Indiana Automotive Speedway Tour

This summer, Indiana Landmarks’ Indiana Automotive affinity group celebrates Indiana’s racing heritage on a two-day tour exploring the Town of Speedway—from the founding of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to today’s preservation efforts in the National Register-listed Speedway Historic District.
In the early twentieth century, automotive entrepreneur Carl Fisher, with help from his friend and real estate developer Lemon “Lem” Trotter, selected what was then farmland five miles northwest of Indianapolis to build a proving ground for automakers, joining with partners James Allison, Arthur Newby, and Frank Wheeler to open the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1909. But Fisher’s pursuits didn’t stop there, envisioning Speedway as not only an industrial hub, but a well-appointed, self-contained “horseless city” where workers could walk between home, work, shops, and eateries. Trotter, Fisher, and Allison propelled this vision, purchasing and developing property through their jointly held Speedway Realty Company, ultimately leading to the incorporation of the Town of Speedway in 1926.
On Friday, July 17, we’ll kick off the tour in the heart of where Speedway’s history began with an evening reception at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. Attendees will get an after-hours look at the recently renovated landmark and explore the museum’s reimagined collections with an insider perspective from the museum’s Vice President of Curation and Education, Jason Vansickle.
On Saturday, July 18, the tour reconvenes on Speedway’s Main Street delving into the town’s fascinating automotive history through exclusive guided walking tours of the Speedway Historic District, followed by an expert-led talk over lunch with historian Barb Hellyer and Jason Vansickle highlighting little-known stories of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s infamous founders. Attendees will end the day with guided tours at the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust, Allison Branch, featuring the extensive collections of the Allison Engine Company including historic engines, design records, and more relating to a wide array of the company’s products.
Tickets cost $110/general public, $100/Indiana Landmarks members, $90/Indiana Automotive members and include Friday’s reception at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, lunch on Saturday, and all guided tours. Attendees will receive a detailed itinerary and check-in instructions prior to the event. Transportation between sites is on your own. Advance registration required.
Indiana Automotive, an affinity group of Indiana Landmarks, welcomes members interested in the state’s early auto visionaries and the preservation of the cars they made, their factories, showrooms, homes, and the landscaped parkways and roadside architecture birthed by the auto age. Not a member? Learn more about Indiana Automotive at indianalandmarks.org/about/indianaautomotive.

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