Located in Speedway, Indiana, a suburb of Indianapolis, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the highest-capacity sports venue in the world, with an estimated seating capacity of 235,000. On March 15, 1909, Carl G. Fisher, James A. Allison, F.G. Wheeler and Arthur Newby broke ground to build the motorsports mecca. By August 1909, the 2.5-mile rectangle was built. In 1909, the entire track surface was paved entirely in bricks. On May 30, 1911, the first 500-mile race, the Indianapolis 500 was born.
During World War I, racing was interrupted as the track served as a military aviation repair and refueling depot. However, when racing resumed, speeds increased quickly. Between 1931 and 1835, there were 15 fatalities at the facility, which resulted in another repavement where tarmac replaced the bricks in parts of the track. In 1941, nearly a third of the garage area, known as "Gasoline Alley," was burned down prior to [...] Read more