The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum operates on the grounds of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. As a publicly-supported nonprofit organization, our mission is to celebrate more than a century of the innovation, thrill, and adventure of motor racing at the Speedway, guided by our vision that motor racing will be a revered aspect of our American heritage and a valued part of family culture for generations to come.
The IMS Museum is recognized as one of the most highly visible museums in the world dedicated to automobiles and auto racing. It is uniquely situated inside the historic 2.5-mile oval track of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We welcome almost 140,000 visitors from all 50 states and more than 90 countries 363 days a year. The Museum houses 37,500 square feet of exhibit space, extensive archive materials, and an impressive collection of small and large objects spanning more than 100 years of motor racing.
As part of our commitment to preserving and restoring the one-of-a-kind cars in our collection, we introduced the IMS Museum Car Restoration Project in 2018. The Lotus 29/1 is the focus of our current efforts.
The Lotus 29 helped usher in the rear-engine revolution. The Museum has one of the three original Lotus 29s that debuted in May for the 1963 Indianapolis 500. It appears to be Jim Clark’s second-place finisher, but there’s more to the story. Despite the green livery painted several decades ago, the car’s history proves it was actually driven to a seventh-place finish by Clark’s teammate and American racing legend, Dan Gurney.
Our goal is to honor this great champion—and history—by getting the Lotus 29/1 back on the track as it looked on race day in 1963. In addition to new fuel cells, suspension, and engine maintenance to return it to working condition, the Lotus 29/1 will also sport its original blue-and-white livery, just as it did when Gurney crossed the finish line.
Getting this historic car track-ready will help the Museum tell the story of the revolutionary rear-engine and its impact on open-wheel racing. Perhaps more significantly, it will present new opportunities to tell the important “people stories” of racing legend teammates Jim Clark and Dan Gurney.
Your contribution will get us closer to our $103,000 goal, and getting this historic gem back on the track.
You can follow the progress of the project here: www.facebook.com/IMSMuseumRestorationProject.
For more information about the Museum or the project, visit www.indyracingmuseum.org.
1963 - When the Lotus was raced by Dan Gurney
Starting point for the restoration
Taking it apart, piece by piece
Disassembling the fueling ring
Stripped of the Jim Clark colors
To follow the progress, visit: https://www.facebook.com/IMSMuseumRestorationProject
