97th Indianapolis 500 Notebook
May 07, 2013 | By Paul Kelly
Main Street in Speedway, Ind., will turn into a charity kickoff for the 2013 Indianapolis 500 when the Indy Family Foundation presents the first Festival on Main spectacular from 6-10 p.m. Friday, May 10.
The Festival on Main, free to the public, will include a zip line, custom car and motorcycle show, live music, celebrity dunk tank, local brew pubs, the popular Food Truck Alliance of Indy and a special KidZone. Zip line rides down Main Street will cost $10 per ride.
The event will take place rain or shine in front of Indy car racing shops of Dallara Cars and Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, just a few blocks from the famed 16th Street and Georgetown Road main gate of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
IZOD IndyCar Series drivers and local celebrities will participate in a variety of events, including the Celebrity Dunk Tank. The Dallara Racing Experience “street legal” two-seater Indy car will give rides throughout the evening.
Among the Indy 500 competitors scheduled to attend the charity affair include recent Brazil race winner James Hinchcliffe, IZOD IndyCar Series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay, Fontana 500-mile race winner Ed Carpenter, 2008 Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon, Marco Andretti, Charlie Kimball, Josef Newgarden, JR Hildebrand, E.J.Viso, Sarah Fisher, Sebastian Saavedra and Pippa Mann. Several drag racing stars also are scheduled to attend.
The KidZone area will feature bounce houses, pedal cart races, paint-your-own Hot Wheels cars, obstacle course, Sumo wrestling suits, Fire Safety House demonstrations, glitter tattoo stations and face painting. The fee for the KidZone will be $10 for an unlimited play wristband and $25 for a Family Pack of unlimited play.
The custom car and motorcycle show, displayed on Main Street in Speedway, will have a limited number of entrants. Pre-registration for the vehicles will be $25, with Event Day registration at $35. Pre-registration is available at www.indyfamilyfoundation.com.
All proceeds go to the IFF, a charity that aids those in the motorsports community (regardless of sanctioning body) who find themselves in financial need due to hardship caused by illness, injury or death.
For additional information on the “Festival on Main” (#IFFfest), please go to the Indy Family Foundation website at www.indyfamilyfoundation.com or contact 800-815-9513.
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Foyt back on top entering May: Takuma Sato of A.J. Foyt Racing climbed to the top of the IZOD IndyCar Series point standings after finishing second in the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 on May 5.
Sato’s strong run continued a remarkable transformation for A.J. Foyt Racing, led by four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt and his son and team director, Larry Foyt.
This is the first time a driver for Foyt’s team has led the series entering the Indianapolis 500 since A.J. Foyt topped the USAC standings entering the 1979 race. The last Foyt driver to lead the championship at any point was Kenny Brack en route to capturing the 1998 series title.
“I don't think I’ve ever come down Gasoline Alley and had to take a left to our pit box,” Larry Foyt said, referring to top teams in the series pitting near the exit of pit lane for the Indianapolis 500. “This team is really doing a fantastic job. Takuma is driving just amazingly.
“It's been good so going into the month of May, obviously this is a long month and anything can happen, but always a positive to have good momentum going into Indy.”
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IMS route planning videos available: A series of eight videos showing fans the best routes to access various parking lots from all directions at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 97th Indianapolis 500 is available now at www.ims.com/how2park.
Each video features step-by-step instructions, featuring audio and Google Earth maps.
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FanPhotos coming to Indy 500: Brand Affinity Technologies, Inc. (“Brand Affinity”), the expert in engaging, activating, and monetizing fans, announced a new, exclusive multi-year partnership with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in which Brand Affinity’s FanPhotos activation services will provide fan engagement at the signature Indianapolis 500, Kroger Super Weekend at the Brickyard and the Red Bull Indianapolis GP racing events.
The partnership will kick off at the 97th Indianapolis 500. Roving photographers from Brand Affinity’s FanPhotos will work the crowd taking photos of fans and handing out redemption cards. In addition, photographers will be on hand at fixed point sites at the track where race fans can take photos against an iconic backdrop, view the pictures instantly and place orders on the spot.
Brand Affinity’s FanPhotos services provide entertainment properties unparalleled access to fans attending an event. FanPhotos photographers directly engage fans during events to capture photos and offer a personalized one-to-one touch point as they distribute branded photo redemption cards. The services enable brands and sponsors to create connections and build brand loyalty with their target audience. By creating emotional connections to people via photos at live events, brands and sponsors are able to extend their reach even after the event is over. FanPhotos also enables offline and online brand engagement, including active sharing via social media.
Top entertainment and sports brands use Brand Affinity’s FanPhotos fan activation services to engage customers, including teams from the Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association and National Hockey League, several major colleges and many more.
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Brickyard Crossing open for play in May: Despite a busy schedule of on-track activity for the 97th Indianapolis 500, Brickyard Crossing Golf Course remains open for play most days during the Month of May.
With four holes located inside the famous IMS oval, the Pete Dye-designed, 18-hole championship course offers golfers the unique attraction of playing golf while IZOD INdyCar Sseries cars roar past at 225 mph.
The course is open for public play in May every day except for Saturday, May 18, Friday, May 24 and Sunday, May 26. The greens fee is $100 per player, which includes a 2012 E-Z-GO cart equipped with a GPS system.
Tee times can be made by calling (317) 492-6417 or online at www.brickyardcrossing.com. Tee times may be made 30 days in advance and must be secured with a major credit card.
Brickyard Crossing has earned many honors, including recent designation as one of “2010 Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play,” and in 2011 it was named one of Forbes Magazine’s “12 Best Value Golf Courses in U.S.” The course also has been voted as one of America’s top 100 public golf courses by Golf Digest and Golfweek.
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2013 Indianapolis 500 tickets: Tickets are on sale for the 97th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race on Sunday, May 26 at IMS.
Race Day ticket prices start at just $30. Fans can buy tickets online at www.ims.com/tickets, by calling the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700, or (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area, or by visiting the ticket office at the IMS Administration Building at the corner of Georgetown Road and 16th Street between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (ET) Monday-Friday.
Children 12 and under will receive free general admission to any IMS event in 2013 when accompanied by an adult general admission ticket holder.
Tickets for groups of 20 or more also are on sale. Contact the IMS Group Sales Department at (866) 221-8775 for more information.