IMS owner asks Homeland Security to stop using IndyCar in 'Speedway Slammer' plans
The owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway said it was caught off-guard by the use of an IndyCar chassis to help announce the Trump administration's plan to put ICE detainees in a northern Indiana detention facility – a facility that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem dubbed the 'Speedway Slammer.'
'We were unaware of plans to incorporate our imagery as part of (the Aug. 5) announcement,' Penske Entertainment said in a statement provided to IndyStar. 'Consistent with our approach to public policy and political issues, we are communicating our preference that our IP not be utilized moving forward in relation to this matter.'
The company, which announced the sale of a 33% stake to Fox Corp. last week, fell short of publicly demanding any sort of retraction or issuing a formal cease-and-desist order to prevent future use of either the car imagery or the use of 'speedway.' Penske Entertainment doesn't own a trademark to the word, but it's closely associated with IMS and the Indy 500 in Indiana.
On Tuesday evening, Noem posted on X: 'COMING SOON to Indiana: The Speedway Slammer. Today, we're announcing a new partnership with the state of Indiana to expand detention bed space by 1,000 beds. Thanks to @GovBraun for his partnership to help remove the worst of the worst out of our country. If you are in America illegally, you could find yourself in Indiana's Speedway Slammer. Avoid arrest and self deport now using the @CBP Home App.'
Less than an hour later, the official Homeland Security account on X posted what appeared to have been an AI-generated image of a white present-day Indy car with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) branding all across the livery. The car carried the No. 5, which since 2020 has been the one used by IndyCar's lone Mexican driver, Pato O'Ward – the series' most popular active driver.
It wasn't immediately clear whether the use of the 5 was purposeful to point to O'Ward or if it was happenstance. Outside the number, the car lacked any other connections to O'Ward's traditional black-and-papaya-colored chassis. A spokesperson for car owner Arrow McLaren declined to comment when reached by IndyStar regarding the matter.
Of note, in October 2019, just over a week before he formally announced the purchase of the assets that would become Penske Entertainment, Roger Penske received the medal of freedom from President Donald Trump during the latter's first term. Earlier this year, Penske and IMS nearly played host to Trump for the Indy 500, which would've made him the first sitting U.S. president to attend the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, after Penske extended an invitation in April while he and members of his various race teams attended the White House for a celebration of the team's recent on-track accomplishments.
Trump had mentioned he wished to make the trip, but the White House confirmed days before the race that the President would not be in attendance on race day at IMS.
Penske Entertainment's understated attempt to distance itself from Tuesday's announcement and any future promotion of the program follows Indiana Gov. Mike Braun's Aug. 1 announcement confirming the state's formalized partnership with federal immigration authorities in conjunction with the state's Department of Homeland Security, the Indiana State Police, the Indiana Department of Corrections and the Indiana National Guard to 'assist in deporting individuals who are unlawfully in the U.S.'
As part of that cooperation, Braun said, the state's Department of Corrections is working with ICE to make available up to 1,000 beds at the Miami Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison located about 70 miles north of Indianapolis at the former Grissom Air Force Base.
Annie Goeller, chief communications officer for IDOC, said part of the facility has not been filled because of a staffing shortage.
On Tuesday, Braun told IndyStar that the Trump administration hadn't yet established a timeline for when it planned to move forward on converting the military base into an immigration detention center.
"When it comes to our state, we're going to cooperate ... as we're housing detainees that have broken the law after they entered illegally, we're going to cooperate with the federal government," Braun told the IndyStar. "When it comes to any of the other issues on due process and so forth, we want to make sure we're doing that the right way as well."
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(This story was updated to include video.)
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