Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar Series owner Roger Penske wants the 2020 Indianapolis 500 to happen, but only if fans are able to attend. The 104th Indy 500 is currently scheduled for August 23, but he is prepared to move it back to October if fans aren't permitted in the door this summer due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"Trust me, we are going to run it [Indianapolis 500] with fans," he said. "We're on for fans in August and planning on it and we feel good. It's still almost three months from now and I think we'll be OK. But we will run it only with fans."
The race typically brings around 275,000 fans to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), making it one of the biggest sporting events of the year. Penske has been overseeing upgrades and changes to the speedway and is confident that people will notice the changes.
"We're doing everything we can and I hope everyone realizes how far we've come. We've got 'til the end of August and that's plenty of time. I think our fans are going to like what they see," he said.
Last week it was announced that fans would not be permitted at the first IndyCar and NASCAR doubleheader on July 4 weekend. That left many worried that the Indy 500 would come with similar restrictions.
Penske noted that the decision to close doors for the July 4 weekend event was made with the Indy 500 in mind.
"If we had fans and had any problems, that would absolutely close the door for us on Indianapolis," Penske said.
Racing was one of the first sports to come back in the United States since the pandemic hit, and is shaping up to be one of the first to allow fans into events.
