Centennial Era - 2009-2019

In celebration of the Speedway's 100th Anniversary, the 2009 ticket has several features reminiscent of tickets from years past, most notably the fonts used for the Admission to Grounds, Gatemans stub and Rain Check, the IMS logo above and behind Scott Dixon's car and the words "International Sweepstakes" at the top which returns for the first time since 1980. The 2011 ticket is similar in that it says “International 500 Mile Sweepstakes” A signature, that of Tony George CEO, is at bottom right which also has not been on a ticket since 1980. The winning car and driver are also width-wise across the ticket which is the first time since 1991. The stub size is still about 6 1/4” x 3” with the unused ticket size still 8 1/2” x 3” - it will remain so through 2015***.

The Indycar series sponsor Izod appears on the 2010 ticket marking the first time a logo besides the ‘500’ event logo appears.

2009 through 2011

The 2012 ticket goes back to a vertical format like 1995 through 2008.

Long lines occurred at the gates in 2013 due to the heightened security from the Boston Marathon bombing the month prior and ticket takers were also tearing a majority of tickets. This may mean unused 2013 tickets could be more difficult to find in the future.

Note that the 2013 Gasoline Alley Suite ticket is completely different from the grandstand and general admission tickets.

To ease entry into the Speedway after many fans complained of the long lines in 2013, the Speedway began the practice of marking tickets on the front or back with a pen instead of tearing them. This does not mean all 2014 tickets were untorn, but rather a more substantial portion were probably untorn than in previous years. Tony Kanaan along with faces on the Borg-Warner Trophy and the event logo are embossed. The large general admission ticket uses a different font and it is not embossed which will be the case for all subsequent years*. Only the Indycar series logo is on the 2014 ticket as Izod was no longer the series sponsor.

While some tickets may still have been torn in 2015, the vast majority were now either marked with a pen or scanned so even more tickets will be found unused. Ryan Hunter-Reay, his car, event logo and the new Indycar series sponsor Verizon are embossed on the 2015 ticket.

2012 through 2015

2016

For the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500, the Speedway issued a special one time only plastic ticket to current ticket holders. Current ticket holders also had their plastic tickets presented in a special thin cardboard fold out holder (see below). Current ticket holders will receive their tickets in a holder from this date forward. The plastic ticket measures 7 1/2” x 3”. There is a tab at the top of the ticket where one could clip on a lanyard so it could worn around the neck if so desired. ALL 2016 plastic tickets are considered unused whether the lanyard tab is intact or not (some fell out any way even though the lanyard tab wasn’t used). For those tickets sold to walk up and general admission customers a traditional paper ticket was issued which had only the gold (sometimes gold photographs or scans as black) “100th Running” at top left embossed and for the first time in Speedway history, there are no perforations to a paper ticket which will be the standard for all paper tickets in subsequent years. The Speedway was scanning all tickets by this time so the vast majority of these tickets will be found unused.

2017 through 2019

The 2017 ticket goes back to paper and is horizontal for the first time since 2011. The overall size shrinks to 8” x 3” which will be the standard size through 2019. The ticket holder for 2017 does not fold out like the 2016 holder. Embossed on grandstand tickets purchased in advance are: the event logo, Verizon logo, IMS.com at lower left, the entire image of Alexander Rossi, co-owners Michael Andretti and Bryan Herta at Rossi’s right, Admit One and 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 at upper right.

There are several differences to the general admission ticket: it is a print on demand ticket (meaning these tickets were printed as needed) using a thinner, semi-gloss paper stock, is not embossed, the start time is printed in a different place, the font size of the seat location is different and info on the back is in one color whereas the embossed grandstand ticket is multi-colored and if one turns the ticket over left to right, rather than flipping it top to bottom, the info on the back of the ticket is upside down. This is not the case with the embossed grandstand ticket.

As all tickets were to be scanned in there are no perforations for this or subsequent year tickets so in essence all tickets from 2016-2017 forward should be considered unused.

The 2018 ticket goes back to vertical with grandstand tickets purchased in advance, like the B Penthouse below left, have Takuma Sato, the event logo and Admit One embossed. It is believed that red was the outline color used for grandstand tickets that were purchased in advance (B Penthouse below right), silver (sometimes silver photographs or scans as gray) for grandstand tickets not purchased in advance but printed as needed (Tower Terrace and Grandstand H top middle and right) and light blue for general admission tickets (bottom) however there may be other colors*. Note that on the Tower Terrace ticket at top middle the font is different than that of the B Penthouse seat to its left, it is printed on a thinner semi-gloss paper stock and it is not embossed. The Tower Terrace ticket also has no price and is marked Complimentary at lower right by the bar code. Note the Stand H ticket at top right has a $0.00 price indicating it is complimentary and stamped on the back is “Military Ticket Not To Be Resold”. Like the Tower Terrace ticket to its left, it also has a different font, is printed on a thinner semi-gloss paper stock and is not embossed.

The general admission ticket is printed on a thinner semi-gloss paper stock and is not embossed. Note that the general admission ticket at bottom left has an established price of $35.00 while the one at bottom middle is $0.00 which indicates it is complimentary even though it is not marked as such.

The 2019 ticket remains vertical and depicts 2018 “500” winner Will Power in victory lane. On grandstand tickets purchased in advance the figure of Will Power along with the wreath, his name and the 2019 event logo are embossed. Note that the Tower Terrace Suit ticket has a different font and there are only ticket and suite numbers. Reserved seat tickets again came in a thin cardboard holder. The general admission ticket is $35 and is printed on a thinner semi-gloss paper stock and is not embossed.

Tickets from 2009 to 2019 are easy to find but if one had to choose a ticket which might be difficult to find in the future it would be paper tickets from 2016.

* This information is to the best of our knowledge. If anyone has more information, please contact: NI500CC@NI500CC.COM

** All measurements are taken from the stub or used ticket.

*** The used ticket size may vary slightly year to year but the over all ticket size doesn’t change unless noted.

If you have a ticket you don’t see here on the website, email a scan of it to us and we’ll get it posted. No names will be used to protect your identity. NI500CC@NI500CC.COM