INDIANAPOLIS – Much of Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Roger Penske’s focus has been on getting the largest number of spectators possible to attend Sunday’s 105th Indianapolis 500.
He was able to successfully negotiate with local health officials and Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett to allow 135,000 fans to attend the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It will be the world’s largest gathering since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
But there are many other areas that Penske addressed during an interview this weekend leading into the Indy 500. Here are a few of the highlights from that interview:
Q: On the enthusiasm level shown by the spectators that have attended practice and qualifications…
A: “I think the excitement is beyond our expectations,” Penske said. “To validate that is qualification days from last Saturday and Sunday. Sunday has always been a day when people didn’t understand the ‘Fast Nine.’ We had more attendance on Sunday with the excitement of the ‘Fast Nine’ and that demonstrates exactly what we have invested in here. This iconic track, the event, the generational customer base, the fan base is alive and well and can’t wait to get back to the track.”
Q: Team Penske has won the Indy 500 starting from the front, and from the back. The team’s highest starting driver is rookie Scott McLaughlin in 17th position. How difficult will it be to win with all five drivers coming from the back half of the grid?
A: “Unfortunately, I’m not on top of the boxes so whatever expertise I might have is going to be focusing on a good, safe race for the 33 drivers and 135,000 or so of our fans,” Penske said. “It’s going to be interesting. The field has never been tighter from the standpoint of the race. You’re going to have to take some risks on the pit stops when you come in. You come in with the pack or you come in on your own, so you have a clean shot in and out.
“These are all things we are going to have to take a look at.”
Q: The next big race weekend here comes up in mid-August with the IndyCar/NASCAR weekend at The Brickyard. What is your outlook for that?
A: “That’s going to be a good one to see everybody on the road course,” Penske said. “That might set the standard for the future where we run only the 500-mile IndyCar race on the oval and everything else on the road course. We don’t know that yet, but that could be a position we might take.”
Q: The two weeks leading into this year’s Indianapolis 500 have been exceptional with the fastest field in Indy 500 history and one of the tightest fields. Why has this year gone so well?
A: “If you look at what we did for the Indy 500, I wanted to be sure we had a training session,” Penske said. “We had a two-day test here in April. I had never seen 32 cars here at one time prior to the 500. This gave our drivers and teams a chance to be here and run. Then, we went to Texas and ran a doubleheader there for this reason, to have our younger drivers experience a real race. That’s why you see how close it is because people now know the cars and the drivers are more skilled on a high-speed track.”
Q: What is the latest on a new television package?
A: “We are having productive conversations with NBC,” Penske said. “The first thing we had to do was get our sponsor, NTT together, as we did. That was Mark Mile’s responsibility. We feel good about it. I think we can make it better.
“IMSP (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Productions) is not involved in Mecum Auctions. It is not involved in Bull Riding. It is doing one thing. Everything they are doing today has to do with the series and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I think that focus will make it even better. We have 15 in-car cameras and 175 cameras on the track or in the area come Sunday. That’s a big focus.”
Q: Do you plan on expanding the IndyCar schedule, or strengthening it?
A: “We don’t need to have 20-25 races. We need 15, 16 or 17 but we must have a mix of short ovals, 1.5-miles, big tracks like here, permanent road courses and street events,” Penske said. “A lot of these street events get us to a new potential fan that we didn’t get to before. Look at Nashville, St. Petersburg, and Long Beach. That is first and foremost here.”
“I would like to go back to Richmond and go back to Iowa. That’s a great track for these cars. Those are areas our guys are working on, for sure.
“We haven’t talked to Michigan. I don’t want this to be a sports car series. We have to run at the Indianapolis 500 so I want drivers that can run on ovals.
“It’s going to be a step at a time as we grow this business.”
Q: Have you had a chance to reflect on all that the sport, the Indy 500 and yourself have gone through in the last 12 months?
A: “Our biggest concern is what have we missed? I’m on a straight road right now. I don’t know where the next turn is.
“It’s rewarding. The fact we have so many people on a great team here is important. I don’t think we are on a straight road yet. We have to get beyond the pandemic, get our TV deal together and have more tracks that are interested in doing business with us and more tracks that want to make long-term commitments.
“I think a lot of things have been done, but it’s the back-room things we have to do. This place needs a lot of time and effort and capital. We have to make sure we spend more of our depreciation and little by little bring it up to another level.
“Do we put lights in here? Do we have a long-distance road race? Those are areas we are interested in.”
Q: Are you already planning ahead for the 106th Indianapolis 500 in 2022?
A: “This year, we had no music on Carb Day or the day before the race,” Penske said. “Let’s make sure we get the race off and then next year, let’s blow the roof off this place.”