Adults and children of all ages will find many exciting and interesting activities Wednesday, May 26, during 500 Festival Community Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Fans will be treated to a driver autograph session, special activities and special access to the Speedway’s historic Gasoline Alley garage area and pit lane, and admission is affordable for all.
Public gates are open at 9 a.m. (EST) for access to the IMS Hall of Fame Museum and attractions in the museum’s east lot. At 11 a.m., the Garage Area and Pit Lane open to the public, and fans can take one lap around the world-famous 2.5-mile oval in their personal car. This is the only day of the year fans can lap the historic oval in their vehicle.
Admission for Community Day is only $5 per person, with children ages 6 and younger admitted for free. The facility will close at 6 p.m.
At 3 p.m., the first 3,000 fans to the Pagoda Plaza on Community Day receive a free Indy Racing League® hat.
In addition to the always-popular track lap, numerous Community Day attractions will keep fans busy at IMS all day:
•From 11 a.m.-6 p.m., vintage Indianapolis 500 cars, representing some of the most historic moments in “500” history, will be displayed along pit lane.
•From 11 a.m.-6 p.m., the Indy Racing League Fan Experience, including state-of-the-art racing simulators, will operate in the Pagoda Plaza.
•At 12:30 p.m., Indy Racing League drivers will participate in the Codemasters Driver Competition with the new IndyCar Series 2005 video game in the Pagoda Plaza. Drivers scheduled to compete are Alex Barron, Ed Carpenter, 2003 IndyCar® Series champion Scott Dixon, Darren Manning, 2004 Futaba Freedom 100 winner Thiago Medeiros, Vitor Meira, Indianapolis 500 MBNA Pole winner Buddy Rice and current series points leader Dan Wheldon.
•From 1-2 p.m., longtime ABC Sports motorsports reporter Jack Arute will sign autographs at the Pagoda Plaza Gift Shop. Arute’s book of Indianapolis 500 memories and observations, “Jack Arute’s Tales from the Indy 500,” recently was published.
•At 1:30 p.m., a local celebrity and media personality pit-stop competition will take place on Pit Lane in front of the Media Center, just north of the start/finish line.
•At 3 p.m., internationally renowned pop artist Charles Fazzino will sign autographs at the Pagoda Plaza Gift Shop. Fazzino is the Official Artist of the 88th Indianapolis 500 and created the artwork that graces the Official Program cover.
•At 4 p.m., Indy Racing League drivers will participate in the RC Driver Indy Challenge with radio-controlled cars. Drivers scheduled to compete are Alex Barron, Ed Carpenter, Adrian Fernandez, 2002 Menards Infiniti Pro Series™ champion A.J. Foyt IV, 2001 Bombardier Rookie of the Year Felipe Giaffone, two-time IndyCar Series champion Sam Hornish Jr., Kosuke Matsuura and 2002 Indianapolis 500 Bank One Rookie of the Year Tomas Scheckter.
•The grand finale for Community Day will be a driver autograph session, featuring past and present stars of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, from 3-6 p.m. in the garage area.
Tickets are available at the IMS gate, IMS Ticket Office or by calling the 500 Festival office at (800) 638-4296.
***Tickets: Tickets are available for the 2004 Indianapolis 500 on May 30. For information, log on to indianapolismotorspeedway.com, or call the IMS ticket office at (800) 822-INDY or (317) 492-6700.
