Part of the Happy Hour Racing Track Fan Guides, our series on what you can actually carry through the gate at every track on the schedule. This one covers the Indianapolis 500 itself, so it includes the Carb Day and Snake Pit rules that do not apply on a normal race weekend.
The Short Version
Here is what most fans need before they leave for the Indianapolis 500:
- Bags: IMS does not run a clear-bag policy and does not publish a bag size limit. Purses and bags are permitted and every bag is searched through metal detectors. Oversize bags and luggage are prohibited.
- Coolers: no larger than 18 x 15 x 15 inches, and they may be hard-sided or soft-sided. That is one of the most generous cooler allowances in American motorsport.
- Food and drink: permitted, including water, soft drinks, beer and wine, as long as nothing is in a glass container.
- Leave at home: glass, flagpoles, selfie sticks, drones, lasers, aerosol cans other than sunscreen, bicycles, skateboards and scooters, and weapons of any kind.
- Race Day catch: carts and wagons are allowed at IMS, but on Indianapolis 500 Race Day they must be collapsible.
Bag Policy at the Indy 500
The Indianapolis 500 bag policy is unusually relaxed compared with the Cup Series tracks. IMS lists "purses and bags" straight on its permitted list with no stated dimensions and no clear-bag requirement. There is one limit that matters: "oversize bags and luggage" are on the prohibited list, so a normal backpack or tote is fine and a suitcase or duffel is not.
Every bag is searched, and IMS runs guests through metal detectors at the admission gates. Pack so a security officer can see into the bag in one motion and you will move through faster, especially at the Turn 1 and Turn 2 pedestrian gates on Race Day morning when the whole crowd arrives inside the same two hours.
Because there is no published size cap, the practical guidance is to carry what you can hold on your lap in a grandstand seat for four hours. A backpack works. A wheeled bag does not.
Cooler Rules at the Indy 500
This is the number people come looking for. The IMS cooler limit is 18 inches long by 15 inches wide by 15 inches high, and unlike most NASCAR tracks, IMS allows hard-sided coolers as well as soft-sided ones. A standard 20-quart hard cooler generally fits inside that envelope, but measure yours before you leave, because the rule is enforced at the pedestrian gates and there is nowhere to check a cooler that fails.
You can fill it. Water, soft drinks, beer and wine are all permitted as long as they are not in glass. Transfer anything bottled in glass into cans or plastic before you get in the car. Glass containers are prohibited everywhere inside the Speedway, cooler or no cooler.
Two things that are easy to miss. Coolers are not allowed in the garage and pit areas at all, even with a credential. And on Carb Day, coolers are not allowed in the concert PIT area, though they are allowed in Carb Day general admission and on the VIP Deck.
Prohibited Items at the Indy 500
This is the published IMS prohibited list for admission gates. It applies to every gate at the Speedway.
- Aerosol cans, with sunscreen excluded
- Animals, other than service animals trained to work or perform tasks for a person with a disability
- Bicycles, though there is dedicated bicycle parking at Gates 1, 6 and 9
- Coolers larger than 18 x 15 x 15 inches
- Drones and any unmanned aerial system
- Fireworks and flares
- Flagpoles
- Glass containers
- Golf carts, ATVs, scooters, minibikes, roller blades, skateboards, skates, pogo sticks and hoverboards
- Illegal drugs and substances, including marijuana, and drug paraphernalia
- Items restricted by local, state or federal law
- Lasers of any kind
- Offensive or obscene materials, including flags, signs and clothing
- Oversize bags and luggage
- Soliciting of any kind, including ticket scalping
- Scaffolding or platforms
- Selfie sticks
- Stickers
- Trampolines and swimming pools
- Weapons of any type, including knives, firearms and ammunition
IMS states there are no provisions for checking and holding prohibited items, and that items left at or around the gates will be removed and discarded. In plain terms, if it is on this list, it does not come with you and you do not get it back.
What You Can Bring Into the Indy 500
IMS publishes a permitted list too, and it is a long one:
- Binoculars, scanners and headsets
- CamelBaks
- Camera stands such as tripods and monopods, as long as they do not create a hazard or block anyone's view. They are not allowed inside the grandstands or concert areas
- Carts and wagons, though they must be collapsible on Indianapolis 500 Race Day and may be restricted in some areas
- Coolers no larger than 18 x 15 x 15 inches, hard or soft sided
- Flags, as long as they do not block anyone's view. Not allowed in concert areas
- Food and beverages, including water, soft drinks, beer and wine in non-glass containers
- Mobility aid devices for guests with disabilities
- Personal, non-commercial photo and video cameras. Video and audio recording gear is not allowed in concert areas
- Purses and bags, all subject to search through metal detectors
- Service animals
- Strollers, lawn chairs and folding camping chairs, though not in the Concert Pit or VIP areas
- Umbrellas, as long as they do not block anyone's view
Two of those are worth calling out because they are rare. Scanners and headsets are explicitly welcome, and the Indy 500 is one of the best events in racing to listen in on. And umbrellas are permitted here, which is not true at a lot of NASCAR tracks.
Carb Day, Snake Pit and the Garage Area
The Indy 500 is not one day, and the rules are not the same across the whole event. Three sets of exceptions to know:
Carb Day. For the concert, IMS prohibits audio and video recording equipment, CamelBaks, camera stands, carts and wagons, flags and professional cameras. Coolers are not allowed in the PIT area, but they are allowed in Carb Day general admission and on the VIP Deck. Strollers, lawn chairs and folding camping chairs are barred from the Concert Pit and VIP areas but fine in general admission.
Snake Pit. Stricter again. No audio or video recording equipment, no camera stands, no carts or wagons, no flags, no professional cameras, and no strollers, lawn chairs or folding camping chairs at all, including in the general admission area.
Garage and pit areas. If you hold a credential, the rules tighten. Credentials must be worn and visible at all times, and there is no smoking, no alcoholic beverages and no coolers. Every bag is searched before entry, and shoes and shirts must be worn at all times.
On smoking generally, IMS prohibits smoking, e-cigarettes and vaporizers in seating areas, including the grandstands and the infield viewing mounds. Smoking is permitted 20 feet away from buildings, seating entrances and viewing mounds.
Getting There and Race-Day Tips
Indianapolis Motor Speedway sits at 4790 West 16th Street in Speedway, Indiana, a few miles northwest of downtown Indianapolis. It seats roughly 250,000 people, which makes the Indianapolis 500 the largest single-day sporting event in the world, and it means the arrival is a genuine logistics exercise rather than a drive to a race.
Gates open early on Race Day and the crowd does not trickle in. Getting there early is not a nice-to-have, it is the difference between watching the pre-race build and sitting in traffic on 16th Street while it happens. If you are parking in the infield, you can tailgate in the lot, but anything you then carry into the grandstands still has to meet the 18 x 15 x 15 cooler limit.
Pack for a long day in the sun. The oval is 2.5 miles around and most grandstand seats have no shade at all, so a hat, sunscreen in a non-aerosol or pump bottle, and more water than you think you need all earn their space. Frozen water bottles do double duty as ice and as drinking water once they melt.
Common questions about the Indy 500
What is the bag policy at the Indy 500?
Purses and bags are permitted through IMS admission gates and there is no published size limit and no clear-bag requirement. Oversize bags and luggage are prohibited. All bags are searched through metal detectors.
What size cooler can you bring to the Indy 500?
Coolers must be no larger than 18 x 15 x 15 inches. Both hard-sided and soft-sided coolers are allowed at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which is more generous than most NASCAR tracks.
Are backpacks allowed at the Indy 500?
Yes. Backpacks fall under the permitted "purses and bags" category. Only oversize bags and luggage are prohibited, and every bag is searched at the gate.
Can you bring food and drinks into the Indy 500?
Yes. Food and beverages including water, soft drinks, beer and wine are permitted as long as they are not in glass containers. Glass is prohibited throughout the Speedway.
Are umbrellas allowed at the Indy 500?
Yes. Umbrellas are on the IMS permitted list as long as they do not obstruct the view of other guests, and the user takes sole responsibility for using it safely.
Can you bring a scanner or headset to the Indy 500?
Yes. Binoculars, scanners and headsets are all explicitly permitted through IMS admission gates.
Are chairs and wagons allowed at the Indy 500?
Strollers, lawn chairs and folding camping chairs are permitted, but not in the Concert Pit or VIP areas. Carts and wagons are allowed, and on Indianapolis 500 Race Day they must be collapsible.
Can you smoke or vape at the Indy 500?
Not in the seating areas. IMS prohibits smoking, e-cigarettes and vaporizers in the grandstands and on the infield viewing mounds. Smoking is permitted 20 feet away from buildings, seating entrances and viewing mounds.
The Bottom Line
The Indy 500 is one of the easiest big events in racing to pack for. A hard or soft cooler up to 18 x 15 x 15 inches, a normal backpack with no size cap, your own beer and food as long as nothing is glass, and a scanner to listen in. The traps are the small ones: glass, selfie sticks, flagpoles, aerosols that are not sunscreen, and a wagon that does not fold on Race Day.
Policies change from season to season and IMS states its regulations are subject to updates at any time without notice and may vary by event. Check the official IMS gate regulations before you travel. The next Indianapolis 500 is Sunday, May 30, 2027, inside an event window IMS lists as May 18 to 30, 2027.
Planning a Brickyard 400 trip instead? The rules differ by event, so use our Indianapolis Motor Speedway fan guide for NASCAR, or compare every Cup track in our NASCAR cooler and bag policy guide.
Gear Up for the Indy 500
Indy 500 gear from the Happy Hour Racing store, all in stock right now:
- 109th Indianapolis 500 Back Home Again Tee
- 109th Indianapolis 500 Red Graphic Logo Tee
- Indianapolis 500 Snake Pit Tee
- IndyCar Checkered Flag Sublimated T-Shirt
- 109th Indianapolis 500 Heather Sapphire Logo Tee
The Snake Pit tee is the one that earns its keep if you are actually going, because you will be standing in the sun all day and a light race tee beats whatever you wore in the car. Browse the full IndyCar collection, or see everything new in the store.
