Bought Indy 500 tickets? Watch the mailbox for a special blue envelope from IMS
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indianapolis 500 fans around the world will be racing to their mailboxes all week long in anticipation of an iconic blue envelope from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Ticket Office.
The envelopes containing race day tickets to the 2024 Indy 500 were mailed out Tuesday with help from A.J. Foyt Racing’s Sting Ray Robb, Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist, and IMS President Doug Boles.
The initial mailing included shipments to all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and 36 countries, according to IMS.
“It’s really cool to see physical tickets still going out to the fans because you see people who have been coming to the track for 50, 60, 70 years for the ‘500,’ and they probably still have some of those tickets laying around. We’re continuing that history here today,” Robb said in a release.
Rosenqvist and Robb took time to sign their names and write little notes on some of the envelopes, with Rosenqvist’s special messages going to ticket buyers in his home country of Sweden.
“It’s cool to give a little message to some select fans back home,” Rosenqvist said. ” I actually live here in Indy now, and the Indy 500 is both the greatest race in the world and my home race, but the fact that people are coming from my home country to watch, it gives you an idea how big it is.”
It takes the IMS ticket office nine weeks to prepare all pre-ordered tickets for mailing, from orders the day after the previous year’s race up to current orders.
A few facts and figures about this year’s initial ticket mailing:
- Number of tickets sent: More than 190,000 items (includes 160,000 Indy 500 tickets, parking, qualification and practice tickets, concert tickets, etc.)
- Number of blue envelopes sent: Over 26,000
- Number of U.S. Postal Service trays to hold envelopes: More than 580
- Weight of all ticket envelopes and trays in first mailing: More than 5,300 pounds
- Hours needed to fill envelopes by hand: More than 800 person-hours
- Number of working days to package envelopes: 48
- Number of Penske Entertainment employees who fill envelopes: 48
- Number of states distributed: 50
- Number of countries distributed (including US): 36
Federal postal carriers came to IMS with a large truck to haul the first mailing. Robb and Rosenqvist joined IMS employees in helping to load the trucks.
Why are the envelopes blue?
In the 1970s, Indy 500 tickets were sent out in brown envelopes with the IMS return address in the upper left corner. In the ’80s, a gray-colored envelope was used to mail the tickets, with the IMS Post Office box number in the upper left corner. A computerized printer was also used for the first time to print ticketholders’ name and address on each envelope.
When the NASCAR Cup Series was added to the schedule in 1994, the ticket office needed a way to distinguish between Brickyard 400 tickets and Indianapolis 500 tickets.
So, the IMS ticket office decide to color-code the tickets for each race. Indy 500 tickets were given blue envelopes, Brickyard events became purple, and GMR Grand Prix events became green. Envelopes for other IMS events use a variety of colors, including cream, gray, red and yellow.
Don’t miss the Month of May
Tickets for the for the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 26, and all other Month of May events are on sale now at IMS.com/Tickets.
Indy 500 fans can also buy tickets from the IMS Ticket Office in-person or by phone at 317-492-6700.