Every May, roughly 350,000 people flood a small Indiana town of about 12,000 residents for a single weekend. That kind of foot traffic tells you something about Speedway. And if you're thinking about real estate here, it's worth paying attention to what that weekend reveals about the neighborhood the other 51 weeks of the year.
Speedway Is Its Own Town. Not a Neighborhood
First, a geography note that trips up a lot of people. Speedway is an incorporated town, not a neighborhood within Indianapolis. It sits entirely surrounded by Indianapolis on the west side, roughly five miles from downtown. It has its own mayor, its own police department, and its own property tax structure. Separate from Marion County's in some meaningful ways.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway sits at the center of it all, literally. Most residential streets in Speedway are within a mile of the 2.5-mile oval. That proximity is the defining feature of the market here. It shapes property values, short-term rental interest, and honestly, the culture of the town itself.
What the Numbers Look Like Right Now
Speedway's median home price has generally tracked in the $180,000–$220,000 range in recent years, which is meaningfully below the broader Indianapolis metro median. You can still find well-maintained 3-bedroom bungalows in the $160,000s and updated ranch homes pushing into the low $200,000s. Inventory has been tight, consistent with what you see across Central Indiana, but Speedway hasn't seen the same level of competition pressure as neighborhoods like Broad Ripple or Irvington.
Days on market tend to be moderate. Homes that are priced right and in decent condition move within a few weeks. Overpriced listings do sit. The pool of buyers shopping specifically in Speedway is smaller than in trendier Indianapolis neighborhoods, so condition and pricing accuracy matter more here.
The town has also seen some strategic investment in its main commercial corridor along Main Street, with a handful of restaurants and small businesses filling in over the past few years. That activity hasn't yet pushed residential prices sharply upward, which is either an opportunity or a signal depending on your read of the market.
Short-Term Rentals: The IMS Question
Here's where investor interest really concentrates. If you can rent a house for $500 to $1,500 per night during race weekend, doesn't that change the math entirely?
Maybe. But there are real constraints to understand before running those numbers.
Speedway has its own STR ordinance, separate from Indianapolis. As of this writing, short-term rental operators in Speedway need a town-issued permit, and the town has been deliberate about not letting rental activity run unchecked. Permit requirements include proof of insurance, property inspections, and an annual renewal process. The town also has the ability to revoke permits for repeated noise or nuisance complaints.
The practical effect: this is not a regulation-free environment. Anyone planning to operate a full-time STR in Speedway needs to do their homework with the town directly before closing on a property. Rules have shifted in recent years and could shift again. Relying on race weekend income alone to carry a mortgage is a high-variance strategy.
That said, properties within a short walk of the IMS gates. Think the streets immediately north and west of the track. Do command premium rates during the 500, Brickyard weekend, and other major IMS events. A home on or near Georgetown Road or West 30th Street, staged and permitted correctly, can generate meaningful short-term income if managed carefully.
The Honest Pros and Cons of Living in Speedway
If you're buying here as a primary residence, here's the straight picture:
What works in Speedway's favor:
- Relative affordability compared to trendier Indianapolis neighborhoods
- A genuine small-town feel with walkable blocks and a real community identity
- Quick highway access to downtown via I-74 and I-465
- Improving Main Street commercial corridor. More to do than five years ago
- Strong community events calendar built around the racing heritage
What to go in clear-eyed about:
- Race weekends mean significant traffic disruption. If you live near the track, plan around it or embrace it.
- School options are more limited than some Indianapolis neighborhoods. Speedway School Corporation serves the town, and families should research it directly for their specific situation.
- The commercial corridor is improving but still developing. If walkable retail and restaurant density is a priority, Speedway isn't Broad Ripple or Fountain Square yet.
- West side perception still factors into resale. It's worth being honest that some buyers mentally bucket the west side differently than the north or east sides, which can affect your eventual buyer pool.
Is Speedway a Viable STR Investment?
The short answer: it can be, but it's a concentrated-risk bet, not a passive income play.
The math works best if you're looking at a property that also functions well as a long-term rental or personal-use property outside of peak event windows. The IMS calendar. The 500, Brickyard 400, Indy 8 Hours, and other events. Generates multiple income opportunities across the year, not just one weekend. But that still leaves you with a property that needs to perform the rest of the time.
Investors who are doing well in Speedway tend to operate with a few things in their corner: they bought at prices that work on long-term rental income alone, they treat STR revenue as upside rather than the base case, and they've navigated the permitting process correctly from the start. If you're underwriting a Speedway deal on the assumption of peak-weekend STR rates 365 days a year, you're likely to be disappointed.
If you're evaluating Speedway as an investment or thinking about buying there as a primary home, the most useful thing you can do is look at actual permit data from the town and run your numbers against long-term rental comps, not just Airbnb estimates. The opportunity is real. It just requires honest underwriting.
Curious about how Speedway's numbers stack up against other West Side options? We're happy to walk through the math with you.