How do you promote the Greatest Spectacle In Racing? With a month lead-up, a road course race, and one of the biggest stars in racing trying for a Triple Crown? Turn the 14th largest city in the United States into your playground, of course.
IndyCar Series organizers along with Indianapolis Motor Speedway representatives in the month of May turn up the Indianapolis 500 preparations all way up to 11. They turn downtown Indy into racing heaven with activities and promotions that showcase and promote May as Indy 500 month.
With “The Greatest… in Racing” as a slogan, the Indy 500 highlights its namesake. Come take a photo tour of Indianapolis as it gears up for the 101st Indianapolis 500 on May 28.
The Tour:
It starts with an eight story banner proclaiming Indianapolis the Greatest City In Racing on the JW Marriott Hotel in downtown Indianapolis.
Traverse the streets of downtown on foot and you’ll see IMS banners proclaiming the city and IMS the Racing Capital of the World.
Local attractions too, catch Indy 500 fever, welcoming race fans as they fill up Indianapolis. Turning it into the 10th largest city in the US by race day.
If you would rather see the city on wheels, be prepared to encounter streets named after former and current Indy 500 drivers. See if you can spot your favorite driver and pull over for a selfie.
Closer to the Brickyard itself, are muscle car gatherings. An added bonus this year, with McLaren’s return and Fernando Alonso’s entry with the single-car McLaren Honda Andretti team, you’ll get to see a few McLarens.
Look, there’s one now.
IndyCar teams and manufacturers also get into the spirit of the race, but so does the street art.
Above all though, “The Greatest… In Racing” isn’t just a slogan for this year’s race, it’s a creed that Indianapolitans live daily. The city may come alive every May because of the Indy 500, but when the race fans have gone and the promotions taken down, Indianapolis’ soul continues to resonate with horsepower and speed.
With the Brickyard as a backdrop; being the home and namesake of one the most iconic motorsport races in the world, along with other series; and with 500 motorsports companies employing 10,000 people, it’s hard not to.
