Photo gallery: See inside the $61M overhaul of the IMS Museum

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum’s overhaul added 40,000 square feet of space to the museum, as well as new galleries, exhibits and educational programming. (IBJ photo/Mickey Shuey)

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum is waving the checkered flag on its $60.5 million transformation.

The museum will celebrate its grand reopening Wednesday after a year-and-a-half-long closure.

The 100,000-square-foot building, which is inside the oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway but operates independently, was essentially gutted to improve mechanical and electrical systems, as well as add mezzanine level, an educational area and several new exhibit spaces.

The project added 40,000 square feet to the museum’s footprint. Among the improvements are 12 galleries, including exhibits dedicated to the four-time winners of the Indianapolis 500, Team Penske drivers and Gasoline Alley, which showcases the transformation of the track and IndyCar vehicles over the past century. It also features numerous interactive elements like a pit crew station, a deconstructed vehicle and several racing simulators.

The overhaul came in $3.5 million under budget and slightly ahead of its original schedule, museum officials said.

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In addition to museum improvements, about $25 million was put into creating a dedicated educational curriculum and new programs, along with a space focused on science, technology, engineering, art and math learning.

Over the last year, the museum has sold 14 vehicles from its collection, generating about $111 million. Those funds can be used to maintain the existing memorabilia or to purchase new items for the collection.

“We’re putting a lot of that into an endowment,” said IMS Museum president Joe Hale, “so we can guarantee this museum is going to be sustainable for generations to come.”

IMS Museum ticket prices increase

As part of its reopening, the museum is increasing its ticket prices. General admission will be $25 for adults; $23 for seniors, age 55 and older; and $18 for youth (ages 5 to 16) and veterans. Children under 5 get in for free. The IMS Museum is also part of the local Access Pass program, allowing qualifying families to purchase general admission tickets for $5.

The museum will also offer membership programs for families, as well as free community days and free general admission for active military and their families with a valid military ID.

The museum’s membership tiers include:

• Individual and guest, $125 annually
• Family or grandparent (two adults and all children or grandchildren in the home), $175
• Family or grandparent plus (two adults and all children or grandchildren in the home, plus two guests), $215
• Student and teacher discount for kindergarten through 12th grade and college or vocational schools, $25

IBJ’s sibling publication, Inside INdiana Business, is producing this week’s show from the museum. Indianapolis-area viewers can watch at 8 a.m. Sunday on WTTV Channel 4.