page_title: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
section_title: Early history
hierarchical_section_title: Indianapolis Motor Speedway / History / Early history
caption_attribution_description: Carl Graham Fisher
context_page_description: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is in Speedway, Indiana in the United States. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 race and the Brickyard 400 race.
  It was built in 1909. It is the original Speedway, the first racing facility to use the word Speedway. IMS has permanent seating for more than 257,000 people. The infield raises capacity to approximately 400,000. It is the largest and highest-capacity sporting facility in the world.
  The Speedway is considered relatively flat by American standards but high-banked by Europeans. It is a two and a half mile, nearly rectangular oval. Each of the four turns are 1/4 mile. Two 5/8 mile long straight connect turns 2 to 3 and turns 4 to 1. Two 1/8 mile short straights, termed short chutes, connect turns 1 to 2 and turns 3 to 4.
  A modern infield road course was constructed between 1998 and 2000. It used part of the oval and the infield to create a 2.605-mile track. In 2008, the road course was changed to add another infield section. This is used for motorcycle racing, and is a 2.621-mile course.
  On the grounds of the Speedway is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum, which opened in 1956.
context_section_description: The first motorsports event at the track consisted of 7 motorcycle races, sanctioned by the Federation of American Motorcyclists (FAM), on August 14, 1909.
  The first weekend of automobile races took place August 19–21, 1909. It was 16 races sanctioned by the American Automobile Association (AAA). The event almost turned into a disaster because of the surface of crushed stone and tar. There were several accidents and five fatalities. The final race of the weekend was halted after 235 miles (378 km) of its originally-scheduled 300 miles.
  Carl G. Fisher, was an Indiana native, and both a former race car driver and one of the owners of the track. He led the work to make the track safer for the drivers and spectators. The track surface was paved with 3.2 million paving bricks. This gave the track its popular nickname The Brickyard. Today, 3 feet (0.91 m) (one yard) of the original bricks remain at the start/finish line., still giving meaning to the 'brick yard'. The final brick added to the roadway was a gold plated brick and laid by Governor Thomas R. Marshall on December 17, 1909.
  The Speedway reopened in 1910. Sixty-six automobile races were held during three holiday weekends (Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day). Each weekend featured two or three races of 100-mile (160 km) to 200-mile (320 km) distance. Several shorter contests were also held. Each race was its own event and earned its own trophy. All races were sanctioned by the AAA. In 1911, a change in marketing focus led to holding only one race per year.
  An estimated 80,000 spectators came to the first Indianapolis 500 Mile Race on Memorial Day May 30, 1911. Admission was one dollar. Ray Harroun won the race at the average speed of 74.602 mph (120.060 km/h).
  The next five Indianapolis 500 were held from 1912–1916. Three of the Indy 500 winners were Europeans. These races drew worldwide attention to the Speedway. More international drivers began to enter.
  The 1916 race was shortened to 120 laps for 300 miles (480 km). Several things caused the race to be shortened . There was a lack of entries from Europe and a lack of oil. Another reason was out of respect for the war in Europe.
  On September 9, 1916, the Speedway hosted a day of short racing events. These were called the Harvest Classic. There were three races held at 20, 50 and 100-mile (160 km) distances. Johnny Aitken, in a Peugeot, won all three events, his final victories at the track. After the Harvest Classic, no race other than the Indianapolis 500 to be held on the grounds for seventy-eight years.
  Racing was interrupted in 1917–1918 by World War I. The facility served as a military center for repairs.
  Racing resumed in 1919. Speeds quickly increased. In 1925 Peter DePaolo became the first to average 100 mph (160 km/h) for the race.
  By the early 1930s, the increasing speeds began to make the track more dangerous. In the period 1931–1935 there were 15 fatalities. Part of the bricks were replaced with tarmac (a tar covered macadam or small stones). During the 1935–1936 seasons a number of changes were made. The inside wall was removed in the corners. The outside wall angle was changed to help keep cars inside the track. Hard crash helmets became required. The first yellow lights were installed around the track.
caption: Carl Graham Fisher (1874–1938) of Indiana, an American vehicle parts and highway entrepreneur, co-founder and first President of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. May 1909.
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