22-05-2025
Take a tour of Indianapolis Motor Speedway's infield care center
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway infield holds the famed Pagoda, the pits, garages, a whole other racetrack, a golf course, and, on race day, the state's busiest emergency room.
Why it matters: About 350,000 people will be packed into IMS on Sunday and several hundred of them are expected to need medical attention.
Driving the news: Axios toured IU Health's infield care center, which was renovated in 2023.
What they're saying:"One, maybe two days a year, we will be the busiest emergency department in the state depending on how hot Carb Day is," Tracy Ballard, clinic operations manager for the IMS infield care center and IndyCar, told Axios.
How many patients they see is weather dependent, Ballard said, with heat being the biggest factor. It usually ranges between 100 and 300 over 12 hours on race day.
"We see everything that a normal emergency department would see," she said. "We see cuts, scrapes, bruises … folks that have maybe celebrated a little too much with alcohol."
They also see fans with more serious conditions, like a stroke or cardiac arrest.
By the numbers: The facility has 18 beds — 14 for the public and four in an area that's just for the drivers.
The public side is divided between beds for less serious conditions and an area for more critical care.
That includes a resuscitation bay, allowing doctors to stabilize individuals before transporting them to a hospital if needed.
Plus: There are 14 first aid stations throughout the track.
Zoom in: The center is equipped to deal with any situation the track may throw at drivers racing open-wheel, open cockpit cars at 230-plus mph.
That includes X-rays, ultrasound and, during the Month of May and Brickyard 400 NASCAR race, whole blood for transfusion.
A helicopter is on site, though an ambulance can get to the hospital faster when traffic isn't bad.
On race day, a neurologist, orthopedic surgeon, trauma surgeon and optometrist are on site — just in case.
IU Health also provides medical coverage on pit lane, with four paramedics or EMTs.
State of play: During all races on the oval track, drivers have to get checked out at the care center after any contact with the wall.
During road races, they don't have to come in if they can drive away from the incident.
Between the lines: It's not just the Month of May that the facility is open.
"There are events from March through October out here at IMS," Ballard said. "So anytime IMS asks us to be open for larger events or for private tests, anything that you have going on out here, we are open."
