The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has a large role in American racing culture.  The speedway annually hosts the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, which is considered to be one of the three most significant motor sports events in the world. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Brickyard 400 is also held at the speedway.

On this day, August 19th, in 1909, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway held its first races.  The first races on the speedway were held over a three day period and 15,000 to 20,000 spectators attended.  The first day of races led to two land speed records being broken. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was the first race track to use the name, “speedway” and is the highest-capacity stadium facility in the world with seats for over 400,000.

As the years passed, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway became one of the prime locations for racing in the country and has helped to usher the growth of NASCAR and Indy Car racing to its current level of popularity.