Indianapolis, IN — The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum announced last week that it made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s Indianapolis Historic Racing Exhibition, usually held in conjunction with the traditional Indy 500 festivities.

Photo: Scott Paceley

Due to the significant amount of activities that needed to be rescheduled around the new race date of Aug. 23, IMS officials were prepared to be as flexible as possible with the track schedule, but the best scenario offered for the Historic Racing Exhibition was a static event.

“Many [Exhibition] participants spend significant sums to bring their cars and crew to support our event, with the primary intention of taking their vintage Indy car around the oval,” said Jason Vansickle, Curator of Vehicles for the IMS Museum. “We believe that without the track laps, we cannot provide the event experience that our participants have come to expect.”

In addition to offering the opportunity for these track laps, the Exhibition provided funding for the IMS Museum, and museum staff are actively seeking new funding sources to offset the shutdown of IMS track tours and exhibits.

Vansickle and event organizers are looking forward to a renewed Indianapolis Historic Racing Exhibition in 2021 with plans to again host it in association with the 2021 Indianapolis 500.

The IMS Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony presented by Firestone, honoring 2020 inductees Janet Guthrie and Dale Earnhardt, is rescheduled for Aug. 21 at the J.W. Marriott in downtown Indianapolis.

Vintage Motorsport will continue to share news of the IMS Museum’s Indy 500-related events and exhibits in the coming weeks as details are finalized.