Winners from Many Major Series To Compete in Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational at IMS
June 14, 2018 | By Paul Kelly, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The pedigree of the Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational on June 15-17 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is elite, for both machines and drivers.
More than 300 of the world’s most exceptional vintage race cars will compete in 12 different Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) classes on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course at IMS this Friday through Sunday on Father’s Day weekend. And the featured event – the Indy Legends Charity Pro-Am Presented by RACER Magazine – on Saturday, June 16 will include drivers who have won at the Indianapolis 500, Le Mans 24 Hours and 12 Hours of Sebring and in IndyCar, NASCAR, IMSA and USAC competition.
That list of legendary names competing in the Pro-Am includes two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and CART season champion Al Unser Jr., NASCAR champion, Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 winner Bill Elliott, IMSA champion and 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Geoff Brabham, Champ Car season champion Paul Tracy, IMSA race winner and Indianapolis 500 pioneer Willy T. Ribbs, CART season champion Jimmy Vasser and 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner and ALMS and SCCA champion Ron Fellows. Female racing pioneers Lyn St. James and Sarah Fisher also are racing in the Pro-Am, with Fisher joining multiple Le Mans podium finisher Max Papis as defending champions in their respective classes.
The Indy Legends Charity Pro-Am Presented by RACER Magazine is the Saturday feature event of the Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational, starting at 1 p.m. The cars are 1963 to 1972 vintage Corvettes, Camaros and Mustangs of SVRA “Group 6” A and B Production.
Professional drivers are paired with amateurs. New rules this year include the requirement that amateur drivers will start the race and be required to drive a maximum of seven laps, and that pro drivers qualify the cars. Qualifying is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday.
Here’s the complete lineup of pro drivers competing in the Indy Legends Charity Pro-Am presented by RACER Magazine: Tom Bagley, Donnie Beechler, Geoff Brabham, Matt Brabham, Mark Dismore, Bill Elliott, Ron Fellows, Sarah Fisher, Davey Hamilton, Scott Harrington, Jimmy Kite, Bob Lazier, Jaques Lazier, Darren Manning, John Martin, Max Papis, Johnny Parsons, Willy T. Ribbs, Lyn St. James, Dick Simon, Paul Tracy, Rick Treadway, Al Unser Jr. and Jimmy Vasser.
The charity event will benefit IGNITE – the Autism Society of North Carolina’s community center for young adults with high-functioning autism or Asperger syndrome – and the Morgan Adams Foundation founded to fight children’s cancer.
Another feature event during the Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational is the Trans Am professional series race at 3:15 p.m. Sunday. Among the notable drivers competing will be reigning series champion Ernie Francis Jr. and current NBCSN IndyCar Series analyst Tracy, who is reviving his driving career this season in selected Trans Am events and will pull double duty this weekend in the Pro-Am and Trans Am races.
Tracy is driving Doug Peterson’s No. 87 Chevrolet Camaro in the TA2 class. He finished seventh in March at Road Atlanta in his return to pro racing.
The event weekend also presents the Hagerty Insurance Show & Shine car show, vintage motorcycle racing and more than 300 vintage racers ranging over 100 years of automotive history racing in SVRA Groups 1 through 12. An oval exhibition featuring the iconic 1950s roadsters will close the day Saturday and Sunday.
Another unique attraction is the Pre-1920 Race Exhibition Series cars that will be on track, along with a paddock area full of in-period equipment displays. Former Indy 500 Rookie of the Year St. James will be among the drivers of those cars.
Besides the impressive driver lineups and an incredible array of vintage machinery, there’s also plenty of star power off the track all weekend. Three-time Indianapolis 500 winners Johnny Rutherford and Bobby Unser will serve as the grand marshal and honorary chief steward of the event, respectively, and IMS Historian Donald Davidson will serve as the master of ceremonies.
Visit IMS.com to buy tickets, parking and camping, and to see a complete weekend schedule and more information. Public gates open at 8 a.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with vintage cars and motorcycles at speed on track almost constantly until the late afternoon.
General admission tickets are $15 Friday, $30 Saturday and $20 Sunday, with three-day passes available for $55. Kids 15 and under are admitted for free all three days when accompanied by an adult ticket holder, creating a perfect Father’s Day weekend experience for all generations of fans.
All fans can view the cars up close in the garage area, and a pit walk will take place from noon-12:40 p.m. Saturday – shortly before the start of the Indy Legends Charity Pro-Am Presented by RACER Magazine – for all fans.