Indy 500 champ Marcus Ericsson "blown away" by $60 million renovation of IMS museum

Former Indy 500 champion Marcus Ericsson has shared that he was 'blown away' after he visited the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum after its renovation in 2025. The IMS spent $60 million and 17 months in converting the historic museum into a state-of-the-art attraction.

Ericsson won his maiden Indy 500 back in 2022, beating out Arrow McLaren's Pato O'Ward after a close fight that went down to the last lap of the race. The Swedish driver then backed this up by finishing runner-up in the 2023 edition of the race, losing out by under a second to Josef Newgarden.

Ericsson, who now lives in Indianapolis, recently did an interview with the BBC, in which he ranked the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum as the best cultural attraction in the city. The Andretti driver said he was left awestruck after he visited the newly renovated museum in April.

"I recently went to the reopening of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, which they just put like, $60 million into updating to make it a state-of-the-art museum," said Ericsson.

"I was blown away when I went there. It's really helpful to understand 100 years of history and gives you an idea of how the Indy 500 became so big and popular," he added.

The museum is situated in the centre of the IMS racetrack, which in itself an iconic landmark and a tourist attraction. The museum houses the IMS Hall of Fame, along with several other exhibitions, which includes numerous Indy 500 winning cars, and vehicles from other forms of motorsport.

Ironically, Marcus Ericsson ranked the Gainbridge Fieldhouse as the best sporting venue in Indianapolis, over the IMS. The basketball stadium, which seats around 18,000 people, is the home of the NBA team, Indiana Pacers.

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Marcus Ericsson discusses challenges with getting new fans to follow IndyCar

Marcus Ericsson during the Indy 500 open testing in April, Indianapolis - Source: Getty

Marcus Ericsson has claimed that IndyCar faces a huge challenge in attracting new fans to the series, amid competition from NASCAR, F1 and other sports. The 43-year-old also admitted that the Indy 500 is the best way to get fans hooked to the American open-wheel series.

Speaking to CBS Sports, Ericsson shared his views on the the popularity of IndyCar and its standing among other forms of motor racing.

"I think we definitely have some work there. There's not only NASCAR and F1 as competition, but there's also all the other sports. To get the fans to tune into IndyCar, I think we definitely have a challenge there," Ericsson said.

"We have a strong base of followers that sort of follow our series, but it's about getting out to the new fans and getting new fans into the sport. And I think the 500 is the best showcase for that," he added.

Ericsson also added that he feels that IndyCar needs to get more people to understand that the series is more than just the Indy 500. The Swede also pointed out that the competition and the variety of tracks that they race at, should be used as factors to attract more audiences to it.