Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the context of Indianapolis 500

Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats hundreds of thousands of people. The largest sports venue in the world, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, has a permanent seating capacity for more than 235,000 people and infield seating that raises capacity to an approximate 400,000.

The Monza Circuit, officially called the Autodromo Nazionale Monza (Italian for 'Monza National Racetrack'), is a 5.793 km (3.600 mi) race track near the city of Monza, north of Milan, in Italy. Built in 1922, it was the world's third purpose-built motor racing circuit after Brooklands and Indianapolis and the oldest in mainland Europe. The circuit's biggest event is the Italian Grand Prix. With the exception of the 1980 running when the track was closed while undergoing refurbishment, the race has been hosted there since 1949. The circuit is also known as "the Temple of Speed" due to its long straights and high-speed corners.

Built in the Royal Villa of Monza park in a woodland setting, the site has three tracks – the 5.793 km (3.600 mi) Grand Prix track, the 2.405 km (1.494 mi) Junior track, and a 4.250 km (2.641 mi) high speed oval track with steep bankings, which was left unused for decades and had been decaying until it was restored in the 2010s. The major features of the main Grand Prix track include the Curva Grande, the Curva di Lesmo, the Variante Ascari and the Curva Alboreto (formerly Curva Parabolica). The high speed curve, Curva Grande, is located after the Variante del Rettifilo which is located at the end of the front straight or Rettifilo Tribune, and is usually taken flat out by Formula One cars.

IndyCar, LLC (stylized as INDYCAR), is an auto racing sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The organization sanctions two racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with the Indianapolis 500 as its centerpiece, and the developmental series Indy NXT. IndyCar is recognized as a member organization of the FIA through the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States.

The sanctioning body was formed in 1994 under the name Indy Racing League by Hulman & Company, which also owned the Indianapolis Motor Speedway complex, and began competition in 1996. The trademark name INDYCAR was officially adopted on January 1, 2011. The sport of open-wheel car racing, also historically referred to as championship car racing or Indy car racing, traces its roots to as early as 1905. It is the fourth major sanctioning body to govern the sport of Indy car racing, following the American Automobile Association's Contest Board, the United States Auto Club (USAC), and Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), and operated alongside the Champ Car World Series before acquiring the latter.

The IndyCar Series, officially known as the NTT IndyCar Series for sponsorship reasons, is the highest class of American open-wheel car racing in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies since 1920. The series is self-sanctioned by its parent company, IndyCar, LLC, which began in 1996 as the Indy Racing League (IRL) and was created by then Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony George as a competitor to Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART). In 2008, the IndyCar Series merged with CART's successor, the Champ Car World Series, unifying the history and statistics of both series (as well as those from their predecessors).

The series' premier event is the Indianapolis 500, which was first held in 1911. Historically, open-wheel racing was one of the most popular types of American motorsport. An acrimonious schism (often referred to by many as "The Split") in 1994 between the primary series, CART, and Tony George led to the formation of the Indy Racing League, which launched the rival IndyCar Series in 1996. From that point, the popularity of open wheel racing in the United States declined dramatically. The feud was settled in 2008 with an agreement to merge the two series under the IndyCar banner, but enormous damage had already been done to the sport. Post-merger, IndyCar continues to run with slight viewership gains per year.