As the countdown to the 108th running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” enters its final weeks, one museum is boosting its collection just in time.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) Museum announced its largest vehicle acquisition in over a decade on April 25, securing 14 cars from Chip Ganassi Racing, including five Indianapolis 500-winning machines.
The historic addition, which also features modern-era Indy cars joining the museum’s collection for the first time, underscores the museum’s mission to preserve the legacy of the iconic 500.
The five Indianapolis 500 champions acquired span more than two decades of racing history.
Juan Pablo Montoya’s 2000 victory in the Target G-Force GF05, Scott Dixon’s 2008 triumph in the Target Dallara IR6, Dario Franchitti’s back-to-back wins in 2010 and 2012 with the Target Dallara IR6 and IR12 and Marcus Ericsson’s 2022 victory in the Huski Chocolate Honda Dallara IR18 are noteworthy inclusions.
“When we decided to deaccession and sell 11 vehicles from our collection this year, we did so to create a robust fund that could be used to care for our collection and also for acquisitions that fall within the mission of our museum,” said Joe Hale, president of the IMS Museum. “While we certainly hoped to add items that would fill voids in our collection, what we couldn’t have predicted was to have the opportunity to make additions so quickly.”
The remaining vehicles broaden the museum’s narrative of American motorsports.
Also included are Tomas Scheckter’s 2003 Indianapolis 500 fourth-place G-Force GF09, Dixon’s 2015 IndyCar championship Dallara DW12 and the experimental Delta Wing prototype, a contender for IndyCar’s 2012 chassis design unveiled at the 2010 Chicago Auto Show.
Chip Ganassi, whose team has amassed 15 Indianapolis 500 poles and six victories since 1982, called the museum’s acquisition a “true honor.”
“Having my cars on display at the IMS Museum is where they belong — at the heart of racing history, surrounded by the legends and moments that define the Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” Ganassi said.
The museum, which opened in 1956 with only 12 cars, now houses more than 150 vehicles and 55,000 artifacts.
The acquisition’s timing aligns with heightened anticipation for this year’s race, set for May 30.
“This is more than a display of machinery,” said Jason Vansickle, vice president of curation and education at IMS. “These cars are storytellers. They carry the sweat, strategy and speed that have shaped this race.”
Contact Multi-Media & Senior Sports Reporter Noral Parham at 317-762-7846 or via email at noralp@indyrecorder.com. Follow him on X @3Noral. For more Indianapolis 500 news, click here.
Noral Parham is the multi-media & senior sports reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder, one of the oldest Black publications in the country. Parham has worked with various leagues to provide a diverse perspective in sports, including the Big Ten, Big East, IHSAA, IndyCar, MLB, NHRA, NFL, NBA, WNBA, WWE and the Olympics. Prior to joining the Recorder, Parham served as the community advocate of the MLK Center in Indianapolis and senior copywriter for an e-commerce and marketing firm in Denver.
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