Big Things Happening at IMS Turn 2
"Ready to see history? Not since 1937 has the brick racing surface in Turn 2 seen the light of day. During a repave project this Fall, all that history came back to the surface. Tune in to see how the project began in Part 1 of this four-part series."
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is making massive track upgrades.
A recent inspection tour of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway prompted a plan to remove and recycle asphalt to expose bricks unseen since 1909. The team is addressing issues with bumps on the track, particularly at Turn 2, caused by bricks pushing up. They are milling the asphalt in 2-inch lifts to assess the surface and, if necessary, perform a full-depth patch.
The goal is to maintain a smooth, safe racing surface. The project is significant because it involves historical elements of the track.
IMS is milling out 18 feet of track from the driver’s left to the safer wall, removing about 100 feet of asphalt laid in 2004.
The video below shares the historical significance of the bricks, which haven’t been touched since 1909, and the plan to recycle the asphalt for other uses within the facility.
The goal is to understand why the bricks are causing bumps and to ensure a smooth, safe surface for future races.
After milling, the plan is to remove the challenged areas, fill them, and resurface the track.
TeamWWF’s Turn 2 Suite offers a unique opportunity to experience the world’s coolest race track and to touch and feel history, reflecting on the track’s historical significance and comparing the current work to the original construction by Carl Fisher and his team.
Catch the video below for Part 1 of the IMS four-part series.
WILBUR: I’m going to take a little inspection tour of the track. If you’d like to go around and see what it’s like, we’d be very happy to have you join me.
Here’s the number two turn. This is a very tickly spot, right here.
DOUG: Hey, race fans. Doug Boles here with you for another episode of Behind The Bricks, excited to have you for what is to be a four-episode series of Behind The Bricks. We’re here early in the morning, September, 5 am. We’re about to see history at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, literally, when we take out about 18 feet of the racetrack from the driver’s left all the way to the safer wall, and then about 100 feet long, we’re going to mill it over after we fill it back in. Why? Because we have some bricks that are talking to us at the surface — bricks that were put there in 1909, about this time. Can’t wait to see what’s going on here. It’s going to help us understand how to continue to maintain the racetrack. This asphalt hasn’t been touched really since 2004. We’ve known we’ve had some bumps over the last few years, but during the Brickyard this year, Kyle Larson and others noticed something else happening. More of these bricks are moving, so we’re going to get them out. We’re going to understand what’s going on underneath the racetrack, and you’re going to get to go along with us, and we’re going to see bricks that haven’t been touched since 1909.
We just learned that all of this asphalt is coming up. We’re going to recycle it. It’s going to be used around the facility for things like gravel roads and some of the other stuff, so this won’t get sent to the landfill. We’ll actually get to use it. So this asphalt that’s been here, you may be driving over it when you’re running across some of our roads in our camping lots and parking lots. I’m here with Jason Penix. Jason manages all of the activity here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway of anything that’s on track. He was the first, really, to say, “Hey, some of the drivers think that bump is getting worse at turn two,” so we’re getting the milling process going here. So what’s the plan here? Are we going straight down, or are we taking our time?
JASON: No, we’re going to go in two inch lifts, right? We’re going to go down two inches. We’re going to mill. We’re going to see what the surface is doing at that point. If everything looks okay, we’ll keep going another two inches and so on, until we get down to that really special brick layer in the track.
DOUG: And then the purpose really is to understand why these bricks are manifesting themselves in those bumps that we’re beginning to see and feel on the racetrack?
JASON: Yeah, we had done some core drilling on the track last week and found that some of the bricks are really starting to push up and creating this really nasty line of bumps that go up to the exit of turn two. So we think that as we mill this down every two inches, we’ll start to see evidence that that is, in fact, what’s happening with the brick underneath.
DOUG: And then ultimately, after the milling gets done, the plan is to take out those areas that are challenged recently, fill them in and then resurface?
JASON: Yeah, we’ll do what they call a full depth patch. So if we find that’s what’s happening, we’ll take that brick out. We’ll patch all the way down so that we can ensure a smooth, safe surface here.
DOUG: So 116 years ago, Carl Fisher and his guys would stand out here, crush limestone and tar, decided to put some bricks down. 116 years later, you, your team, Tyrone Garrison, the milestone team doing just the sort of the same thing.
JASON: Yeah, it’s a super special day. You and I chatted earlier, right? I’ve been around for 20 years in this sport. This is the coolest day I’ve ever had.
DOUG: Well, we get to work at the coolest race track in the world with lots of history, and today, we’re literally getting to touch and feel history. Pretty soon, we may be standing on those bricks that were last driven on in 1937.
Oh my gosh. Look at that. Is that the brick right there? Yeah, yeah, there it is. That’s pretty cool. There you go. Look at that! Cool. Ha ha, that’s cool.
Gosh, that’s just amazing.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Video copyright © 2025 Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Shared for editorial.
Hero image screenshot © IMS 2025
Video transcribed by A.D. Cook
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