INDIANAPOLIS — More than 150,000 tickets for Race Day, concerts, and parking were mailed out to 35 countries and all 50 U.S. states Wednesday from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Ticket Office for the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500, according to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The ticket mailing process received some help from professional racers and Arrow Mclaren teammates Pato O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist, to handle the more than 25,000 blue envelopes being sent. Both drivers signed, sealed and sent a couple of envelopes to fans that will set out for their homelands of Mexico and Sweden, respectively.
“I had no idea the process that it was for the physical tickets to get mailed,” said O’Ward. “So, for me, it just screams and yells tradition, and the Indy 500 is all about tradition. I’m really happy that I got to do this, and I got see what it’s all about, said It’s not just a simple e-mail. There’s a lot of meaning to that ticket. People collect them. People have them at home. they keep them at home, and I think that’ very special.”
The process of packaging tickets takes nine weeks, with the weight of all ticket envelopes measuring approximately 5,000 pounds.
“Oh, it’s the most physical labor I’ve done in a while,” said Rosenqvist. “It’s pretty awesome. It’s alot of tickets. When you go into that room, you’re like, ‘Wow.’ It gives you perspective on what a big event the Indy 500 is.”
The tickets are blue because the Indianapolis Motor Speedway ticket office needed a way to distinguish between the envelopes for different events. Indianapolis 500 envelopes are blue, Brickyard Weekend envelopes are purple, GMR Grand Prix envelopes are green, and ticket envelopes for other events use several colors, including red, cream, gray, and yellow.
Tickets for the Indy 500, the GMR Grand Prix, and all other events are available at IMS.com/Tickets or by calling the ticket office at 317-492-6700.
