Indy 500 sellout will entertain 350,000 fans: ‘These are the good old days’

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It’s the first sellout since the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 in 2016. The local blackout was lifted that year.

In 2024, a heavy rainstorm delayed the start of the Indy 500 by four hours. The local TV blackout was lifted for that to accommodate the massive crowd in case they had to leave and miss the race because of the long delay.

“We are really excited to say that sometime between now and the next handful of hours, the Indianapolis 500 for the 109th running presented by Gainbridge will have a grandstand sellout,” Boles announced. “We are under four digits in terms of tickets remaining. We wanted to get this announcement out now. Those fans that are thinking about coming, they’ve got a few hours to get that done.

“I think before we get to the end of practice on Monday it will definitely be done. We wanted to make sure that we told folks that this will be an Indianapolis 500 sellout — which we’re excited about.”

Sunday is a huge sports day in Indianapolis with the largest single-day sporting event in the world in the Indianapolis 500, followed by the Indiana Pacers in Game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals in downtown Indianapolis at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

By lifting the television blackout, fans will not have to choose between the re-air of the Indy 500 or the Pacers game. For those fans that attended the Indy 500 in person, they have the opportunity to watch the FOX Sports telecast later Sunday night.

“The Pacers are playing in town that evening, but for a lot of our fans who are here for the race, their tradition when they get home is to go home and watch the Indianapolis 500,” Boles said. “I’m sure many are trying to figure out how to bounce between a Pacers game — which we hope is a win — and the Indianapolis 500 here locally.

“We’re really excited about that. It’s going to be a fun time over the course of the next few days.

“But for the first time since 2016, we have a grandstand sellout.”

By selling out all grandstand seats, fans can still attend with general admission tickets for the massive Indianapolis Motor Speedway infield.

“A lot of those folks that buy a GA ticket are folks that come to the Snake Pit. A lot of the younger generation buy their tickets here over the course of the next week, so we’ll continue to sell GA tickets,” Boles explained. “But we do anticipate very, very nearly 350,000 people here on race day.

“We will be the second-largest city in the state of Indiana inside the racetrack on May 25th. We are really excited about that.”

Boles indicated the majority of the tickets that remain are on the north end of the track between Turns 3 and 4.

“The pass for last year’s win at the Indianapolis 500 happened right in front of those seats, and there’s been a lot of activity,” Boles said. “You can think of the Emerson Fittipaldi-Al Unser, Jr. moment [in 1989] back there. That is one of the most exciting turns on the racetrack, and certainly a lot of folks who saw Pato O’Ward coming out of Turn 2 down the backstretch had no idea who the winner was going to be. And those folks in Turn 3 and the north chute knew who was going to win because they saw the pass right in front of them.”

There are also single tickets located throughout the massive grandstands.

In 2016, the Indianapolis 500 was a milestone moment celebrating the 100th running of the world’s biggest race. This year’s sellout is another indication that the Indy 500 is back to its Goliath status as one of the most incredible sporting events on the planet.

“It’s super exciting as a driver to perform on that stage and I’m super happy for Roger Penske,” said 2024 Indy 500 pole winner Scott McLaughlin told FOX Sports, referring to the owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Team Penske. “Every time you come back here, this place looks even better.

“That’s an awesome thing.”

Josef Newgarden is chasing history, as the Team Penske driver attempts to win the Indy 500 for the third year in a row — a feat that’s not yet been achieved.

“It’s an amazing, historical facility, an incredible event. Tere is nothing like it on the planet,” Newgarden said. “What I would call the resurgence of INDYCAR and the Indianapolis 500 has been a real joy to be in this generation.

“This is one of the best generations in INDYCAR history. It’s pretty impressive. I like the track INDYCAR is on at the moment. We’re really heading in the right direction.

“It’s hard to beat this event when you see it in person. We want everyone to feel the magic.”

Bruce Martin is a veteran motorsports writer and contributor to FOXSports.com. Follow him on X at @BruceMartin_500.

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