IBJ Podcast: What will it take to turn the Brickyard 400 around?
Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug Boles talks about whether a new date and more weekend activities will bring fans back to the Brickyard 400.
Brickyard 400
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Shifts in strategy, date of Brickyard 400 fuel officials’ optimism
Despite the yellow warning flags flying all around NASCAR, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has its foot on the gas as it prepares for the Brickyard 400 on Sept. 9.
TV rating for Brickyard 400 hits higher gear while attendance dips
This year’s somewhat unexpected spike in TV viewership for the Indy-based race comes at a time when many other NASCAR events are seeing double-digit ratings decreases.
Kasey Kahne prevails in 6-hour, crash-marred Brickyard 400
The wacky race had a little of everything—14 cautions and 55 caution laps, both race records, three red flags and a 1-hour, 47-minute rain delay.
Brickyard 400 moves to fall in 2018, will be last event before playoff series
Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug Boles said the race is “moving to one of the most important dates on the NASCAR calendar.”
Speedway boss vows to make changes to revive Brickyard 400
As sponsors and fans grow antsy, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and NASCAR officials are looking at a number of changes to next year’s Brickyard 400. Some of them could be dramatic.
Speedway boss says Tony George’s promotion won’t take him off course
Tony George’s elevation to Hulman & Co. chairman brings up several interesting questions about what the move means for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Brickyard 400’s profit margin getting perilously thin for Speedway
The city of Indianapolis and Indianapolis Motor Speedway both have taken big hits with the decline of the once-vaunted Brickyard 400. The race is still profitable, but much less so than in its glory days.
IMS hoping momentum from May, Tony Stewart’s retirement stoke Brickyard 400
Attendance for the annual NASCAR race had been dropping each year since 2008, but saw a slight increase last year from the roughly 85,000 fans on hand in 2014.
Speedway executive readies for key role at Rio Olympics
Leading up to the Brickyard 400 in July, Allison Melangton will be working 16 hours a day. Those will be relatively light days compared to the hours she’ll work in August coordinating gymnastics coverage for NBC.
Speedway rolls out $1,750 club seats
If all the seats in the new club area are sold, more than $1.75 million in additional revenue will be generated next year for the Speedway.
Stewart retirement another blow for Brickyard 400
Lots of local NASCAR fans have already said they won't return to the Brickyard 400 in the wake of Jeff Gordon's retirement. Tony Stewart's retirement after 2016 could result in a similar blow for the race struggling to increase attendnace.
Opinion: NASCAR blew it on Brickyard rules package
NASCAR has tried to create a rules package that produces dramatic racing, but Sunday’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway featured just 16 lead changes. If there was a way to bottle what IndyCar does on ovals, NASCAR would buy it in truckloads.
Indiana’s Jeff Gordon set to take final laps around Brickyard
The five-time Brickyard 400 champion’s upcoming retirement is boosting this year’s ticket sales, but presents a long-term challenge for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Storm wreaks havoc on Indianapolis Motor Speedway
With less than two weeks until the Brickyard 400 NASCAR race, a massive clean-up effort is underway at the Speedway. IMS officials said this is the worst wind damage the facility has seen in its 106-year history.
Jeff Gordon to retire as full-time driver after 2015 season
The 43-year-old Gordon, who was raised in the Hendricks County town of Pittsboro, is coming off one of his best seasons in years. He won four times in 2014, including the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis.
Brickyard 400 attendance remains flat
Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials are not holding out much hope the NASCAR Sprint Cup race they host will ever return to its glory days when it drew more than 250,000 fans annually.
NASCAR cuts staff as Brickyard 400 nears
New chief operating officer spins stock car series 180 degrees. NASCAR, one of the few sports entities to add employees during the recession, is now paring down.
Speedway outsources concession stand operations
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday reached a multiyear deal with Illinois-based Levy Restaurants to operate concession stands and manage premium beverage operations during major events.
Local TV blackout key to Brickyard 400 survival
While only 75,000 people attended Sunday's Brickyard 400, more than 230,000 central Indiana residents watched the race live on television. Speedway officials must induce those TV-watching fans to buy tickets and fill the stands.