Monday, March 2, 2009
Notes | Photos | Kinkade Unveils Art
Quotes from drivers and other VIP's from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Centennial Era Gala on Friday, Feb. 27:
GREG BALLARD (Mayor of Indianapolis): "I think it's a great event. I love the Speedway -- I always have since I was a kid. I tell people all the time, I've watched this race around the world. I've been in Europe, Asia, Latin America - I've seen this race on TV. It's just like you say, it's synonymous with Indianapolis. This is a great celebration."
GIL DE FERRAN (2003 Indianapolis 500 winner): (About the Centennial Era Gala and the differences in participating at the Speedway in IndyCar and Formula One): "Obviously there are obvious differences with Formula One racing is all on road courses and Indy 500 famously on a square oval, but you know, like most types of shall I say, high-end motorsports, you know once the flag drops, all teams are remarkably similar. The red blood starts boiling and it's all back to basics. I had a great time working in Formula One and I have to say that (inaudible) in '05 U.S. Grand Prix or '06, I forgot, where we couldn't participate, that was probably one of the worst days of my life. But, you know, apart from that experience, I enjoyed it."
SARAH FISHER (Seven-time Indianapolis 500 starter): "This is awesome, you know, just to be a part of the history of the Speedway. And to see all of the fantastic things that have happened in the last 100 years is just amazing and it's wonderful to see it and hear it told all the time." (Did you have thoughts of racing at IMS when starting your racing career?): "I did. You know, I actually had a good offer at the time, but it wasn't for a really great team and I was having a really great time racing sprint cars with my dad, so I wanted to keep doing that. You know, when the call came to run an open-wheel car, an IndyCar, with the goal being to run the Indy 500, I jumped at it and drove out West and took my rookie test instantaneously." (About her team's chances this May at Indy): "We're working on the car and making it better than it was last year. We've invested again in our people. We've hired some great engineering folks and that's the core of it. So, we've invested in our people, and that's going to turn out to be a great result for us."
Centennial Era Lamp
Centennial Era Rotating Lamp. Lamp Rotates Giving Off Glow Of Famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway Images. 6.5" Width X 12.5" Height.
A.J. FOYT IV (Five-time Indianapolis 500 starter): "Obviously this is huge for the Speedway, and my grandfather's been around for half that, he's been around for 50 years, going on 51, 52, so it's huge. It's great that he's coming in from Texas tonight for the dinner, and my grandmother, my cousin Larry, so it's just awesome. This place just means everything to my family and just every race that you think about every day of your life, and it's just awesome that everyone's here."
RICK FUSON (Chief Operating Officer, Pacers Sports and Entertainment): "It's a wonderful night, not only because I'm part of the Pacer organization that runs Conseco Fieldhouse, but because my father worked the Indianapolis News for nearly 50 years, came in 1946 from Terre Haute, friend of Tony Hulman and the Hulman-George family and is just a part of the history of our entire life, so it's a great night to be here."
BOB JENKINS (Master of ceremonies of Centennial Gala): (About what it means to host Gala as a native of Liberty, Ind.): "I first became aware of the Speedway when I was 7. I came to qualifying for the first time in '58 and to the race in 1960 for the first time. To have even a small role in helping or doing whatever I do is the thrill of a lifetime. I always dreamed when I was growing up in Liberty that I would have a small role perhaps in the Speedway, and to be asked to emcee this event is very special. But at the same time, it is the Speedway and it is just more than life to me, it really is. I can't explain what the Speedway has meant to me down through the years, and I'm just so excited to have a role in getting it to its second century."
PARNELLI JONES (1963 Indianapolis 500 winner): "Well, certainly the Indianapolis 500, especially if you're a winner there, it means the world to you because you carry that for the rest of your life. But, the Speedway, actually when it first opened in 1909, I understand it was dirt and it was so dusty that they put the bricks down the next year or something like that - of course the first race in 1911. I'm so proud to be a part of the Indianapolis 500 and especially the people. I've lived back here during the summers that I raced and a lot of great Hoosiers here and love coming back."
BUDDY LAZIER (1996 Indianapolis 500 winner): (About Centennial Era Gala): "I think it's spectacular. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway just means so much to American motorsports, you know, and growing up wondering if I'd ever get to compete in it as a driver and then being able to win it and continue to compete in it, it's a thrill."
ARIE LUYENDYK (Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner): "It's always meant a lot to be part of the Indianapolis 500 history, especially winning the race once and then again, so you know, Indy has always had a special place in everybody's hearts that drives here. I mean, it's just an event that is so unique and stands alone, so it's a good thing I wasn't around for the first race. I'm glad to be a part of it."
MARK MILES (President of Super Bowl Bid Committee and Chairman of Super Bowl Host Committee Board of Directors): "This is exciting. There's a lot of nostalgia. I think of the Speedway as a little kid watching great races, but also at the time in 1987 when the Hulman family led us at the opening ceremonies for the Pan-Am Games. It was a first event that wasn't a 500-mile race or leading up to that. That's now in the history department and one of my fondest memories."
PAUL PAGE (Former IMS Radio Network and ABC broadcaster for Indy 500): "When I was a boy growing up in Chicago, all my friends in high school knew that I wanted to be an announcer at the Indy 500. They didn't know why, because we didn't know that much about it in Chicago. I came down here, and Sid Collins took me under his wing, taught me and it led to the most incredible time in my life - 25 races to call between radio and television and meeting the greatest people in the world. I've been really lucky. This night ties it all together - it makes it special."
BILL PUTERBAUGH (1975 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year): "One hundred years, well, I've been here about 50 years of it. I started coming with Arnold Knepper in '66 as a mechanic and then in '68, Bobby Unser got me a ride in Mickey Thompson's 16-valve Chevrolet and so got my first chance in Mickey Thompson's car. Hey, I'll be 73 years old this year, so yeah, just lucky to be around. I drove a lot of cars without roll cages, came through midgets, sprint cars, Silver Crowns, stock cars to get to Indy cars. I finally made the race in 1975 and was the fastest-qualifying rookie, so it's been an honor and it's stuck with me and it's helped me all my life. I'm retired now, but my son is running and we're helping him a little bit."
JIM RATHMANN (1960 Indianapolis 500 winner): (About memories of 1960 race): "I guess the winning. Right after the flag, I stood up in the race car and waved at everybody and whatnot."
JOHNNY RUTHERFORD (Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner): "It's the 100th anniversary. It means so much to a bunch of us, you know and everybody that's ever been involved with the Speedway for any length of time, or even once, you never forget it and it has a place in your heart. Being a three-time winner of the race here means so much to me and has meant so much to my career. It's been a great thrill. The Speedway has made all of us that have won the race once or four times, and as a competitor at Indianapolis, it puts you in a special category."
TOM SNEVA (1983 Indianapolis 500 winner): (About IMS Centennial Era and his place in history): "It makes you proud to be a part of that history. It's unbelievable history, and I'm glad I'm a little part of that whole scheme of things."
AL SPEYER (Executive Director, Firestone Racing): "I can't emphasize enough how special this evening is and thinking about all the different generations of people from Firestone who have worked at the Speedway and to be involved on an individual level right now, is something I think that a lot of people would be envious of. There's so much history for the Speedway, and you think back about it and the fact that it was actually built as a test track and became 'The Greatest Spectacle in Racing' and greatest racetrack in the world is great. It's so special to see many faces from the past here, and we're just going to enjoy the evening. I think from both Firestone's perspective and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it's a very, very special time."
***
2009 IMS tickets: Established in 1909, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has long prevailed as an icon of motorsports excellence. Beginning in 2009, the Speedway celebrates its Centennial Era, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the facility in 2009 and the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race in 2011.
Tickets for the three events in 2009 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway - the 93rd Indianapolis 500, 16th Allstate 400 at the Brickyard and second Red Bull Indianapolis GP - can be purchased online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com at any time.
Tickets for groups of 20 or more also are on sale. Contact the IMS Group Sales Department at (866) 221-8775 for more information.
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