Original IMS bricks make their way to Purdue Grand Prix
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WISH) — The start/finish line at Indianapolis Motor Speedway features arguably some of the most famous bricks in the world.
The legendary “Yard of Bricks” consists of the original portion of the IMS brick-covered track installed in 1909.
Now, some of those original bricks are part of the Purdue Grand Prix track’s start/finish line.
“How cool is that, to be the only other track to have the original Culver brick in it?” Al Wurster, a Grand Prix alum, said in a news release.
Go karts during the annual race at Purdue will now drive over the famed bricks beginning this year.
Wurster approached IMS and INDYCAR President Doug Boles with the idea three years ago to get some bricks installed in the track.
The bricks were donated to the track by Boles and three Boilermaker alumni “who facilitated the brick donation and installation last fall.”
The final brick at the Purdue Grand Prix track’s start/finish line was installed during a ceremony last week.
“For me, this is just a way to remind people that the Indy 500 doesn’t exist without Purdue University and the people that have graduated from Purdue University,” Boles said in the news release.
Purdue and the Indy 500 have had a long history together.
For instance, many of the folks who fans see in the garages during the Month of May at IMS are Purdue engineers.
In addition, the Purdue “All-American” Marching Band is the Indy 500’s official band and helps perform “Back Home Again in Indiana” prior to each Indy 500.
This year’s Purdue Grand Prix will take place April 26, 2025. “The Greatest Spectacle in College Racing” is scheduled to begin at 2:30 that afternoon.
