Indy Hall of Fame!

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum is amazing. It’s also, from what I can tell, the only place inside the speedway complex where you have to wear a shirt to be admitted—€”and it’s worth it. The track has been around since 1909, and its museum contains examples from every era of the automobile. Most of the time, ancient iron doesn’t really do it for me, but it was cool to see a Benz and a Daimler—€”the two companies would later merge to form Mercedes-Benz—€”next to each other. It’s wild to think these machines are 122 years old. And I was absolutely blown away by the 1954 Mercedes W 196 below, which was a phenomenally successful Grand Prix competitor in it’s day. It’s easily one of the most beautiful cars I’ve ever seen. Check out a bunch more pics of classic race cars after the jump.