The Penske Corporation has completed its purchase of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar and IMS Productions.
It was revealed last November that Penske – which competes in IndyCar and at the Indianapolis 500 with its own team – had agreed to buy the three businesses, and the deal has now been completed.
Penske Corporation becomes just the fourth owner in IMS history, after Carl Fisher, who built the track in 1909, Eddie Rickenbacker, who purchased IMS in 1927, and Tony Hulman and Hulman & Company, which had owned and managed the Speedway from 1945 until now.
IndyCar believes that Penske’s investment will encourage new investor interest in the series and IMS, while plans are already afoot for different events to take place at the circuit and the possibility of Formula 1 returning has not been ruled out.
Following the announcement that the purchase was complete, Roger Penske – who has already played down accusations of a conflict of interest regarding his team competing in IndyCar while his company also owned it – said: “We are looking forward to carrying on the tradition of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar racing.
“We have been diligently working with the teams at IMS, IndyCar and IMS Productions over the last two months to ensure a smooth and productive transition and we are ready to hit the ground running.
“Now, it is time to get to work as we continue the growth of the Speedway and we build on the momentum of the IndyCar series.”