What will be on Roger Penske's top 10 list for IMS, 2020 Indy 500?: 'When Penske Corp. does something, they do it right'

INDIANAPOLIS – It's unofficially called Project 104. It's a play on Project 100, a three-year, $92 million renovation of Indianapolis Motor Speedway in preparation for the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 in 2016.

With just more than three months to complete, Project 104 might not be as flashy, expansive or expensive but when you consider the person calling the shots, it may be nearly as highly anticipated.

On Friday, new IMS and IndyCar owner and steward Roger Penske will announce Penske Entertainment Corp.’s plan for transforming IMS and the month of May for the 104th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. The announcement will come less than six weeks after Penske officially took ownership.

Days after the purchase plans were announced in November, Penske Entertainment Corp. CEO Mark Miles and Penske Corp. president Bud Denker recounted how some of Penske's first reactions while walking the grounds were visions of change down to the smallest details: repaving and re-striping parking lots, fresh coats of paint, opinions on the use of green space.

“Roger is absolutely a perfectionist, and his attention to detail goes from beginning to end, top to bottom,” said Harding Racing president Brian Barnhart, who for years served as IndyCar’s race director. “He understands the need to strengthen and improve the infrastructure at any facility he’s in charge of, and they’ve always been focused on growth.”

At the initial news conference, Penske hinted at his desire to survey as many folks as possible to get their Top 10 things they'd want to see changed, updated or transformed in the series and its crown jewel track. In recent months, we’ve seen the initial makings of Penske in-action, turning the NASCAR Xfinity race over the July 4 weekend into a road course event while bringing camping inside the track for the first time.

“Look, we’ve got to break some glass on some of these things,” he said in November. “We’ve got to try some of this. I’m prepared to take a risk. No risk, no reward in many cases.”

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So what do those who know Penske best expect to learn from Friday’s announcement? And what is on their wish lists? Folks around the paddock, from fans to drivers, team owners, directors and racing legends shared their thoughts with IndyStar.

Goodbye urinal troughs?

If you’ve never been to the 500, it’s hard to fully grasp the devotion that fans who have been attending for decades have for every inch of the expansive grounds. And apart from their seats and the track itself, there may not be a place with more eyeballs on it than one of the 160-plus restrooms across IMS’s hundreds of acres. So it’s a wonder most of them have maintained the same rustic look of the early days of Mario Andretti and A.J. Foyt.

The old-timey character of the concrete floors, cinderblock walls, paper towel dispensers and urinal troughs for men have stood the test of time, even while $92 million was spent across the facility for Project 100. To some devoted fans, they’re a connection to the past. But they look out of place compared to other facilities across the country that also hold large and important sporting events. It gets no bigger for a one-day event than the 500, and some believe every inch of the facility should reflect that – history be damned.

“You go to any new football stadium or baseball park, and it’s pretty plush – even the bathrooms are nice, and there’s a lot more people going to the 500,” said Rahal Letterman Lanigan team co-owner Bobby Rahal. “You have to think about the people that are going to the race, spending a lot of money, and you really have to make it a pleasurable experience.

“I was on the board at Elkhart Lake, and the bathrooms were horrible – especially the women’s. But they talked to Kohler (who was the race sponsor from 2016-18) and now they’ve got some of the nicest permanent bathrooms of any circuit. It’s the 21st century, and you’ve got to accept that and do what you need to do in order to make sure fans come back year-after-year.”

Miles hinted as much back in January, in describing Penske’s energetic start at his overhaul.

“I know Roger’s been in every restroom – I think there’s 164 or 166 – and been in some several times,” Miles said. “He’s already saying ‘Let’s paint this dark color on the bottom (of the walls), and this one three rows up, and then white above. … He has ideas on where to put the hand dryers instead of paper towels.”

When pushed on the specifics of the troughs’ future, Miles steered clear, but he was willing to reveal this nugget: “It’ll be a whole lot better, whatever it is, that gets done, and it’ll serve the public a whole lot better.”

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That may be where Penske breaks the most glass in the short-term, from a fan-reaction standpoint. Among the 300,000 fans who attend the race, a large chunk are diehards who have passed tickets down for generations.

David Palmer, a 79-year-old Georgia resident who has attended each race since 1969 falls right into that category, and he agrees with the sentiment.

“I’m a traditionalist, my friend,” he said. “None of it bothers me a bit, I’ll take (the troughs), no problem.

“The older I get, I just continue to want to come to the race more, but I don’t mind the facilities the way they are right now. Just in my mind, that’s the way they should be, but I know it’ll be the older people that think that way.”

‘…start your engines’

When you speak of pageantry around IMS, nothing tears at the heartstrings of race-goers quite like the hour-long lead-up to the green flag. The sequence of ‘God Bless the USA’, ‘America the Beautiful’, the invocation, ‘God Bless America’ and more create the emotional build that climaxes with the most famous words in racing: “Drivers, start your engines!”

A member of the Hulman-George family, which owned the Speedway from 1945 until this past month, had always given the command since the tradition began. Most recently, the words have come from Tony George, grandson of the late Tony Hulman and son of Mary Hulman-George.

So with the keys to the track in Penske’s hands, where does that tradition go next? Opinions range widely.

Some, like Arrow McLaren SP co-owner Sam Schmidt, think the historic passing-of-the-torch between the two family businesses should culminate with a special two-person announcement shared by George and Penske to commemorate this year’s race.

But racing legend Mario Andretti believes that with it being Penske’s first race in his new role, it would only be fitting to see him cap the festivities with a spark of newness.

“He’s the steward of the race now,” he said. “I can’t see anyone better to do it than him. I believe now the baton has truly passed, and it’s Roger’s turn.”

Rahal, instead sees an opportunity for Penske’s innovative genes to work in a whole new way, something that would add interest, intrigue and a fresh touch every year.

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“I think you could have presidents, generals, stars of the screen or music,” he said. “Rather than a small family business that had Tony and Mary do it, you’ve got this large company. I think I’d want to really highlight and focus on someone very special to say those words.

“Maybe it’s a previous 500 winner?”

A watch party at Riley

Each year, IndyCar veteran Charlie Kimball is reminded of a passion project of his, just days before the race, and every year, he assumes it’s too late for change.

But with Penske’s purchase and the racing mogul’s willingness for experimentation, the timing may finally be just right. We’ll let him set the scene:

“Every year, most drivers go to the driver party at Riley Children’s Hospital, and we go in firesuits, and (the kids) recognize us as drivers, and we build wagons and shoot hoops. It’s a great way to not only promote the race, but bring it into an environment that is really challenging.

“A couple years ago, I saw a couple and asked them ‘You ever make it out to the race?’ and the dad said ‘Oh, we’ve gone every year, but I’m not sure we’re going to be able to go this year because we have to be here.’ "

And that means not watching the race live at all. The blackout of the race for local broadcast affiliates has lived for decades, believed by race officials to be an instrumental way to keep fans flooding through the gates. In 2016, for the 100th running, the grandstands were sold out, which prompted IMS officials to lift the broadcast ban. It hasn't been lifted again.

Kimball wants to see that change for a segment of folks whose life circumstances keep them in Indianapolis and also unable to buy a ticket.

“I understand the business perspective around the blackout, and I’m not sure that’s a conversation to have, but the conversation with this isn’t about fans that don’t want to come out to the race and sit and watch. These people would buy tickets if they were able, but because they’re stuck at the hospital and don’t want to leave their kids’ side, they can’t. And that seems absurd.”

The track and the Riley Children’s Hospital Foundation already have a partnership in the form of specially-branded suites in Turn 2, and Kimball sees that as a perfect opportunity for both sides to further embrace.

Though professing not to understand the technical hurdles, Kimball envisions TV cameras during the race that could move from shots in the suites to shots of kids and their families watching a feed of the race at the hospital. But it speaks to his faith in Penske and those around him to think something like this could be more than a dream.

“He’s got enough smart people in enough positions that if they wanted to make it happen – IndyCar, IMS, NBC – I think they could figure out the logistics,” he said.

Qualifications: ‘I like the formula’

In the years leading up to Penske’s takeover, nothing has changed more around the track year-after-year than the 500’s qualification procedures — which gives the track’s new owner a chance to set a precedence for years to come without having to shake up years-long traditions.

But after several years of upheaval, some folks around the paddock are happy with the format race officials settled on in 2019.

While choosing to preserve Bump Day after its 2018 return, 2019 saw a flip-flop in the pivotal events that took place both days. Spots 10-30 were locked up Saturday, with by the two most high-energy portions held Sunday: the Fast Nine Shootout to decide the pole and the Last Row Shootout that, in essence is the most exciting part of Bump Day.

And after years of modifications big and small, those who spoke with IndyStar unanimously agreed they wished to keep it as-is.

“It creates a lot of excitement and drama for the fans, and right now, that’s the most important thing he has to focus on,” Barnhart said. “You’ve got to make an exciting product for the fans, because they matter the most.”

And last year’s qualifying was riveting. Fans watched two-time Formula One champ Fernando Alonso miss out on his well-hyped return to IMS with McLaren, upset by the much-smaller Juncos and driver Kyle Kaiser.

Penske has since promised that automatic qualifiers will not exist under his tenure in control, meaning teams with the largest and smallest budgets will have the same shot. Dennis Reinbold, team owner of the partial-season team Dreyer and Reinbold Racing, believes this is where Penske’s business acumen will recognize no need to make major change for change’s sake.

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“As a guy who had to run, like, six times to make it in, it wasn’t fun, but it was something I think that was enjoyable to watch for fans,” Reinbold said. “For us, you’ve got to keep yourself out of that situation, but I thought things ran really well last year. I liked the formula.”

Infrastructure: 'They do it right'

Undoubtedly, changes won’t stop there. Even with his small window, Penske has preached his goal of turning IMS into a premier entertainment capital, and for that, larger changes will be necessary – on and off the track.

Four-time 500 winner Rick Mears hypothesized that Penske, the owner of his former team, could choose to add back the apron that used to run on the inside of the track to give cars additional space to pass. It was iconic during what many consider the heyday of American open-wheel racing. Mears, though, was never a fan of using the space himself and viewed it as a crutch.

And he said he’d be worried, after nearly 30 years running without it, how the present-day’s cars would run with the drastically changed aerodynamics.

“You never know if it’ll be better or not until you try it, but then again, nothing is ever exactly the same the next time you do it,” he said. “It would be a big gamble, and I think ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ Roger, he’s not going to come in guns blazing and try to turn things upside down just for the sake of it.”

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To better equip teams off the track, Rahal would love to see additional suites around the track. He said his team has continued to see an influx of eager sponsors to help propel the team toward its ultimate goal of running three cars full-time. But those traditionally come with a caveat – they want a chance to see and enjoy up-close their investment in action.

“I know for us, there aren’t enough suites available for all our sponsors,” he said. “We want to do bigger things around the 500, and that would make a considerable difference.”

Changes could also come at the simplest level, too. Andretti said last month he’d already heard Penske speak about paving parking lots such as the one in front of the media center that is still gravel – something that didn’t quiet jibe with Penske Corp.’s starched white shirts and suits.

Could other parking lots see paving too?

Kimball recalls a race weekend a couple of years ago at Belle Isle, when the weather was particularly terrible. As he was pulling out of the track, driving through a muddy field toward the road, there he spotted Denker, Penske’s No. 2, directing traffic through the sloppy mess while still wearing his white button-down.

Race attendees know full well the mess a wet race weekend can cause with parking and camping. A large-scale paving project, though ambitious, would seem to fall in-line with the prim and proper owner who wants no inconvenience for his customers.

“One thing I do know: that memory of Bud showed Penske folks are willing to do whatever it takes to do the job right,” Kimball said. “When Penske Corp. does something, they do it right.”

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Email IndyStar motor sports reporter Nathan Brown at nlbrown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @By_NathanBrown.