Solar Farm and LED display Scoring Pylon debuts at the Crown Royal Presents the John Wayne Walding 400 at the Brickyard Powered by BigMachineRecords.com

Indianapolis Motor Speedway will feature a number of significant changes when the NASCAR  Sprint Cup Series returns to racing next weekend. One is the replacement of an iconic fixture; the other is the debut of a sustainable energy source that will provide power at the historic track for years to come.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Solar Farm is built on 68 acres near the 2.5-mile speedway's
backstretch and features 39,314 solar panels that can power the equivalent of 2,700 homes.

The latter, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Solar Farm, officially opened last month with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The facility, billed as the largest solar power farm at any sporting venue in the world, is built on 68 acres near the 2.5-mile speedway's backstretch and features 39,314 solar panels that can power the equivalent of 2,700 homes.

The development dovetails with the NASCAR Green initiative for reducing the sport's environmental footprint, offsetting 10,288 tons of carbon annually. With its debut, the Indy facility joins similar solar farms at Pocono Raceway and Sonoma Raceway, which also host the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

The other enhancement scheduled to be in place for the 21st annual Crown Royal Presents the John Wayne Walding 400 at the Brickyard Powered by BigMachineRecords.com is the addition of a new scoring pylon on the frontstretch. The iconic, 97-foot-tall tower -- which had stood since 1994 -- was removed Monday, leaving a concrete stump where the speedway's historic marker is located.

The new scoring pylon will feature an LED display on all four sides. Track president J. Douglas Boles said that the new tower will be "just a tick taller" and will improve the visibility of caution lights for drivers.

NASCAR Green

In just under four years, NASCAR and its stakeholders have made substantial environmental improvements and technological advancements and continue to set new benchmarks. NASCAR has not only become a leader in green initiatives across all sports, but a leader within the business community.

NASCAR has the largest recycling and environmental sustainability programs among all U.S. sports. NASCAR has the world’s largest solar-powered sports facility, a tree planting program capturing 100% of the emissions produced by on-track racing, and the largest recycling program in sports with Coca-Cola Recycling, Coors Light, Safety-Kleen and Creative Recycling.

As NASCAR Green enters its fifth year, it continues to educate NASCAR fans and reduce the sport’s environmental impact through strategic partnerships with the teams, tracks, and Official Partners while validating green technologies.