhart, FrankFrank Lockhart	1965	Driver	1926
Keech, RayRay Keech	1984	Driver	1929
Frame, FredFred Frame	1984	Driver	1932
Cummings, BillBill Cummings	1970	Driver	1934
Roberts, FloydFloyd Roberts	1985	Driver	1938
Holland, BillBill Holland	1992	Driver	1949
Parsons, JohnnieJohnnie Parsons	1986	Driver	1950
Wallard, LeeLee Wallard	1995	Driver	1951
Ruttman, TroyTroy Ruttman	1992	Driver	1952
Sweikert, BobBob Sweikert	1994	Driver	1955
Flaherty, PatPat Flaherty	2006	Driver	1956
Hanks, SamSam Hanks	1981	Driver	1957
Bryan, JimmyJimmy Bryan	1973	Driver
Rathmann, JimJim Rathmann	1993	Driver	1960
Jones, ParnelliParnelli Jones	1985	Driver	1963, 1970, 1971
Clark, JimJim Clark	1988	Driver	1965
Andretti, MarioMario Andretti	1986	Driver	1969
Donohue, MarkMark Donohue	2004	Driver	1972
Sneva, TomTom Sneva	2004	Driver	1983
Luyendyk, ArieArie Luyendyk	2009	Driver	1990, 1997
Hill, GrahamGraham Hill	2009	Driver	1966
Mays, RexRex Mays	1963	Driver
Sachs, EddieEddie Sachs	1999	Driver
Nalon, DukeDuke Nalon	1983	Driver
Agabashian, FredFred Agabashian	2005	Driver
Aitken, JohnnyJohnny Aitken	1981	Driver
Andersen, GilGil Andersen	1983	Driver
Bergere, CliffCliff Bergere	1976	Driver
Cooper, EarlEarl Cooper	1953-54	Driver
Horn, TedTed Horn	1964	Driver
McGrath, JackJack McGrath	1987	Driver
Strang, LewisLewis Strang	1982	Driver
Baker, "Cannonball""Cannonball" Baker	1981	Driver
Banks, HenryHenry Banks	1985	Driver
Bettenhausen, TonyTony Bettenhausen	1968	Driver
Bruce-Brown, David L.David L. Bruce-Brown	1980	Driver
Burman, BobBob Burman	1953-54	Driver
Carter, Sr., DuaneDuane Carter, Sr.	2005	Driver
Chevrolet, LouisLouis Chevrolet	1952	Driver
Durant, CliffCliff Durant	1983	Driver
Fengler, HarlanHarlan Fengler	1983	Driver
Grant, HarryHarry Grant	1982	Driver
Gurney, DanDan Gurney	1988	Driver
Hartz, HarryHarry Hartz	1963	Driver
Hearne, EddieEddie Hearne	1964	Driver
McCluskey, RogerRoger McCluskey	2003	Driver
Miller, ChetChet Miller	1995	Driver
Moore, LouLou Moore	1969	Driver	1938, 1941, 1947, 1948, 1949
Mulford, RalphRalph Mulford	1953-54	Driver
Oldfield, BarneyBarney Oldfield	1952	Driver
Rickenbacker, EddieEddie Rickenbacker	1954	Driver
Ruby, LloydLloyd Ruby	1991	Driver
Snyder, JimmyJimmy Snyder	1981	Driver
Stevens, MyronMyron Stevens	1983	Driver
Brabham, JackJack Brabham	1998	Driver
Hepburn, RalphRalph Hepburn	1970	Driver

Inductees - Contributors

• J.C. Agajanian
• James A. Allison
• George Bignotti
• Thomas W. Binford
• Clint Brawner
• Clarence Cagle
• Tom Carnegie
• Colin Chapman
• J. Walter Christie
• Joe Cloutier
• Sid Collins
• Frank Coon
• Donald Davidson
• Al Dean
• Bert Dingley
• Darrell Drake
• August Duesenberg
• Fred Duesenberg
• Chris Economaki

• Eddie Edenburn
• Quinn Epperly
• Harvey S. Firestone, Sr.
• Carl Fisher
• Henry Ford
• Earl Gilmore
• Leo Goossen
• Andy Granatelli
• Jim Hall
• Cotton Henning
• Takeo Hirashima
• Linsey Hopkins
• Mary Fendrich Hulman
• Tony Hulman
• Frank Kurtis
• Eddie Kuzma
• Jean Marcenac
• Harry Miller
• Pop Myers

• Fred Offenhauser
• Roger Penske
• Art Pillsbury
• Herb Porter
• Chester Ricker
• George Robertson
• George Salih
• Art Sparks
• Harry C. Stutz
• Jim Travers
• William K. Vanderbilt
• Fred Wagner
• A. J. Watson
• Lew Welch
• Bob Wilke
• Ed Winfield
• John Zink

Eligible

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

• Rene Thomas
• Billy Arnold
• George Souders
• Floyd Davis
• L.L. Corum
• Louis Schneider
• Kelly Petillo

• George Robson
• Danny Sullivan
• Bobby Rahal (winning driver and owner)
• Eddie Cheever, Jr. (winning owner/driver)
• Chip Ganassi (3-time winning owner)
• Pat Patrick (2-time winning owner)
• Michael Andretti (2-time winning owner)

Future

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

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

• 

  1907 Itala G.P. race car with 14.75 liter (900 cubic-inch) engine

• 

  Louis Chevrolet Memorial

• 

  A replica of Mario Andretti's Brawner Hawk, the 1969 Indy 500 winner

• 

  Johnny Rutherford's 1980 pole and race-winning Chaparral 2K

See also

• Louis Chevrolet Memorial that sits outside the museum.

External links

• Hall of Fame Museum official website
• Speedway Redevelopment Commission