A new partnership between the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Google will allow fans from around the world to take an exciting lap around the famous oval where the world's largest single-day spectator sporting event is held every year: the Indy 500.
The detailed imagery was captured by a Google Maps Street View 360-degree camera that lapped the 2.5-mile oval moments before the 2018 Indy 500 got underway. As a result, fans who can't physically make it out to the Speedway are now able to visit the famous venue and get a feel for what the atmosphere is like right before the green flag drops.
With single-day attendance figures easily surpassing 300,000 bodies, there quite literally isn't anything else in the sporting events realm that comes close to the 500-mile race. And unlike other events of its kind, the Indy 500 is feverishly celebrated throughout the entire city of Indianapolis and the state of Indiana.
“Indy 500 Race Day is the definition of pure spectacle and pageantry,” Indianapolis Motor Speedway President J. Douglas Boles said. “There’s nothing quite like it, and this special project makes Race Day accessible to people around the globe 365 days a year. Longtime attendees will enjoy reliving their Indy 500 experience, and those who one day hope to step foot in the most hallowed ground in motorsports will enjoy exploring the unique beauty and unmatched enormity of our facility and crowd.”
Fans can enjoy the virtual experience one of two ways: by visiting a dedicated IMS Race View website that includes the virtual lap and additional videos and exclusive content, or by simply opening the Google Maps application and looking up the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“At Google, it’s always been our goal to help people go where they’ve never gone before, so we sent a Street View Camera around the track just moments before the Green Flag was waved and the racers put the pedal to the metal," Google Senior Account Executive Mike Abrams said. “Now, everyone can get a bit closer to the action.”
Unfortunately, we couldn't catch a glimpse of Ross-E, the hip security robot named after IndyCar's Alexander Rossi that roams the ground at IMS. Maybe you'll have better luck.
