The Indianapolis 500 has been known for decades as “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” The home of the 500, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, is among the most iconic racing facilities in the world.
Although the IMS museum was created in 1956 to celebrate and preserve the history of the race and the speedway, it was no longer living up to that high octane reputation.
“We were not very technologically advanced. We didn’t have a whole lot of interactive elements,” said Mandy Bender, Vice President of Operations for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. “It really was just a place to come and view and look at cars.”
In 2023, the museum started an 18-month renovation project to completely change that image and turbocharge the visitor experience.
“We really wanted to provide guests the experience of what it’s like to be on the grid on race morning,” said Bender. “We really wanted to give that immersive experience of what that feels like from 6 AM when the cannons go off all the way up to the green flag.”
The museum got the green flag to reopen in 2025, with the main jewel in the crown of the racing experience being a massive, curved LED videowall that is 80 feet long and 20 feet wide.
“We needed an immersive starting line look, bright, seamless pictures that feel life-size from just a few feet away,” said James Liu, President of Absen North America. “The museum wanted a sharp image, high brightness, and reliable 24-7 operation. Our NX 1.8mm panels deliver that quality and fit the custom space.”
Just as important to the success of the project was the custom support structure bringing the video wall together seamlessly behind the scenes.
“If it’s not consistent, you will see cloudy, different whites, different colors,” said Liu. “The Draper frame lets us lock the panels quickly and seamlessly and precisely. This saves install time, keeps the seams tight, and gives the ceiling a clean and straight line.”
When designing an overhead display structure, the first consideration is safety. Everything must be secure because thousands of people will be walking through and under the exhibit. The next thing, as Liu pointed out above, is making sure that the finish is there for the customers.
“Just like these fantastic racing cars in here, everything relies on the chassis holding everything together,” said Joe Burke, AV Consultant Relations and AVMS Projects Draper. “So when we design the mount, we make sure that we can design it for both safety and accuracy, to make sure everything aligns the way that it’s supposed to.”
The IMS Museum display structure design was also challenging because of the straight-curved-straight layout of the LEDs. At the beginning of the display are larger panels, but at the curve section much thinner 240 mm wide panels are used for a cleaner look. Then there is a transition back to the large panels along the rest of the overhead display.
Draper designers also had to take a multi-pronged approach to cope with the different size Absen panels.
“We started with our standard, flat Foundation mount, which is a fantastic product that we’ve used a lot over the years,” said Burke. “But when we got to that curved section, we had to go into the world of fully customized, unique design. Then, of course, when we transition to overhead, we needed fine adjustment to bring this all together so that we have a complete seamless finish.”
That seamless finish is crucial for the exhibit because one visible seam or a single panel out of place destroys the immersive race day illusion experienced by visitors. That experience is made possible by ultra-fine threaded adjustment in all four corners of every single Absen panel on the 1600-square-foot immersive display.
“It is really like standing on the track on race morning,” said Bender. “We’ve seen everything from just mouths agape to people actually tearing up and crying. We’ve had drivers come in here and when they see this presentation, they say they’ve gotten chills and goosebumps and hair standing up on their arms.”
When people think of Indiana, the Indy 500 is one of the things that is always at the top of the list. And being able to bring a world-class experience to the museum, which is only an hour away from the Draper corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility, was a true privilege for the Draper team.
“For Draper, a company that’s been around since 1902, longer than the Indy 500 has been going, and being a family-run business, it was a huge opportunity for us,” said Burke. “We employ over 750 people. For a lot of them who grew up watching and being a part of this, it was such an amazing opportunity. And it was such a sense of pride to have something so close to home that they could bring their families and show them the type of work that we do.”
To learn more about the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, including how to experience this magnificent display, visit https://imsmuseum.org.
To find out how Draper can help you achieve your own flawless immersive LED experience, visit https://www.draperinc.com/mountsstructures/ and contact your Draper representative today!
Manufacturing Partner: Absen (NX Series LED cabinets) (https://www.usabsen.com/)
Integration/Installation Partner: Clair Global (https://www.clairglobal.com/)
