IMSA Returned To Indianapolis With The 2023 Battle of the Bricks

Craton Promotions makes big debut at IMS, tastes the history of St. Elmo's

October 22, 2023

110 3 minutes read

IMSA, Indianapolis, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis IN, September 2023. (Photo by Brian Cleary/bcpix.com)

Indianapolis, IN – When the crew at Craton Promotions got word that IMSA was returning to the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, you could see the excitement in our eyes. The Team IMSA store for the IMSA “Battle of the Bricks” was the largest IMSA-only, store that we have set up in all the years that IMSA has been a client of ours. We even celebrated that fact with a red ribbon-cutting ceremony before the fans were allowed in on the first day.

IMSA President John Doonan and Vice President Brandon Huddleston were on hand to help cut the ribbon with the entire Craton Promotions team working the IMS “Battle of the Bricks” event. I have to say it was pretty exciting having them there for the opening of the store that day.

The track was just as great as my imagination led me to believe before we arrived. There was just an aura about the place that was filled with history and iconic moments. We were set up at the opening the the fan midway and we had Chevrolet, Toronto Motorsports, and Guts Wear Racing as our neighbors.

For the Battle of the Bricks 2023, we set out the now-famous Team IMSA Car Spotter Guide Cornhole boards. I proceeded to challenge one and all to a few rounds of corn hole. Prizes were being won, fun was being had, and at one point we had a few groups of fans that came back every day to challenge the At The Events/ Craton Promotions team. We lost every day to this one group of guys that were camping for the weekend at the track. On the first day, I teamed up with Kaylyn, and we lost, on the second day I teamed up with our VP Thomas, we lost, the third day I teamed up with Owen, and we lost again. This group of guys had so many free IMSA cups that they had a full set to use for an apparent keg that they had. Good Times.

On one of the pre-race days, champion driver Pipo Derani stopped in to check out the new decals we made for him. I truly love the way Pipo comes into the store and interacts with us and the fans whenever he gets a chance. You can find him and me on many promo reels on his social media pages. He is a great guy on top of being a skilled driver.

Another interesting thing that happened was that our model car display expert Micah was busy the entire time, it was something like a phenomenon. He hardly had time for lunches. The people of Indiana love their collectible model cars !!!

One of the days after the Team IMSA store was all set up, the team split up, half of the team went out on the town looking at shops, they even found a curiosity shop that seemed like a lot of fun. At that same time Charles, Thomas, and I went downtown to the “Statue Circle” as Charles was doing some last-second business there. While we waited for Charles, Thomas and I decided to go and check out the Indiana War Memorial and Museums that was right next to us. Once we got inside we decided to run up the stairs to the top and back down. It took more energy than I thought it would, I am sure Thomas would agree with me. Did you know that Craton Inc. also owns a gym in Rome, GA, and I have been using the StairMaster there ever since?

Our rental house was nice and in the evenings after work was done, we somehow began playing board games that were left for our amusement. Calley spearheaded the nights of Uno Flip Card games and Shakespearian Cards Against Humanity. Good Times on the road, good times. The Rome, GA crew still to this day gets together and plays Uno Flip games once a week.

After it was all said and done we all packed up and on the last night went out to the historic “St Elmos Steakhouse“. It is said to have been an Indianapolis top spot since 1902, and it did not disappoint. We had a great dinner and the consensus was that the cocktail & horseradish sauces were the most incredible of their kind anywhere.