| LIVE UPDATES Wednesday, May 21 - COMMUNITY DAY |
NOTES: Updates are listed with most recent post at the top. If you have any specific questions that I can
answer regarding activities at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, please e-mail them to me HERE and I'll do
my best to post a response below.
Wednesday, May 21 PHOTOS - COMMUNITY DAY
UPDATES:
2:00 pm
Driver autograph sessions have started in the Pagoda Plaza. There will be three one-hour sessions with drivers
divided up into one session each.
What a pleasant and fun day for families to come to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Not only do they get an
autograph from their favorite current driver, but they get to see history in the form of many of the Museum's
legendary race cars on display in pit lane. Media teams were competing against eachother in a pit stop contest,
jugglers were entertaining everywhere - it's a real festival or picnic atmosphere.
The winner of the 2008 Indianapolis 500 will receive a frosty bottle of milk in victory lane, a check for more than
$2.5 million, the keys to the Chevrolet Corvette Pace Car and the opportunity to race a dirt late model against the
likes of Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne and others. Stewart, a two-time NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series champion and five-time Indianapolis 500 starter, is offering the winner of the Indy 500 a car to
drive in the fourth annual Old Spice Prelude to the Dream June 4 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. The
dirt late model stock car that will be waiting for the winner of the Indy 500 will feature logos from this year's
500-mile race, as well as the famous wing and wheel logo of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Should the Indy
500 winner decide to take part in the race, he or she will compete against Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Gordon, as
well as two-time and reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Johnson, a Prelude newcomer who will join
Stewart, Kahne, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin, Denny Hamlin, Bobby Labonte and others as they pilot
2,300-pound dirt late model stock cars capable of putting out over 800 horsepower. In addition to the
aforementioned drivers, J.J. Yeley, Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman, Bill Elliott, Dave Blaney, David Reutimann, Robby
Gordon, Aric Almirlola, Ron Capps, Cruz Pedregon, Ray Evernham, Red Farmer, Ken Schrader and Kenny
Wallace have also committed to to the Old Spice Prelude to the Dream.
11:15 am
Young racing fans coming out for Community Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will enjoy a special treat
today at the Dreyer Reinbold Racing garage. There will be a relay race with all three of the team's drivers - Milka
Duno, Buddy Rice and Townsend Bell - and a festive contest to attract the children and generate excitement for
the upcoming Indy 500. Special giveaways will also be distributed in recognition of Duno's movie role in the
recently released Warner Bros. movie, "Speed Racer." This event will take place from 11:30 am to approximately
12:30 pm today. Duno, an passionate advocate for education, is no stranger to the classroom herself. Aside
from her professional racing career, she is a certified Naval Engineer and currently holds four master's degrees.
She earned three simultaneously.
Happy Birthday to Indy 500 hero Danny Ongais, who turns 66 today! It was 12 years ago when Ongais had the
unfortunate experience of replacing Scott Brayton on the pole of the Indy 500 that year after Brayton sadly was
killed in an accident.
10:00 am
Today is Community Day here at IMS, and it's turned out to be perfect weather for the occasion - sunny, low 60s
temps and NO rain. Thousands upon thousands of people - mostly families with young children - descend upon
IMS for inside looks at some restricted areas of the track, autographs from all of the drivers (there's a mandatory
autograph session in the afternoon), pictures with the race cars which are all on display, tours of the garage area
and race team garages, lots of interactive games and displays, and there's even an opportunity to drive your own
passenger car around the famed 2.5-mile oval! For some reason, Mother Nature seems to bless this day with
great weather each year. It will be a day of images, as I plan to take a massive amount of photos.
I attended the Front Row Party last night at Rock Lobster in Broad Ripple. This is an annual event held in the
center of Broad Ripple's party district, usually at Average Joe's, which is currently owned by Rob Sabatini, a
long-time racing supporter and sometimes IndyCar teammember. However, the event has gotten so big in the
past few years, that they had to move it next door to Rock Lobster to accommodate everyone. Free beverages
and food were available from 7-9 pm, and an auction benefited Racing For Kids. Average Joe's, Rock Lobster
and Mineshaft - three adjoining restaurants/bars - used to be owned by Fred Treadway, owner of Arie Luyendyk's
Indy 500-winning team. Fred has since moved to Florida and has been highly successful in real estate
development and other businesses, but he returns annually to celebrate the Indy 500. At the Front Row Party,
the guests of honor were (obviously) Scott Dixon, Dan Wheldon and Ryan Briscoe, who were all in attendance,
along with a host of race team members, media, team owners, and special invitees (it was an invitation-only
event). Very fun, partly because the day it's held is low-key for most everyone involved in the garage area, and
drivers and team members can usually unwind a bit because the next day - Community Day - is not a heavy work
day (it's more of a showcase day for their teams). The band "Dave and Rae" play annually at this event, and I
look forward to it each year as they are fantastic for only two people. Scott Dixon commented that he was excited
to actually be legitimately invited to this event as he's usually had to crash the party in the past! I spoke with Dan
and he had just flown back from the IRL's New York City driver/media appearance with his new bride Susie, where
all 33 qualified Indy 500 drivers fly into the city for a one-day media event. He commented that it was nice to have
a day where they could sleep in and not have to rush off to anything right away. All the drivers stuck around for
quite a bit and seemed to be enjoying the camaraderie and relaxed event.
answer regarding activities at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, please e-mail them to me HERE and I'll do
my best to post a response below.
Wednesday, May 21 PHOTOS - COMMUNITY DAY
UPDATES:
2:00 pm
Driver autograph sessions have started in the Pagoda Plaza. There will be three one-hour sessions with drivers
divided up into one session each.
What a pleasant and fun day for families to come to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Not only do they get an
autograph from their favorite current driver, but they get to see history in the form of many of the Museum's
legendary race cars on display in pit lane. Media teams were competing against eachother in a pit stop contest,
jugglers were entertaining everywhere - it's a real festival or picnic atmosphere.
The winner of the 2008 Indianapolis 500 will receive a frosty bottle of milk in victory lane, a check for more than
$2.5 million, the keys to the Chevrolet Corvette Pace Car and the opportunity to race a dirt late model against the
likes of Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne and others. Stewart, a two-time NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series champion and five-time Indianapolis 500 starter, is offering the winner of the Indy 500 a car to
drive in the fourth annual Old Spice Prelude to the Dream June 4 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. The
dirt late model stock car that will be waiting for the winner of the Indy 500 will feature logos from this year's
500-mile race, as well as the famous wing and wheel logo of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Should the Indy
500 winner decide to take part in the race, he or she will compete against Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Gordon, as
well as two-time and reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Johnson, a Prelude newcomer who will join
Stewart, Kahne, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin, Denny Hamlin, Bobby Labonte and others as they pilot
2,300-pound dirt late model stock cars capable of putting out over 800 horsepower. In addition to the
aforementioned drivers, J.J. Yeley, Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman, Bill Elliott, Dave Blaney, David Reutimann, Robby
Gordon, Aric Almirlola, Ron Capps, Cruz Pedregon, Ray Evernham, Red Farmer, Ken Schrader and Kenny
Wallace have also committed to to the Old Spice Prelude to the Dream.
11:15 am
Young racing fans coming out for Community Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will enjoy a special treat
today at the Dreyer Reinbold Racing garage. There will be a relay race with all three of the team's drivers - Milka
Duno, Buddy Rice and Townsend Bell - and a festive contest to attract the children and generate excitement for
the upcoming Indy 500. Special giveaways will also be distributed in recognition of Duno's movie role in the
recently released Warner Bros. movie, "Speed Racer." This event will take place from 11:30 am to approximately
12:30 pm today. Duno, an passionate advocate for education, is no stranger to the classroom herself. Aside
from her professional racing career, she is a certified Naval Engineer and currently holds four master's degrees.
She earned three simultaneously.
Happy Birthday to Indy 500 hero Danny Ongais, who turns 66 today! It was 12 years ago when Ongais had the
unfortunate experience of replacing Scott Brayton on the pole of the Indy 500 that year after Brayton sadly was
killed in an accident.
10:00 am
Today is Community Day here at IMS, and it's turned out to be perfect weather for the occasion - sunny, low 60s
temps and NO rain. Thousands upon thousands of people - mostly families with young children - descend upon
IMS for inside looks at some restricted areas of the track, autographs from all of the drivers (there's a mandatory
autograph session in the afternoon), pictures with the race cars which are all on display, tours of the garage area
and race team garages, lots of interactive games and displays, and there's even an opportunity to drive your own
passenger car around the famed 2.5-mile oval! For some reason, Mother Nature seems to bless this day with
great weather each year. It will be a day of images, as I plan to take a massive amount of photos.
I attended the Front Row Party last night at Rock Lobster in Broad Ripple. This is an annual event held in the
center of Broad Ripple's party district, usually at Average Joe's, which is currently owned by Rob Sabatini, a
long-time racing supporter and sometimes IndyCar teammember. However, the event has gotten so big in the
past few years, that they had to move it next door to Rock Lobster to accommodate everyone. Free beverages
and food were available from 7-9 pm, and an auction benefited Racing For Kids. Average Joe's, Rock Lobster
and Mineshaft - three adjoining restaurants/bars - used to be owned by Fred Treadway, owner of Arie Luyendyk's
Indy 500-winning team. Fred has since moved to Florida and has been highly successful in real estate
development and other businesses, but he returns annually to celebrate the Indy 500. At the Front Row Party,
the guests of honor were (obviously) Scott Dixon, Dan Wheldon and Ryan Briscoe, who were all in attendance,
along with a host of race team members, media, team owners, and special invitees (it was an invitation-only
event). Very fun, partly because the day it's held is low-key for most everyone involved in the garage area, and
drivers and team members can usually unwind a bit because the next day - Community Day - is not a heavy work
day (it's more of a showcase day for their teams). The band "Dave and Rae" play annually at this event, and I
look forward to it each year as they are fantastic for only two people. Scott Dixon commented that he was excited
to actually be legitimately invited to this event as he's usually had to crash the party in the past! I spoke with Dan
and he had just flown back from the IRL's New York City driver/media appearance with his new bride Susie, where
all 33 qualified Indy 500 drivers fly into the city for a one-day media event. He commented that it was nice to have
a day where they could sleep in and not have to rush off to anything right away. All the drivers stuck around for
quite a bit and seemed to be enjoying the camaraderie and relaxed event.
