Note: The Penske Entertainment editorial staff is looking back at the 10 biggest moments of 2024 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in this year-end series, with one installment appearing on the site per day in countdown fashion from Dec. 22-31.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway leaned into several iconic events that came to downtown Indianapolis in 2024. The activation began in February for the 73rd NBA All-Star Game.
NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers participated in multiple events throughout the week and weekend. Conor Daly played in the Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game on Friday, Feb. 16 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Other drivers joined the fun, including Pietro Fittipaldi as a special guest at the Panini Rising Stars Game Feb. 16 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and Marcus Ericsson of Andretti Global attending the State Farm All-Star Saturday Night at Lucas Oil Stadium. Fittipaldi also took NBA Brasil on a tour of IMS, sharing the rich history of the facility and the Indianapolis 500.
Social media influencer Tristan Jass visited IMS on Feb. 12 and created content for his Instagram account and YouTube channel, both of which have more than 5 million followers each. Arrow McLaren driver Alexander Rossi greeted Jass at the track and gave him a tour.
IMS also created a “Love Letter to Basketball” video, featuring narration from 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan and showing the interwoven Hoosier passions of motorsports and basketball.
Rapper and singer-songwriter Jelly Roll wore a custom “Start Your Engines” jacket Saturday night, Feb. 17 during his performance at NBA Crossover, an interactive fan event celebrating basketball culture at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis.
The INDYCAR and IMS community also participated in the Million Meal Movement charitable initiative Friday, Feb. 16.
The biggest activation came in November for the three-day Taylor Swift Eras Tour shows Nov 1-3 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
IMS created a program that included a Taylor Swift-inspired race car that was housed in the Convention Center, where an estimated 200,000 visitors walked. Also, Bell Helmets partnered with IMS to customize 11 helmets to represent each of Swift’s eras that were showcased at hotels around the city.
Multiple national outlets covered IMS’ efforts, which led to massive social numbers. IMS social accounts had nearly 2-million impressions of the Swift-themed promotions, nearly 200,000 engagements and thousands of new followers. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES saw a bump in traffic on its social channels, too.
Between both events and supporting the United States Olympic Swimming Trials that took place in June at Lucas Oil Stadium, 2024 was a massive year of growth and forward thinking by IMS to gain new fans.
