City: Indianapolis, IN

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (317) 241-2566

Description: Officially incorporated in 1926, Speedway chose to keep its individuality when Unigov came into existence. A separate government unit within Indianapolis, Speedway has its own town council, police department, fire department, street department, parks and recreation department, water and wastewater utilities, school system, and public library. Covering 4.8 square miles, Speedway has a population of about 13,000. Located about 6 miles from downtown Indianapolis, Speedway is bounded by 10th and 30th Streets and by I-465 and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The town gets its name from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which is located entirely within the town limits. Hundreds of thousands of people converge on Speedway in May for the Indy 500 and later for the Brickyard 400—two of the largest single-day sporting events in the United States. Developed as a city of the future, Speedway was meant to be a testing ground much like its famed namesake. Speedway was designed to be car friendly. Unlike many other Indianapolis streets that were often narrow brick, Speedway streets were paved and graced with homes featuring garages for cars. Mostly a quiet place—except for the big races, of course—Speedway has well-maintained homes, plus numerous parks and golf courses, including the popular Brickyard Crossing championship golf course, located inside the speedway.