INDIANAPOLIS – Following the conclusion of the 2024 Open-Wheels 500 Mile Race, Indiana natives Ryan Schuld and Tanner Watkins will re-acquire ownership of the Open-Wheels 500, Open-Wheels.com, Open-Wheels Motorsports Sanctioning, and all related assets.
Watkins, who founded the event in 2019 and was the owner of Open-Wheels.com from 2017-2020, and Schuld will assume responsibility of planning the 2025 edition of the Open-Wheels 500 after sim racing community leader Arjuna Kankipati led the event through the last four years.
“Ryan and I are extremely excited to re-acquire the Open-Wheels 500, a true crown jewel event in the iRacing open-wheel community,” said Watkins. “We are thoroughly grateful for Arjuna’s efforts in helping grown and solidify this race as a pillar event on the calendar, and can’t wait to get started with momentum already underway for the 2025 running.”
“A few years ago, I helped Tanner on the operations side of the Open-Wheels 500 and fully fell in love with the event from then on,” Schuld said. “Recently, Tanner and I threw around the idea of running the show again and now here we are. I couldn’t be more excited to partner with him, but also still continue to work with Arjuna, as we put on this one of a kind event in 2025 and beyond!”
Multiple major announcements surrounding the 2025 edition of the Open-Wheels 500 are forthcoming in December. Stay connected with the latest news surrounding next year’s race via Open-Wheels.com as well as Open-Wheels’ social – to be found @OpenWheels500 on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter/X.
ABOUT THE OPEN-WHEELS 500
The Open-Wheels 500 was created in 2019 in an effort to personalize Indianapolis’ Memorial Day classic into a virtual “500” for sim racing competitors – complete with authenticity that positions the event firmly as the World’s Greatest Sim Race. The goal of the event is to present racers with the closest experience possible to what drivers in open-wheel racing enjoy each May. The Open-Wheels 500 is owned and operated by Indiana natives Ryan Schuld and Tanner Watkins, who are dedicated to elevating the event in the sim racing industry.
