When Roger Penske announced his plans to purchase the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Nov. 4, 2019, he had ambitious plans for the Racing Capital of the World. They involved the hope that the upgraded world-class venue would draw increased interest from some of motorsports’ biggest players to host “events that matter.”
Those outside executives are beginning to take notice.
Following FIA president Jean Todt’s visit to IMS for part of the Indy 500 weekend in August, Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali mentioned the venue’s road course is on a short-list of potential expansion sites within the U.S.
“The objective will be to increase to two American races. That is really the target,” Domenicali told Autoweek in a recent interview.
When asked if Miami, the central focus of American grand prix expansion in recent years, was still the front-runner, Domenicali said, “I cannot say today whether Vegas is better or worse, to be honest. We are working very hard on that. Indianapolis is in the equation. That is why it is good we have a lot of elements.”
IMS hosted the United States Grand Prix on its then-brand new road course starting in 2000-07 when the track’s CEO, Tony George, and F1 couldn’t come to terms on an extension. George said F1 would return to the Speedway when it again made financial sense, not-so-subtly hinting at F1’s exorbitant hosting fees. And without government or title sponsor support, any chance of a return quickly drifted away.
The mantle for the U.S. Grand Prix was picked up by Circuit of the Americas in 2012, and the track has hosted the event every year since, barring 2020 due to complications surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. The event will return this October.
But COTA’s continued success as an event host has done nothing to deter Penske from making his plans clear mere hours after the press release announcing his purchasing plans for the Speedway.
“Can we run a 24-hour race here? Can we run a Formula 1 race here? What are the things we can do? This is a great asset,” he said in a press conference Nov. 4, 2019.
And those rhetorical questions turned into pointed, hopeful statements in July, on a tour of the newly-renovated IMS facilities with IndyStar.
“We want to have a big sportscar race here. We want to host an F1 race, and you need to make sure we qualify and have all the assets,” Penske said.
Given the $92 million poured into IMS for Project 100 ahead of the 100th running of the Indy 500 in 2016, combined with the more than $15 million Penske invested in the track alone last year, there’s no doubt the Racing Capital of the World would fit the bill for a potential F1 stop. Todt, the head of the governing body that oversees F1, said as much after his August trip to Speedway and tour of the facility with Penske.
“The Indy facility is absolutely outstanding. I was saying earlier to Roger that Le Mans is a small city, living for the 24 Hours. It’s the same for Indy,” he told IndyCarLatinos.com. “Indy is known all around the world for the city and top race, the Indy 500.
“In my capacity as president of the FIA, I was quite keen to come and give the mark of respect for all they are doing in this unprecedented time. To see all the world Roger Penske has taken over since last January, a lot has been invested to make the circuit one of the best racing facilities around the world.”
Currently, the IMS road course is one of just two FIA Grade 1 circuits – the grade necessary to host an F1 race – located in the U.S., though any potential street circuit in Miami, Las Vegas or elsewhere would be created to fit the requirements.
Just over a year ago, Miami appeared primed to host an F1 race in 2021. Race organizers had agreed in principle to join the slate and had made an additional course change to take the proposed layout off public roads and entirely on the grounds of Hard Rock Stadium – the home of the Miami Dolphins.
But the pandemic, combined with continued upheaval from local residents around quality-of-life concerns for those living close to the track, put the race’s hopes firmly up-in-the-air. IMS as a host-track would pose none of those issues
Still, Penske would likely desire a race title sponsor to avoid dipping even deeper into his pockets after, at times, almost single-handedly keeping the IndyCar series afloat last season during the pandemic, along with his IMS infrastructure investments and multi-hundred-million-dollar purchase of the track and the series itself.
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