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There won t be a balloon release at this year s Indianapolis 500 but it s not because of the controversy surrounding the balloons impact on wildlife and the environment.
Keeping staff and attendants safe from the COVID-19 pandemic requires certain protocols for this year s event, which limits the amount of staff onsite. These same restrictions also prevented the balloon release from happening at last year s Indy 500. Like last year, the balloon release will not be part of the pre-race show due to the limited footprint of our infield, an Indianapolis Motor Speedway spokesperson told IndyStar in an email. Our event protocols make this activation, which requires committing both significant space and staff, very hard to pull off.