The Weekend and the Lodging Route
The Indianapolis 8 Hour presented by AWS runs Friday, October 9 through Sunday, October 11, 2026 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Intercontinental GT Challenge and GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS share a 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course, and the eight-hour feature is Saturday, October 10.
The Plan Ahead menu for this race lists the event schedule, directions and traffic, gate regulations, transportation services, parking, camping and ADA accessibility. The Grand Prix and Indianapolis 500 Plan Ahead menus each carry a Lodging entry. The 8 Hour menu lists seven entries.
The Speedway's own FAQ answers the hotel question with the published routing: call Visit Indy at 1-800-556-INDY or visit www.visitindy.com. That line is the whole of the published route for this weekend.
Saturday Is the Night to Book First
The published race window on Saturday is 12:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. ET. Gates are open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and the outside parking lots open at 7 a.m. A guest who walks out of the grandstands at 8:30 p.m. stays the night.
The Saturday ticket page describes the race as starting at noon. The event schedule sets it at 12:30 p.m. and runs it to 8:30 p.m. That window is the eight hours in the event name. Plan to the schedule and confirm the green flag with the Speedway.
The Sunday Checkout Sits After the Gates Close
Sunday, October 11 is the support-race day. Outside parking lots open at 8 a.m., gates run 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and the last race on the published schedule runs 1:40 p.m. to 2:25 p.m.
A Sunday checkout therefore falls after the gates close at 2 p.m. Ask the property to state its checkout time and whether a departure at 2 p.m. or later is available, and get that answer in writing before the rate is confirmed.
The Ticket Window Now Live
The Speedway price table carries four purchase windows. The current window opened September 22 and closes October 11. Three-day admission, Friday through Sunday, reads $85. Saturday reads $40 to $45. Sunday reads $30 and Friday reads $20.
Seating is general admission in the open grandstands and runs first-come, first-served, with garage access for every series included. Children 15 and under are admitted free with a paying adult in general admission areas. The Paddock Plus add-on reads $50 for Saturday and requires a pass for every person at any age.
The Rooms Sit on the West Side
Indianapolis Motor Speedway is at 4790 West 16th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46222. The hotelhuddle directory carries 273 Indianapolis properties. Its nearest published addresses to the track are Courtyard by Marriott Indianapolis West-Speedway at 6315 Crawfordsville Road, Hampton Inn & Suites Indianapolis West Speedway at 2608 Founders Square Drive, Travelodge by Wyndham Indianapolis Speedway at 2930 Waterfront Pkwy W Drive, Royal Inn Hotel at 3740 N High School Rd, and Baymont by Wyndham Indianapolis West at 3850 Eagle View Dr. Confirm the address and the drive with the property.
A downtown room is a longer transfer on each of the three mornings and a longer one back after 8:30 p.m. on Saturday. Weigh that against the rate, and check the cancellation terms before the arrival date.
Parking, Tickets and a Cashless Track
Paid parking for all three days is in Lot 2, a grass lot outside the gates, at $10 a day or $25 for the three-day pass. ADA parking sits in the same lot. One pass covers one vehicle.
Tickets are digital, and gate admission and parking are emailed closer to the event weekend. Indianapolis Motor Speedway runs ticket, credential, parking, concession and merchandise purchases on debit or credit cards. The ticket office answers at 317-492-6700, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.
How to Build the Room Request
hotelhuddle.com sends one request to 50 or more hotels in a destination at no charge. The platform states that hotels reply within 24 to 72 hours, that its network covers 103,857 hotels across 46 states, and that hotels pay the platform a commission while the rate carries no markup.
Name Saturday, October 10 first. Put the 8:30 p.m. race end and the 2 p.m. Sunday gate close in the request so each property answers the checkout question directly. Ask for the cancellation deadline and any deposit in writing, and confirm the nightly rate for every night.