IndyCar rebukes White House after 'Speedway Slammer' post

Source: Courthouse News Service

August 6, 2025


WASHINGTON (CN) — One of the country’s premier motor racing series has asked the Trump administration to keep its imagery out of promotional material for a planned immigration detention facility in Indiana, the organization’s corporate arm said Wednesday.

The move comes just hours after the Department of Homeland Security announced that it had signed a deal with Indiana Governor Mike Braun to expand the state’s Miami Correctional Facility with additional bed space to detain migrants. The extension was dubbed the “Speedway Slammer” in reference to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located around 70 miles south of the existing prison. But the federal government’s promotion of the new project chafed IndyCar, the racing championship best known for the Indy 500 event which takes place at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

In a post on its official X account Tuesday evening, the Homeland Security Department shared an AI-generated image of a race car in the style of IndyCar’s Dallara racing chassis bearing a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-inspired paintjob. The car was depicted racing along a speedway in front of a prison complex, with the acronym “ICE” painted on the racetrack’s outer catch fencing. The car itself featured the racing number “5.” In the IndyCar championship, that number belongs to driver Patricio O’Ward, who was born in Monterrey, Mexico.

The government’s use of the IndyCar series’ intellectual property was apparently unsanctioned by the racing organization. In a statement provided to Courthouse News, the series said that it was “unaware” of the Homeland Security Department’s plans to incorporate IndyCar imagery into the “Speedway Slammer” announcement. “Consistent with our approach to public policy and political issues, we are communicating our preference that our IP not be utilized moving forward in relation to this matter,” IndyCar said.

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