History of THE PRI HOOSIER 500
Origins, visions, and the building of the premiere independent sim racing event.
The PRI Hoosier 500 was born from a passion covering the NTT IndyCar Series.
From our early days on the daily IndyCar beat to becoming race organizers, learn more about our roots.
Open-Wheels ORIGINS
The history of the PRI Hoosier 500 traces back to the creation of Open-Wheels.com, a website founded in 2012 by Tony Tellez which covered the (then) Izod IndyCar Series. Early contributors on the site included Matt Hickey and David Bolton, and a cast of around 10 fans and bloggers would write for O-W at some point in time.
Tanner Watkins began writing for Tellez in early 2017, adding feature articles here and there before working into a weekly role. By the fall of that year, Tellez was ready to move on from covering IndyCar and thus transitioned ownership of Open-Wheels to Watkins.
Check out some screengrabs from the dawn of Open-Wheels!
The Watkins Era
The new Open-Wheels.com launched on November 10, 2017 as Watkins brought new branding and creative direction to the site. Moving away from a more op-ed, intermittent posting model, Open-Wheels reported on the daily beat of the Verizon IndyCar Series.
In the spring of 2018, Watkins and O-W were credentialed to cover the Indianapolis 500 for the first time – a springboard point for the site.
Every day for more than three years, every notable story in IndyCar was posted to Open-Wheels, including sitdowns with legends like Mario Andretti and Dr. Jerry Punch, a month of May partnership with Driven2SaveLives to increase organ donor awareness, and consistent coverage of up-and-coming drivers in the Road to Indy – like Colton Herta, Kyle Kirkwood and Pato O’Ward.
Enter: The Open-Wheels 500
During the summer of 2019, Watkins – a longtime sim racer who had made multiple starts in the top split iRacing Indianapolis 500 – identified gaps in the “official” 500’s held on the sim.
Where was the three-wide start? What about the unlimited qualifying attempts – that’s not Indianapolis! The iRacing IndyCar community deserved a dedicated “500” which aimed to bring every detail of May to a virtual event.
The first event sanctioned by Open-Wheels, aptly titled the Open-Wheels 500, would be held November 17, 2019.
What followed after months of hard work was an event that united the community, bringing racers from far and wide – and even legends like Yang Ou out of retirement. Widely praised as the best independent event organized in the IndyCar sim racing space, the Open-Wheels 500 made a proper impression out the gates.
The inaugural Open-Wheels 500 garnered more than 100 entries in 2019, which increased to 110 in the sophomore running held in November 2020.
A hallmark of the event, registration for the Open-Wheels 500 has been free for all competitors interested in racing. Similar to the “run what you brung” days of the “500,” the event encourages all drivers to take their shot at making the esteemed field of 33.
THE KANKIPATI ERA
As the calendar turned to 2021, Watkins made the determination that he could no longer continue building the race. Enter award-winning commentator Arjuna Kankipati, a pillar in the iRacing IndyCar community.
Kankipati commanded the Open-Wheels 500 from 2021 through 2024, orchestrating two runnings of the race in that time period while navigating the difficult iRacing/IndyCar license conflict of 2023.
Akin to the lifeline Tony Hulman threw the Indianapolis Motor Speedway when he purchased the track after World War II, Arjuna not only kept the Open-Wheels 500 alive – he continued to innovate and build community around the race, positioning it for growth for 2025 and beyond.
Embracing Indiana Roots
POSITIONING THE EVENT FOR THE FUTURE
And we arrive at current day. After months of discussions across summer and fall 2024, Tanner Watkins has re-acquired the event – this time with a key partner in place.
Ryan Schuld joins the operation officially as Chief Development Officer, bringing to life the plans set forth by race management before Watkins’ initial sale of Open-Wheels in 2021.
On December 6, 2024, the team released groundbreaking news – the Open-Wheels 500 would be rebranded as the Hoosier 500, designed to bring participants, shareholders and fans even closer to the 2.5-mile stretch of bricks we call home each May.
Aligning more closely to Indiana branding for the race will open opportunities for Schuld and Watkins to develop relationships in Indianapolis – and Indiana at large – around the event for continued growth. We are proud of our history as the Open-Wheels 500, and that history continues with the Hoosier 500 – just under a new name.
DON’T MISS WHAT’S NEXT
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