Indy 500 Sellout Imminent, Local TV Blackout Lifted

The Indianapolis 500 is on the verge of a historic sellout, with just the second time in its history that grandstand tickets are selling out. According to Doug Boles, president of the NTT IndyCar Series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a sellout is "imminent" and he expects the remaining grandstand tickets to be sold by the end of the day.

The first and only other time this happened was in 2016 for the 100th running. Boles said, "The sheer size and scale of this crowd is going to be massive. The 109th Running will be a full-scale, nonstop spectacle that draws the eyes of the world to Speedway, Indiana."

The track will continue to sell general admission tickets until supplies run out. Tickets have been in high demand all spring, with less than 10,000 grandstand seats available at the end of April. The event's popularity has led to a local TV blackout being lifted for just the fourth time in 75 years.

A sellout means that the race will be shown live on TVs across central Indiana. The speedway implemented a local TV blackout in 1951 after two years of live broadcasts, believing the race would draw bigger crowds if people could not stay home and watch it. Officials promised to lift the local TV embargo if the race ever sold out – and both of those things happened in 2016. The blackout was lifted again in 2020 and last year following a four-hour rain delay.

The "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" is still nine days away, but plenty of fans will be at the track on Friday for "Fast Friday." In the final practice session before qualifications, cars will receive a turbocharger boost to reach the speeds they will run during qualifying on Saturday and Sunday. Practice is scheduled to run from noon to 6 p.m., with the qualification draw set for 6:15 p.m. in Pagoda Plaza.