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Speedway: The Greatest Spectacle in LearningLesson 21 of 26

Episode 11: The Business of May

Introduction

Walk to the main gate of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

On race day, more than 300,000 people stream through these turnstiles. Some came in by chartered bus. Some flew in from California, Texas, Brazil, Japan, Sweden, Australia, the UK, and Italy. Some drove down from Lafayette or Bloomington or up from Louisville. Some live around the corner in the town of Speedway, Indiana, walked here this morning, and will walk home after the race.

Every single one of them spent money to get here.

They bought tickets. They bought hotel rooms. They bought gasoline for their cars. They bought meals at Charlie Brown's Pancake & Steak House on Main Street. They bought cheesecake from Grammy Sue's. They bought race-themed Christmas ornaments at Santa's Pit Stop. They bought coffee at Founders Grounds. They tipped servers at Mike's Speedway Lounge. They paid for parking. They paid for rideshares. They paid hotel taxes. They paid sales taxes. They left money in a thousand cash registers in central Indiana.

Add it all up. Add up everything they spent. Add up the wages that all the people who served them earned. Add up the taxes that the state and city of Indianapolis collected. Add up the jobs that exist because the Indianapolis Motor Speedway exists.

What you get is more than one billion dollars per year.

That is the headline number from a 2023 economic impact study by the Indiana University Public Policy Institute, commissioned by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. $1.058 billion in annual economic activity. Of that, more than half, $566 million, comes from the Month of May alone. That is more than the entire economic output of some small American towns.

The Indianapolis 500 is not just a race. It is one of Indiana's largest businesses. It is one of the most important economic engines in the state. And it sits in a town of about 14,000 people called Speedway, Indiana, which celebrated its 100th birthday in 2026, the same year as the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500.

This episode is about the business of May. The money. The jobs. The hotels. The restaurants. The economic development. The careers in tourism, hospitality, event management, and economic policy that this race makes possible. The way the Indianapolis 500 turns Indiana into the racing capital of the world, every May, for one full month.

One Billion Dollars

Let's start with the headline number and break it down.

In October 2023, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway released a study commissioned from the Indiana University Public Policy Institute, which is a research arm of the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University. The institute is one of the most respected sources of unbiased economic analysis in the state of Indiana (IMS, 2023).

The study examined the economic impact of all events and operations at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway over a 12-month period from June 1, 2022, through May 31, 2023. That period included the 2022 Brickyard Weekend (NASCAR), the 2023 Indianapolis 500, the IndyCar Grand Prix, the INDY NXT Grand Prix, Carb Day, all the practice and qualifying days, the Intercontinental GT Indianapolis 8 Hour race, the Brickyard Crossing Golf Course, the IMS Museum, and many smaller events.

The total economic contribution was $1.058 billion.

That number is more than double the figure measured 10 years earlier. A similar study in 2013 estimated about $510 million in annual economic impact from IMS (GT World Challenge America, 2023). In a decade, the impact more than doubled. That is faster growth than the broader Indiana economy. The Speedway is not just stable; it is accelerating.

Let's understand what "economic impact" actually means. It does not mean ticket sales. It does not mean just what the Speedway makes in revenue. It means all the money that flows into Indiana that would not be there if the Speedway did not exist. That includes:

  • Direct spending by visitors (tickets, food, drinks, souvenirs, transportation)
  • Indirect spending by businesses that support the Speedway (suppliers, contractors, vendors)
  • Induced spending by employees who get paychecks from all of the above

The combined effect of all three is what economists call the "multiplier effect." A dollar spent at a hotel becomes a dollar paid to a hotel employee, who spends part of it at a grocery store, where another employee gets paid, and so on. The $1.058 billion captures all those ripples.

The study also broke out workforce impact. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway supports approximately 8,440 full-time-equivalent jobs across Indiana, accounting for $360 million in total wages each year (Building Indiana Business, 2024). Those are not all jobs at the Speedway itself. They include jobs at hotels in downtown Indianapolis, restaurants in Speedway, food suppliers, tire makers, parts manufacturers, transportation companies, marketing firms, and every business in the supply chain.

Tom Guevara, the director of the Indiana University Public Policy Institute, said in the report: "This study demonstrates the incredible reach of IMS races and entertainment that goes well beyond the Central Indiana region." (IMS, 2023)

The reach is statewide. Hotels in Kokomo, Lafayette, and Columbus fill up during the Month of May. Restaurants in suburban Indianapolis (Carmel, Fishers, Plainfield, Greenwood) see steady increases. Even people watching the race from a couch in Evansville are part of the economic ecosystem, buying TVs and snacks and IMS-branded merchandise.

$1.058 billion. Approximately 8,440 jobs. $360 million in wages. Those are the headline numbers. Let's now look at the most concentrated month of the year.

The Month of May

The Indianapolis 500 race itself happens on one Sunday in May. But the "Month of May" that drives the economic impact is much larger than that single day.

In a typical year, the Month of May at IMS includes:

  • Multiple weeks of practice sessions
  • Two weekends of qualifying (Bump Day on the second Sunday)
  • Carb Day (the Friday before the race)
  • Legends Day (the Saturday before the race)
  • The IndyCar Grand Prix (often the weekend before the 500)
  • The INDY NXT Grand Prix (development series)
  • The Indianapolis 500 Festival (which spans the entire month and includes the 500 Festival Parade in downtown Indianapolis)
  • Race day itself (Sunday, traditionally Memorial Day weekend)

According to the IU Public Policy Institute, the Month of May 2023 alone generated $566.4 million in economic impact (Building Indiana Business, 2024). That is more than half the entire annual total of $1.058 billion.

Within that Month of May number, the Indianapolis 500 race weekend by itself generated approximately $248.5 million in economic impact in May 2023 (Beyond the Bricks, 2026). That number includes everything from the Saturday before the race through the Monday after, when most fans travel home.

Where does that money come from? Where does it go?

It comes from visitors. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the largest single-day sporting event venue in the world by capacity, with permanent seating for approximately 235,000 fans and a total capacity including infield admission of over 350,000 (Town of Speedway Government, 2026). Major events draw fans from every U.S. state and dozens of countries.

For the 110th running on Sunday, May 24, 2026 (the race we covered in the season opener), fans from around the world traveled to Indianapolis. Some flew in. Some drove. Some came by chartered bus. Some came by RV and camped in the IMS infield, which has approximately 6,000 RV spaces filled to capacity every race weekend.

These visitors spent money in several major categories:

Hotels. Visit Indy reports that all 8,400 of downtown Indianapolis's hotel rooms fill up during race weekend. Local Airbnbs and short-term rentals fill up across the metro area. Many visitors pay 2 to 4 times the normal rate for race-weekend lodging. In total, lodging accounts for roughly 25-30% of total visitor spending (Beyond the Bricks, 2026).

Food and beverage. Restaurants in Speedway, downtown Indianapolis, and the suburbs all see massive surges. Mike's Speedway Lounge served roughly 5,000 people during 2025's race weekend alone. Bars and restaurants typically run extended hours, hire extra staff, and stock up on inventory for weeks in advance.

Transportation. Gasoline, rideshares, parking, rental cars, and chartered buses account for tens of millions of dollars in race-weekend spending. The Indianapolis International Airport is at peak capacity during race weekend, with airlines often adding flights specifically to handle the demand.

Retail. Race-themed apparel, souvenirs, IMS merchandise, and team gear represent another major category. Souvenir stands at the track sell hundreds of thousands of items per weekend.

Of the Month of May impact, only about $86 million came from visitors within 100 miles of the track (GT World Challenge America, 2023). The remaining $480 million came from outside that radius. Most of the money flowing into the Indiana economy in May comes from outside Indiana. That is what makes the impact "new" to the state, rather than just shifted from one Indiana cash register to another.

That is the most important thing to understand. The Indianapolis 500 is not just an Indianapolis event. It is an Indiana export. The state earns money from people who come from somewhere else and leave their dollars behind.

Main Street, Speedway

Six miles west of downtown Indianapolis, just south of the IMS oval, is a town called Speedway, Indiana. Speedway is its own incorporated town, separate from Indianapolis. Its town manager is Grant Kleinhenz. Its town council includes Vice President Gary Raikes, who described his community to Fox 59 reporters in 2022 with a memorable phrase: "We have five months, and the month of May is our fifth season." (Fox59, 2022)

The town of Speedway was founded in 1926, the same year the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was already 17 years old. In 2026, Speedway celebrated its 100th anniversary. By happy coincidence, 2026 is also the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 and the 250th anniversary of American independence (Fox59, 2026).

Speedway has about 14,000 year-round residents. It also has Main Street, a half-mile commercial corridor that runs along Main Street between 10th Street and 16th Street. Main Street Speedway was historically a struggling commercial district. In the 2000s, the town invested heavily in revitalization. The result, by the 2020s, has been a thriving collection of locally owned restaurants, bars, breweries, coffee shops, and racing-themed retail (Visit Indy, 2026).

Let's walk down Main Street.

You might stop at Santa's Pit Stop, owned by Dave Wilson, a former IMS Radio Network broadcaster, and his wife. The store combines two things Wilson loves: the Indianapolis 500 and Christmas. Wilson knows the winner of every Indianapolis 500 going back decades. If you tell him what year you were born, he can tell you who won the race that year. The store sells racing memorabilia, Christmas ornaments themed to the Indianapolis 500, and apparel year-round. "May is a huge, a huge deal for us financially," Wilson told WTHR-TV in 2026. "The amount of business we do in one month really helps us sustain for the entire year." (WTHR, 2026)

You might stop at Charlie Brown's Pancake & Steak House at 16th and Main, a longtime local diner. During May, Charlie Brown's extends its hours, opening at 6:00 a.m. to serve the race crowd. The walls of the restaurant are lined with racing memorabilia from across the decades. Lee Bailey, a hostess at Charlie Brown's, told WRTV in 2026: "It's amazing that everyone is coming in, and we've made our hours longer for the Indy 500." (WRTV, 2026)

You might stop at Grammy Sue's Cheesecake, owned by David Cecil. During race weekend, Cecil bakes more than 100 cheesecake slices each day and aims to sell more than 200 on race day. To make sure his shop is open and inventory is ready, he sometimes sleeps overnight in the shop. "Parking is so crazy," he told WRTV. "We sell hot dogs, we sell cheesecakes, we sell parking, and it's just great for business." (WRTV, 2026)

You might stop at Mike's Speedway Lounge, a bar near the track that served approximately 5,000 customers during 2025's race weekend alone.

You might stop at Dawson's on Main, another popular bar and restaurant, which once had to post a thank-you note on Facebook because the crowd had "cleaned them out" of inventory.

You might stop at Founders Grounds Coffee Company, which opened in July 2021 and was fully open for its first race weekend in 2022. The owner, Matthews, told reporters that he watched his cups and panini sandwiches show up on the IMS big screens during the race broadcast, which drove an immediate uptick in customers.

That's just a sample. Main Street Speedway has dozens of locally owned businesses, almost all of them deeply dependent on the Month of May. As Wilson put it in his store: "It helps the entire town of Speedway."

This is the small-business side of the economic impact study. The $566 million Month of May number does not just happen at the gates of IMS. It happens at every shop, restaurant, bar, hotel, and retailer in the town of Speedway and well beyond. It happens because hundreds of thousands of visitors with money to spend descend on a 14,000-person town for one month, and then leave again, and then start counting down to next year.

There is one other thing worth saying about Main Street Speedway. It is a model that other small American towns hosting major events look to. The combination of locally owned business, a clean walkable streetscape, themed retail, and the anchor of a major sporting venue is something other communities (Talladega, Daytona Beach, and many overseas race venues) try to emulate. The model works because it is authentic. The people who live there really do love the Indianapolis 500. They have built their businesses, their identities, and their year around it.

The Hospitality Ecosystem

The hospitality ecosystem that supports the Indianapolis 500 stretches far beyond the town of Speedway.

The convention and visitors bureau for the city of Indianapolis is called Visit Indy. Its president and CEO is Leonard Hoops. Visit Indy is the official destination marketing organization for the Indianapolis metropolitan area. Its job is to promote Indianapolis to potential visitors, support hotels and restaurants and event venues with marketing and logistical assistance, and ensure that visitors who come to Indianapolis have a great experience and want to return (Visit Indy, 2026).

The numbers from Visit Indy paint a picture of Indianapolis as a major American destination:

  • 30.5 million annual visitors
  • $5.4 billion to $6.4 billion in annual visitor economic impact, depending on the year and source
  • More than 78,000 full-time-equivalent hospitality jobs
  • $1.26 billion in annual tax receipts (including $725 million in state and local government taxes)

That is the entire Indianapolis tourism economy, of which the Indianapolis 500 is one of the largest single components.

For the Indianapolis 500 specifically, the hospitality ecosystem includes:

Downtown Indianapolis hotels. All 8,400 downtown hotel rooms fill up race weekend. The largest hotels in Indianapolis, including the JW Marriott, the Hyatt Regency, the Conrad, the Westin, the Sheraton, the Omni Severin, and dozens of others, run at 100% occupancy for the entire weekend, often at premium rates 2 to 4 times their normal weekday rate.

Suburban hotels. Hotels in Carmel, Fishers, Plainfield, Greenwood, Avon, Brownsburg, and Speedway itself fill up next. By the time race weekend arrives, hotels in counties surrounding Marion County (Hamilton, Hendricks, Hancock, Johnson, Boone) are at full capacity.

Outlying hotels. Hotels as far away as Kokomo (50 miles north), Lafayette (60 miles northwest), Bloomington (50 miles south), and Columbus (45 miles south) see significant occupancy boosts during race week from visitors who could not get rooms closer to Indianapolis.

Short-term rentals. Airbnbs and VRBOs across the entire metropolitan area fill up. Many homeowners earn the equivalent of a full month of mortgage payments from one race-weekend rental.

Restaurants and bars. Restaurants in downtown Indianapolis, Broad Ripple, Mass Ave, Fountain Square, Castleton, Carmel, Fishers, and the entire suburban network see significant boosts. Some restaurants generate as much revenue in race week as in a typical month.

Transportation. Indianapolis International Airport sees a major surge. Many airlines add flights. Rental car companies bring extra vehicles from other markets. Rideshare drivers (Uber, Lyft) can earn 3 to 5 times their normal weekly income in one race week. Bus charters from cities like Chicago, Cincinnati, Louisville, and St. Louis bring thousands of additional fans.

The hospitality ecosystem is not just a one-week explosion. It is a year-round structure that includes major non-racing events: the Indiana State Fair, Indianapolis Colts and Indiana Pacers games, the NCAA Final Four (which Indianapolis hosts more often than any other city), Big Ten championships, the College Football Playoff National Championship (2022), the NBA All-Star Weekend (2021), and the world's largest children's museum.

The Indianapolis 500 is the marquee event in a calendar full of major events. The Indianapolis hospitality industry has built its scale around the assumption that the Indianapolis 500 alone will require accommodation for hundreds of thousands of visitors. That capacity then serves the rest of the year's events as well.

There is a workforce implication here that connects directly to Indiana high school students. The 78,000 hospitality jobs that Visit Indy supports are not all luxury concierge positions. They include line cooks, dishwashers, housekeeping staff, hotel front desk staff, bartenders, servers, valet drivers, event coordinators, hotel sales managers, marketing professionals, accountants, IT specialists, supply chain managers, and many other roles that range from entry-level to executive. There is a career path in hospitality that starts at age 16 with a part-time job and can lead, with the right combination of experience and education, to running a major hotel.

The Brand Called Indiana

There is another, less tangible aspect of the Indianapolis 500's economic impact: the way it shapes Indiana's brand and identity around the world.

When you say the word "Indianapolis" outside the United States, most people do not think first of corn, agriculture, basketball, or limestone. They think of the Indianapolis 500. That association is worth a great deal in economic development terms.

Economic development is the practice of attracting businesses to a state or city. State economic development agencies like the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) compete with other states for major corporate relocations and expansions. When IEDC pitches Indiana to a global automotive company, an aerospace firm, a software company, or a research institute, the pitch includes a lot of standard items: tax rates, workforce availability, education quality, infrastructure, cost of living.

The pitch also includes brand identity. "Indiana is the Racing Capital of the World" is a powerful statement of identity that helps differentiate Indiana from other Midwestern states. It signals that Indiana is a place where complex engineering happens, where world-class events occur, where international visitors are welcomed.

This brand identity helped Indianapolis successfully bid for and host major events outside of racing, including:

  • The 2012 Super Bowl (which drove $278 million in economic impact)
  • Multiple NCAA Final Fours (the most of any U.S. city)
  • The 2021 NBA All-Star Weekend
  • The 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship
  • Dozens of major conventions, trade shows, and meetings

The Indianapolis 500 brand also supports Indiana's automotive and manufacturing sector. When automaker executives consider where to locate a new manufacturing plant, an R&D facility, or an engineering office, Indiana's racing heritage helps. The presence of Dallara's IndyCar factory in Speedway (covered in Episode 4), the proximity to multiple race teams' headquarters (Penske, Ganassi, Andretti, McLaren, Foyt all have major Indianapolis operations), the engineering talent pipeline at Purdue (covered in Episode 8 and the bonus episode), and the legacy of motorsports innovation (Episode 10) make Indiana a credible candidate for advanced manufacturing operations that might otherwise go to Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, or somewhere outside the U.S. entirely.

The Indianapolis 500 also serves as a force multiplier for the state's tourism industry. Visit Indy markets year-round to a base of customers who first came to Indianapolis for the race. The Speedway and downtown Indianapolis work together as a destination that combines a world-famous sporting event with a walkable, mid-sized American city. That combination, increasingly rare and increasingly attractive, is something Indianapolis has marketed effectively.

There is one more thing worth noting. In 2026, the marketing power of the Indianapolis 500 brand reached a level that years of conventional marketing could not match. ESPN broadcaster Pat McAfee was given the 2026 Bill McGowan Leadership Award by Visit Indy for his "unwavering and unapologetic support for Indy as a must-visit destination" (Visit Indy, 2026). McAfee, an Indiana resident and former Indianapolis Colts punter, uses his platform to promote Indianapolis to a national and global audience year-round. That kind of high-visibility advocacy from someone like McAfee is worth millions of dollars in advertising value to the city. It is the kind of brand advocacy that built the Indianapolis 500 into a global event in the first place.

The brand is the asset. The race is the engine that builds the brand. The brand creates jobs, investment, and identity that go far beyond the gates of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Careers in the Business of May

For Indiana high school students, the business of May creates a wide range of career possibilities. Let's walk through some of them.

Hospitality management. Hotels, restaurants, and event venues need managers at every level. Major hotels (the JW Marriott, the Conrad, the Hyatt Regency) have general managers, food and beverage directors, sales directors, and many supervisors who lead teams of dozens to hundreds. The career path typically starts with entry-level work in college or right after high school, then moves through supervisor and assistant manager roles, then into general management. Bachelor's degrees in hospitality management are offered at Purdue University, Indiana University, Ball State, Indiana State, and Ivy Tech.

Tourism marketing. Visit Indy, the Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Indiana state tourism agencies employ marketers, public relations specialists, social media managers, digital content creators, and communications strategists. These careers typically require a bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, journalism, or hospitality. Salary ranges from $40,000 entry-level to over $200,000 for senior leadership positions.

Event management. The Indianapolis 500 itself, the Indianapolis 500 Festival, the 500 Festival Parade, the Brickyard 400 race, the IndyCar Grand Prix, and dozens of related events all require event managers. The Indianapolis 500 Festival, a nonprofit that runs the parade and several other major events leading up to the race, employs a small core staff and a large network of contractors and volunteers. Event management is a fast-paced career with significant opportunities for upward mobility.

Economic development. State and city economic development agencies (the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, Indy Chamber, City of Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development) employ policy analysts, business development specialists, site selectors, and economic researchers. The work involves attracting major employers, supporting existing businesses, and analyzing the regional economy. Bachelor's degrees in economics, public policy, or business are typical entry points.

Public policy research. The Indiana University Public Policy Institute, which produced the economic impact study we have been discussing, employs researchers, policy analysts, and data scientists. Most positions require a master's degree (Master of Public Affairs, Master of Public Policy, or related). The work involves rigorous data analysis and writing.

Small business ownership. The Main Street Speedway businesses we discussed in Segment 3 are owned by entrepreneurs. Some had restaurant industry experience first; some had radio broadcasting backgrounds; some came to small business ownership from completely different careers. The path is rarely linear, but the rewards include both financial independence and the satisfaction of building something that contributes to a community.

Hotel and restaurant operations. Beyond management, the operational side of hospitality includes culinary arts, food service, beverage service, banquet operations, and event services. Ivy Tech and high school CTE programs offer pathways into these careers, often starting with hands-on experience while still in high school.

Transportation. The race drives demand for airline workers, rideshare drivers (a growing field with implications for self-driving technology), bus charter operators, parking management firms, and logistics coordinators.

Marketing and communications. Beyond Visit Indy, the IMS itself, the race teams, sponsors, broadcasters, and supporting businesses all employ marketing and communications professionals. Indianapolis is one of the largest marketing markets in the Midwest specifically because of the racing industry.

Accounting and finance. Every business in the racing ecosystem needs accountants, financial analysts, controllers, and CFOs. Many of these jobs are based in central Indiana specifically because the racing industry is here.

A high school student in Indianapolis today, interested in any of these career paths, can build a resume in the racing ecosystem starting at age 16 with a summer job. The careers compound. Indiana has the depth and scale of opportunity that few states can match.

Wrap-up

Here is what I want you to take away from this episode.

The Indianapolis 500 is, by the numbers, one of Indiana's most important economic assets. $1.058 billion in annual economic impact, $566 million from the Month of May alone, $248 million from the race weekend itself, 8,440 jobs, $360 million in wages. The numbers add up to a single conclusion: the Speedway is, by some measures, the most economically important institution in the state of Indiana.

But the numbers do not capture the full picture. The Indianapolis 500 is more than its annual revenue. It is an anchor.

An anchor is a fixed point that allows other things to grow around it. The Speedway sits in Speedway, Indiana, and has sat there since 1909. The town of Speedway grew up around it. Main Street Speedway, Charlie Brown's, Grammy Sue's, Santa's Pit Stop, Mike's Speedway Lounge, Dawson's on Main, Founders Grounds, all of them, exist because the Speedway is there.

Visit Indy can market Indianapolis as a major American destination because Indianapolis has the Speedway. The Indiana Economic Development Corporation can pitch Indiana as the Racing Capital of the World because the Speedway is here. The Purdue Motorsports Engineering program, which we will cover in the bonus episode, exists in part because the Speedway is just an hour away. The Firestone tire research facility, which we covered earlier in the season, exists in part because the Speedway is the world's most important test track.

The Speedway has been an anchor for Indiana for 117 years. It is now in a position where, every year, more people come, more money is generated, more jobs are created, more businesses are built, more housing is developed, more tourism is captured, and more brand identity is reinforced.

For an Indiana high school student, the business of May offers something that few industries can: rooted, real, growing, world-class opportunity in a place you already live. You do not have to move to New York, Los Angeles, or Atlanta to work in a major industry. The major industry is here, in Indianapolis, and it has been here since before your grandparents were born.

For an Indiana entrepreneur, the business of May offers customers from every state and dozens of countries who travel to your store, your restaurant, your service. You do not have to ship product across the country to reach a national audience. The national audience comes to you, once a year, for one month.

For an Indiana investor, the business of May is an asset that has more than doubled in economic impact over the last decade and shows no sign of slowing.

The race is one Sunday in May. The business of May is forever.

Sources

Beyond the Bricks. (2026). Beyond the Bricks: How the Indy 500 fuels Indianapolis small businesses. Retrieved from https://www.tmasmallbusinessaccounting.com/blog/beyond-the-bricks-how-the-indy-500-fuels-indianapolis-small-businesses

Building Indiana Business. (2024, August 7). The Indianapolis Motor Speedway's $1B economic impact. Retrieved from https://buildingindiana.com/stories/the-indianapolis-motor-speedways-1b-economic-impact

Fox59. (2022, May 31). Town of Speedway, small businesses celebrate Indy 500 success. Retrieved from https://fox59.com/indiana-news/town-of-speedway-small-businesses-celebrate-indy-500-success/

Fox59. (2026, February 13). Town of Speedway counting down to the Indy 500. Retrieved from https://fox59.com/indiana-news/town-of-speedway-counting-down-to-the-indy-500/

GT World Challenge America. (2023, October 25). Study: Indianapolis Motor Speedway events generated $1B impact over one year. Retrieved from https://www.gt-world-challenge-america.com/news/870/indy8-economic-impact

Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (2023, October 24). Racing Capital of the World contributes $1 billion of economic activity to Indiana. Retrieved from https://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/news-multimedia/news/2023/10/24/10-24-Economic-Impact-IMS

Indy's Destination Vision. (2021, March 17). About: Indy's Destination Vision. Retrieved from https://indydestinationvision.com/about/

Sports Destination Management. (2018, March 12). Indianapolis tourism drives record-setting impact. Retrieved from https://www.sportsdestinations.com/destinations/indiana/indianapolis-tourism-drives-record-setting-impact-14173

Town of Speedway Government. (2026). Town of Speedway official website. Retrieved from https://www.speedwayin.gov/

Visit Indy. (2026). About Us: State of Indianapolis Tourism. Retrieved from https://www.visitindy.com/about-us/

Visit Indy. (2026). City of Speedway. Retrieved from https://www.visitindy.com/neighborhoods/speedway/

WRTV. (2026). Speedway businesses prepare for Indy 500. Retrieved from https://www.wrtv.com/sports/indianapolis-500/speedway-businesses-prepare-for-indy-500

WTHR. (2026). "There's only 2 seasons: Christmas and racing": Indy 500 race week brings business to local Speedway shops. Retrieved from https://www.wthr.com/

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