Ten years ago, the Indiana Pacers sold out their 69 Conseco Fieldhouse suites and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
barely touched a phone to sell its 120 luxury boxes. But entertaining at luxury suites is out of vogue
now, thanks to the recession and companies keeping a closer eye on spending.
New Indianapolis Motor Speedway CEO Jeff Belskus has long been a behind-the-scenes figure at IMS. As the new leader of the
Brickyard and the Indy Racing League, he faces several challenging issues, including gaining the confidence of the racing
community.
New Speedway leader Jeff Belskus speaks with IBJ about his new job and the near-term challenges and long-term future of the
operations he oversees.
Indianapolis-based Finish Line Inc. has signed a multi-year agreement to extend its title sponsorship
of the 500 Festival’s 5K race held each May, officials announced today.
A management shake-up at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has some in the motorsports industry thinking major changes could
be on the horizon at the fabled race venue—maybe as soon as next year.
A locally born initiative to make a movie about the first Indianapolis 500 has cleared a major obstacle to getting its project to big screens nationwide by May 2011—in time for the race’s centennial.
I went away after the Indianapolis 500 once again convinced I’d experienced the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, but I didn’t
view the race with a critical eye like my pal Robin Miller did.
In the big picture of Indianapolis, we should never
forget that the Speedway and its events—the Indy 500 in particular—remain the 800-pound gorilla in our little corner of the
world.
Indy Racing League founder Tony George dropped a bombshell in December when he told an industry group that he would shut down
the open-wheel series if it didn’t break into the black soon.
Bill York, who has worked in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway press room since 1958, is no longer with the Brickyard.
New York-based Phillips-Van Heusen Corp. will roll out its Izod/Indy race-inspired clothing collection in Macy’s stores nationwide in April.
Simon & Schuster has hired former Sports Illustrated Executive Editor Charles
Leerhsen to write the story of the 1911 race and hopes to have it on bookstore shelves by the race’s centennial.
A local group headlined by the creator of the movies “Hoosiers” and “Rudy” is spearheading an effort to bring the story of
the very first Indianapolis 500 to the silver screen.
Indy Racing League driver Danica Patrick topped golfer Tiger Woods, quarterback Tom Brady and Super Bowl champion Eli Manning
as the most searched-for athlete in 2008, according to America Online’s annual list of top Web, mobile and video searches.
In the end, the catastrophic sponsorship shift from open-wheel racing to NASCAR became too much to ignore, driving the long-divided
sides of Champ Car and the Indy Racing League back into a unified series.
