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A then-and-now composite photograph by Dan Cleary showing the 1913 Indianapolis 500 starting lineup, with vintage race cars, drivers, and spectators blended into the modern Indianapolis Motor Speedway, including the pagoda, grandstands, and dramatic cloud-filled sky.

The 110th Indianapolis 500 and the History Behind My Then and Now Photographs

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110th Running of the Indianapolis 500

The Greatest Spectacle in Racing

This weekend marks the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500, a race that has become one of America’s most iconic sporting traditions. Every Memorial Day weekend, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway becomes more than a racetrack. It becomes a gathering place for racing fans, families, history lovers, and anyone who understands the excitement of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

As a fine art photographer, I have always been drawn to places where history still feels alive. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is among them.

My series, Indianapolis 500: Then and Now, was created to bring that history into the present. I combine historic photographs from the Speedway’s early years with my own contemporary photographs, carefully blending them into a single finished piece. The result is a photograph in which past and present occupy the same space.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway scoring pylon rises above the empty track and grandstands, with “110th Indianapolis 500” displayed vertically and dramatic clouds filling the sky overhead.
A then-and-now composite photograph from Dan Cleary’s Indianapolis 500 Then and Now series showing the 1911 race crowd and grandstands at Indianapolis Motor Speedway blended with the modern brick start-finish line and track wall featuring the TAG Heuer logo.

The Speedway as a Living Piece of History

The first Indianapolis 500 was held in 1911, but the Speedway’s story began even earlier. The track, grandstands, crowds, race cars, and pageantry have all changed over time, yet the spirit of the place remains remarkably consistent.

That is what interests me as an artist.

When I stood on the Speedway track with my camera, I was not just photographing architecture or pavement. I was photographing history. I am thinking of the drivers, mechanics, spectators, photographers, and families who stood in similar places for more than a century.

In these Then and Now photographs, the early race cars and spectators appear within the modern Speedway. The contemporary Pagoda, grandstands, and track join the historic images in the same visual conversation. I want viewers to feel that time has folded in on itself.

Why I Create Then and Now Photographs

My goal is not simply to show “what it looked like then” and “what it looks like now.” I want to create a fine art photograph that allows both moments to coexist.

That process requires research, careful alignment, composition, tonal matching, and meticulous attention to detail. I look for the emotional connection between the old image and the present-day scene. When the two photographs begin to work together, the finished piece becomes something new.

A then-and-now composite photograph by Dan Cleary showing the Indianapolis Motor Speedway before the 1910 race, blending a historic crowd-lined track and early grandstands with the modern pagoda, track surface, and dramatic clouds overhead.
A black-and-white then-and-now composite photograph from Dan Cleary’s Indianapolis 500 Then and Now series, showing vintage race cars lined up on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway track in 1913, blended with the modern pagoda and grandstands.

Part Documentary, Part History, and Part Imagination

The Indianapolis 500 is especially suited to this kind of work because the race has a strong visual identity. The track, the crowds, the speed, the towers, the start-finish line, and the grandstands all carry meaning. Even people who have never attended the race often recognize the atmosphere.

Fine Art for Racing Fans, Collectors, and Corporate Spaces

These photographs are ideal for racing fans, Indianapolis 500 collectors, automotive enthusiasts, and anyone who appreciates American history. They also look great in offices, conference rooms, hospitality spaces, and corporate interiors—especially for businesses connected to Indiana, motorsports, aviation, engineering, or historic innovation.

A then-and-now composite photograph by Dan Cleary showing the 1913 Indianapolis 500 starting lineup, with vintage race cars, drivers, and spectators blended into the modern Indianapolis Motor Speedway, including the pagoda, grandstands, and dramatic cloud-filled sky.
The modern pagoda at Indianapolis Motor Speedway rises above the track, grandstands, and fencing under a dramatic sky filled with large white and gray clouds.

Race Week Special: 25% Off for One Week

To celebrate the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500, I am offering 25% off my Indianapolis 500: photographs until the end of the month.

Use discount code Indy500 at checkout.

If you love the Speedway’s history, this is a meaningful time to add one of these photographs to your home, office, or collection.

Shop the Indianapolis 500 collection here at my Indianapolis, Indiana web page: https://clearyfineartphoto.com/indianapolis-fine-art-photographs/

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