Video: Touring the IMS Photo Vault

by Nick Lish

The Indianapolis Motors Speedway’s Behind-the-Bricks series on YouTube is fabulous and well worth checking out when you get the urge for a little May in your January. IMS President Doug Bowles talks shows often unseen parts of the track and also has conversations with featured guests. Though, I was particularly intrigued by a short episode touring the IMS Photo Vault.

A film photography enthusiast myself, I am always happy to sit down at a light table with a loupe and see photos in a way that most folks do not. At 5 million images, the magnitude of their archive is both exciting and daunting. Still, it is great to see the preservation of those photos is such an important goal for the Speedway.

While I could have easily watched them go through every inch of this space and show more negatives, slides, etc. the “here is a preview, come see it for yourself” is apparent and honestly effective for me. I can’t wait to stop in the next time I am in Indy. Maybe I’ll even bring a camera…

Behind the Bricks: IMS Photo Vault

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Dec 6, 2021

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Indianapolis Motor Speedway
27.4K subscribersMore than 5 million photos in a fireproof vault. That's how #IMS archives 112 years of history at the Racing Capital of the World. On the latest episode of Behind the Bricks, Doug Boles takes a tour of the #IMS photo vault to show where rare and never-before-seen images live.