Brickyard 400 weekend: Costs and events

SPEEDWAY, Ind. (WISH) - There's a lot going on at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend — but what will it cost to take part in the fun?

Parking is an unavoidable expense if you plan to head to the track. On the IMS lots, a one-day pass costs $20; a four-day pass costs $40. For campers, a two-day pass costs $35; a five-day pass is $50.

Ticket pricing varies, depending on the day and whether the ticket is for reserved seating or general admission. A ticket to Thursday’s practice costs $10. General admission for the Brickyard 400 costs $30; reserved seating starts at $40. Admission is free for fans under 13-years-old if they're with someone who has a ticket.

Souvenir T-shirts cost around $25 for adults and $18 for kids.

Food/drinks also range in price. For example, corn dogs cost $3; funnel cakes cost $6; pork tenderloins cost $6; alcohol costs $5-7.

But folks can save a lot of cash and bring a cooler.

“You can bring your own food, you can bring your own drinks,” said Doug Boles with the IMS. “There are a lot of facilities anymore that don't allow folks to do that. One thing we are trying to do is keep our coolers limited to 14” x 14” x 14”. There will be a little bit of leeway, so if you're a tick over on one of those dimensions, our folks at the gate will probably still let you through.”

Events at the track

Brickyard 400 weekend has many more additions this year than in years past. Friday is the inaugural running of the Brickyard Grand Prix at the Speedway. It's a three hour race, and it's on a road track with 13 turns.

Thursday night, crews will convert the track from the oval to the road course. This is the first time in track history that IMS has used two different track types in a single race weekend. This is also Grand-Am's first visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

But fans won't just see Grand-Am's regular drivers. The track is also drawing racers from the Sprint Cup and Indy Car series, like past Indy 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya and former Indy 500 runner-up Paul Tracy.

Then, Friday night, crews will work overnight to change the course back to the oval track. On Saturday and Sunday, fans can prepare for another first.

Some garages have been moved to accommodate the Nationwide Series drivers. This means that some fans in the grandstands will have a birds eye view of what happens in the garages.

Click here for a closer look at this weekend’s events at the IMS.