Indianapolis Motor Speedway

From Trackpedia

While IMS does not run driving events, it is the "Mecca" for racing in the United States. Attached is an article about the Brickyard

There are a lot of famous racetracks in the world. From dirt tracks that handle buggies and trucks to asphalt tracks able to handle a little bit of everything, speedways come in all shapes, sizes and textures. Throughout the world, you’ll find thousands of tracks in little towns and big cities, but few have the historic relevance of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. First opened in 1909, Indy is 100-years-old this year, and the beautiful track is more popular than ever. You don’t have to be an IndyCar Series fan to appreciate this monster speedway. In fact, the track is used for a wide variety of racing, including the always popular motorcycle racing. If racing was football, Indianapolis Motor Speedway would be the Rose Bowl of the racing world. It’s the track that millions of racers aspire to, and for very good reason.

For starters, the grounds are enormous. If you’ve ever wanted to race in front of a crowd, Indianapolis is the place to be. The track has permanent seating for over 250,000 spectators, and for events like the 500, the infield is also used to give the grounds a maximum capacity of over 400,000. That’s a whole lot of fans watching people drive.

Its smooth surface and monster straight-aways allow for speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour. It’s one of the fastest tracks around, and unlike NASCAR tracks such as Talladega and Daytona, there are no restrictor plates to slow the vehicles down. This track is in place to allow drivers to go as fast as they can go. The circuit length of Indianapolis’ IndyCar setup is 2.5 miles, with 4 turns along the way to give it a rectangular oval shape. The turns are 9° 12´, allowing for high speeds, but still requiring drivers to keep their skills on display at all times. A car can enter a turn at near full speed, but the angle and length of the turn pull the automobile out toward the wall. Many drivers have failed to navigate the turns well and have paid the price for their negligence. A lapse in judgment or full attention will leave you gambling with your life. Indianapolis’ Grand Prix Course setup is 2.605 miles with 13 crucial turns. This road course is hard to navigate and meant only for drivers at the very top of their field. The average speed here is 120 mph, with the top speed around 133. The Motorcycle Course at the Speedway is equally as dangerous. This track setup is 2.621 miles and has 16 turns that require drivers to make good use of their brakes. Even the best MotoGP riders can only navigate the track in a little less than 2 minutes. The course record belongs to Valentino Rossi, with a speed of 93 mph and a time of 1:40. The surface of the track is asphalt and brick, leaving it fairly smooth. It would have to be so smooth to handle the insane speeds. Any bumps in the road would cause catastrophic accidents. Indianapolis is also extremely large. Rome’s Colosseum and Yankee Stadium could fit inside the oval. It’s a massive piece of road to care for; especially during a race should there be any debris.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway plays host to various races throughout the year. Of course, it’s the home of the Indy 500, but also NASCAR’s Brickyard 400, the United States Grand Prix (formerly), the Red Bull Indianapolis GP, and other events.

There’s also the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum on the grounds, along with the Brickyard Crossing Golf Resort. The grounds are enormous, and based on seating alone the 250,000 seats make it the largest capacity sporting stadium in the entire world. For racers, this Speedway is truly the biggest stage imaginable.