One week into May and 19 days until the green flag for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials say that Indianapolis 500 ticket sales are ahead of 2023 and that reserved grandstand seats are likely to sell out before race day.

As of Tuesday, Penske Entertainment officials told IndyStar that the IMS ticket office has sold more than 15,000 more tickets in the leadup to the 108th Indy 500 than it had for the 2023 race. That means over 90% of the roughly 234,000 grandstand seats have been accounted for, leaving less than 24,000 available.

IMS ended up with just under 10,000 reserved grandstand seats unsold last year, IMS president Doug Boles told IndyStar earlier this year, leading to attendance of more than 330,000. The day after last year's race, Roger Penske told reporters that the 2023 crowd was somewhere between 6,000-8,000 more than the 2022 attendance of roughly 325,000.

Penske also noted at the time that IMS "could sell 25 more suites" if it had them, and that corporate interest in the world's largest single-day sporting event is the highest it's been in recent memory. In February, when race day ticket sales were tracking "almost dead-even" with the complete sellout for the 100th running in 2016, Boles told IndyStar that Snake Pit ticket sales were headed toward the typical pre-pandemic benchmark of more than 25,000.

2024 Indy 500 ticket sales: Less than 100 days until race, ticket sales best since 2016

Boles also said then that in the eight years since the 100th running, avid fans have tended to renew their tickets earlier, likely leading to an early sales pace that was near – and even for a short time, ahead of – 2016.

"It's amazing (ticket sales) have been this strong even without that 100th-running conversation to drive it," Boles told IndyStar in February. "I keep wondering if I'm going to wake up one day and realize, 'Oh, everyone's bought and set now.' But it just continues to go."

At that point, Boles said he didn't believe the 'Kyle Larson effect' had taken hold. The NASCAR Cup star is making the first Indy 500-NASCAR double attempt since 2014.

"I certainly think Kyle Larson will play into it, especially in the next three months," Boles said just over two months ago. "I think fans who may not regularly buy tickets to the 500, whether they're NASCAR fans or short-track fans, I think we'll see a lot of (sales from them) as we get closer."

Will the 2024 Indy 500 sell out?

IMS officials caution against the likelihood of IMS drawing a sellout like in 2016.

That year, the track ceased general admission sales the Wednesday of race week, four days from the 100th running held May 29, leading to the 500's first true sellout in its history that dates to 1911. Eight years ago, IMS sold its final grandstand seat on May 6 with 23 days left until race day. With 19 days left and still somewhere around 20,000 reserved grandstand seats remaining, a complete sellout is unlikely – even if this year's sales have exceeded the track's lofty goals.

The possibility of a grandstand sellout still "feels real," one Penske Entertainment official said this week.

Insider: Why IMS has had consistent Indy 500 ticket sales growth since 2016

Will the 2024 Indy 500 be blacked out?

Should IMS complete a sellout of its reserved grandstand seats, it could put Penske Entertainment officials in a new position under Penske's stewardship: Whether to lift the local blackout of live TV and streaming race broadcasts for fans unable to buy reserved seats.

After a 2020 race closed off to fans due to precautions taken due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a 2021 race capped at 135,000 fans – both lifting the blackout in Central Indiana – Penske Entertainment resumed the blackout in 2022. That year, though, NBC had not yet mastered the geo-fencing technology that would allow them to keep subscribers to Peacock Premium from watching the race via streaming, so a subscription gave local fans a loophole. Last year's race saw the return of a true, overarching local blackout.

History lesson: The saga of the Indy 500 TV blackout and its fascinating, quirky stronghold

Given that track officials have only lifted the local blackout in the last six-plus decades for historic circumstances, it's unclear if a grandstand sellout would warrant that.

Central Indiana race fans been able to watch the Indy 500 on live TV in some way six times (1949, '50, 2016, '20, '21 and '22).

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IMS eyeing likely grandstand ticket sellout for 2024 Indy 500