When the Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced that it was shutting down the “Brickyard Crossing” motel last week, it drew little attention, lost in the shuffle of other motorsports layoffs, race cancellations and drug testing announcements.
But to those who understand the history of the world’s most famous Speedway, it’s the end of a sometimes colorful era.
Opened in 1963 just off the second turn of the massive 2-1/2-mile oval, it was known as the “Indianapolis Motor Speedway Motel” for most of its existence. At the time of the Speedway’s opening, no other racing facility had its own motel located on the property so that only the elite of racing stayed in the convenient confines.Some of the greatest names in auto racing history stayed at the motel.
The motel was featured prominently in the 1969 motion picture Winning starring the late Paul Newman and Robert Wagner. The two were rival race drivers on the same team in the Indianapolis 500 when Wagner, in the role of Luther Erding, decided to make love with Newman’s wife, played by his real-life wife Joanne Woodward.
Years later when Newman would give his guests tours of the Speedway, he would always point out the room in the film where the scene took place.
It was just one of the many experiences that made this lodge so unique, so charming in a dank and dirty kind of way. But as the years passed, it became more obvious that IMS officials had to come to a decision. The motel had to be renovated or razed. And in tough economic times, the Speedway announced last week it was closing the motel and would begin razing the facility.
Officials hope to one day reach an agreement with a major hotel chain to build a new, modern facility at the same location. But that project will wait until economic conditions improve.
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