INDIANAPOLIS – From giving the command to congratulating the winning team after the 104th Indianapolis 500, Sunday was the day Indianapolis Motor Speedway Roger Penske has been waiting for since he purchased the speedway and IndyCar from the Hulman George family on Nov. 4, 2019.
The downside was the race was supposed to be held on May 24 with a full crowd of spectators celebrating a Memorial Day Weekend tradition that began in 1911. The race was finally held Sunday, under sunny and hot conditions without fans in the grandstands, but millions were able to watch the event on NBC.
“It has been an incredible day, and I want to thank all of the teams, drivers and our partners for an exciting 104th Running of the Indianapolis 500,” Penske said Sunday night. “Congratulations to Takuma Sato, Bobby Rahal, David Letterman, Mike Lanigan and the entire team for winning today’s race and putting on a remarkable show for everyone watching at home on NBC and around the world.
“We certainly missed having all of our fans here with us at the Racing Capital of the World, and we are looking forward to the day when we can welcome everyone back to the Speedway.
“My family and I, along with everyone at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, are so excited about the future as we continue to build on the tradition of The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”
The 83-year-old Penske and his senior staff were dressed in impressive blue suits with white shirts and ties, despite the temperatures that approached 90 degrees on Sunday. He spoke to the competitors as well as a very limited number of sponsors and partners that were able to attend Sunday’s race.
Instead of a crowd approaching 300,000 spectators, the track was limited to drivers, team members, IndyCar Series officials, technical staff, security, police and medical staff and a limited number of media members. Each team was allowed a very small number of sponsor representatives.
The total number of people inside the speedway was probably around 2,000. There may have been another 1,000 or so fans that lined 16th Street outside the tunnel entrance to the track to watch the race on one of the big screens located near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. Grills and lawn-chairs and even a few tents were set up so the fans could still feel the atmosphere of the race while hearing the roar of the cars in the 104th Indianapolis 500.
It is Penske’s hope when next year’s race returns to Memorial Day Weekend, the COVID-19 pandemic will be controlled to the point where a full house of spectators can return.