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Roger Penske Outlines Upgrades To IMS, Increases Purse For Indy 500

Penske is targeting the public restrooms for this year's update, which will include new sinks and LED lightingIMS

Roger Penske announced a "wide-ranging plan already underway" at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to "drastically overhaul the customer experience for the more than 300,000 racing fans who will interact with the Speedway" May 8-24 around the Indy 500, according to Nathan Brown of the INDIANAPOLIS STAR. Penske on Friday said that he "doesn't see a cap on what he'll invest if he believes it's a sensible improvement to the long hours that the most passionate fans spend inside the track's gates each May." Brown noted the investments will "undoubtedly pay off over time in the track's ability to truly transform into Penske's vision as the 'entertainment capital.'" A sizable chunk of Penske's investment will be "felt by the race teams and drivers themselves" in the Indianapolis 500. The $2M bump in the total purse pushes it to $15M, the "largest in race history." Meanwhile, Penske is "targeting 125 of the 160 public restrooms for this year's update, which will include new sinks, LED lighting, a new three-color paint scheme and improved demarcation on the outside to delineate the men's and women's facilities." In addition, the front stretch will see a "massive increase in video board visibility that will make available race replays and pre-race festivities to fans who previously have never had a way to watch them." Twenty-four video boards will "sit underneath the paddock penthouse and above the paddock itself" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 2/15).

DRIVERS WEIGH IN: IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe said of Penske's plan, "It just highlights that the right decision was made on who to have take over, and it's awesome to see the involvement he's having this early." The INDIANAPOLIS STAR's Brown noted what the $15M purse can do is "help budding teams that the series needs to lift up in order to grow." IndyCar driver Jack Harvey said, "It'll allow some smaller teams to reap the reward of what could be a great result here" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 2/15).

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