Mark Miles still hopes Indy 500 will be held

Mark Miles is on a wing and a prayer

Penske Entertainment Corp. president and CEO Mark Miles said Monday he continues to be confident the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be able to host the Aug. 23 Indy 500. But the question is whether 175,000 fans, as he hopes, will be allowed in. Roger Penske has already gone on record that he will cancel this year's race if it cannot be run with fans.

“Unless the COVID-19 world crashes in on us and healthcare metrics really turn south meaningfully (in Indiana), I’m quite confident we’ll be able to do the race," Miles told the Sports Business Journal Monday.

Miles added this comment to the IndyStar: "We are in close contact with public health officials, and our dialog with them continues to be productive and encouraging. We remain confident in our ability to run the race, barring a very significant shift in public health indicators." Last Wednesday, Gov. Eric Holcomb announced Indiana would remain in interim Stage 4.5 for two more weeks into late July.

Organizers will be allowed to hold events with huge attendance under the previous description of Stage 5, but Indiana has yet to approve Stage 5.

“I think there was probably a time where we thought that, in Indiana, Stage 5 was ‘normal’ and we’d be back completely, and now I think no one has a clue when Stage 5 happens," Miles said on a media conference call last week. “What we’re trying to do is figure out what a ‘new normal’ looks like, so we can continue to operate in as safe and responsible a way as possible and take care of our fans and our community."