Daily Trackside Report - Sunday, May 30
May 30, 2010 | By
DAY 12 – SUNDAY, MAY 30, 2010 – RACE DAY
Good morning.
Jeff Belskus, president and chief executive officer of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation, Randy Bernard, chief executive officer of the Indy Racing League, members of the Hulman-George family, and the entire Speedway and Indy Racing League staff welcome you to the World’s Greatest Race Course and the 2010 Indianapolis 500 Mile Race.
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RACE DAY ORDER OF THE DAY:
6 a.m. Public Gates Open
8 a.m. Spectacle of Bands Begins
10:30 a.m. Cars Begin Entering Pit Lane
11:15 a.m. “On the Banks of the Wabash” – Purdue University All American Marching Band
11:40 a.m. Celebrity/VIP Laps
11:50 a.m. Engine warm-up begins
12:02 p.m. Interview with Butler University Men’s Basketball Team, Victory Podium
12:09 p.m. Military Recognition Lap and March
12:33 p.m. Driver Introductions
12:47 p.m. “America the Beautiful” by Major Lisa Kopczynski, Indiana National Guard, Victory Podium
12:49 p.m. Speech from Rear Admiral John W. Miller, U.S. Navy, Commander, Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center, Victory Podium
12:51 p.m. “God Bless America” performed by Florence Henderson, Victory Podium
12:54 p.m. National Anthem performed by Jewel
12:56 p.m. Flyover by four U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornet aircraft, Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center (NSAWC), Fallon, Nev.
12:56 p.m. “Drivers to Your Cars” Announcement
12:57 p.m. Invocation given by Rev. Msgr. Joseph F. Schaedel, Vicar General/Moderator of the Curia, Archdiocese of Indianapolis, Victory Podium
1:01 p.m. Three-Volley Salute
1:02 p.m. “Taps” performed by Sgt. Joseph Young, National Guard, Victory Podium
1:03 p.m. “Back Home Again in Indiana” performed by Jim Nabors, Victory Podium
1:03 p.m. Balloon Spectacle
1:05 p.m. Command to Start Engines – Mari Hulman George, Victory Podium
1:06 p.m. Parade Lap and Pace Laps -- 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS, Pace Car Driver Robin Roberts
1:12 p.m. Green flag, start of 2010 Indianapolis 500 Mile Race
6 p.m. Track Closes
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Longtime Indianapolis Motor Speedway Media Center Manager Bill York received the Bob Russo Founders Award for dedication to auto racing Saturday at the annual American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association breakfast at IMS.
York began working in the Speedway press room in 1958, filling many roles through 2008. He also was instrumental in creating the Stark & Wetzel Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Award.
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Tanner Swanson won the NOS Energy Drink 65th “Night Before the 500” USAC Mopar National Midget Championship race Saturday night at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis. He led the last 19 laps of the 50-lap feature.
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Patrick McKenna of Ireland won the Cooper Tires presents the USF2000 National Championship race Saturday night at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis.
The series is part of the Road to Indy ladder program of the Indy Racing League.
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Conor Daly, from Noblesville, Ind., won the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear race Saturday night at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis. Daly is the son of six-time Indianapolis 500 starter Derek Daly.
The series is part of the Road to Indy ladder program of the Indy Racing League.
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The Indy Racing League will provide a Video News Feed during each day of practice in preparation for qualifying for the 2010 Indianapolis 500 Mile Race.
The Video News Feed will include b-roll of on-track activity and sound from various drivers following the day’s activity. Today’s feed:
Time: 8-8:30 p.m. (ET)
Coordinates: AMC 9, K 18 (Slot CD)
Bandwidth: 18 MHz
Symbol Rate: 13.235 MS
FEC: 3/4
Aspect Radio: 16:9
Digital: 4:2:0
Downlink Frequency: 12069 MHz Vertical
Position: 83 degrees West
Uplink trouble number: (317) 492-8657 or (317) 492-8750
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The team members of Sam Schmidt Motorsports are on a ‘Mission for Nutrition,’ as all of the team’s employees have lost weight during a three-month weight-loss contest utilizing Herbalife products.
Team manager Chris Griffis was the big winner, losing approximately 30 pounds. Herbalife provided him a prize of an all-expense-paid trip to Los Angeles, including accommodations at the L.A. Live Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Disneyland tickets, a visit to The Magic Castle and box seats for a concert at the Staples Center.
The Schmidt team fields the No. 99 Herbalife Ganassi/Schmidt Racing car driven by Townsend Bell.
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The 2011 Indianapolis 500 Mile Race is scheduled for Sunday, May 29, 2011. Ticket information can be found at www.imstix.com. Ticket information also can be obtained by calling the Speedway's ticket office, (317) 492-6700 or (800) 822-INDY.
Indianapolis 500 Mile Race ticket customers can register to win a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS Pace Car Replica by reordering or applying for tickets online at www.imstix.com between May 31 and Monday, June 14.
The grand prize Camaro SS Pace Car Replica of the Indianapolis 500 Pace Car Sweepstakes is the personal ride of Indianapolis Motor Speedway Chairman Mari Hulman George this May. Indianapolis 500 drivers such as Graham Rahal, John Andretti, Sarah Fisher, Vitor Meira and Ed Carpenter also have taken the muscle car for a spin this month.
One of the stars of the Indianapolis 500 also will deliver the car to the winner.
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Four legendary cars of the Indianapolis 500 were on display for photographers this morning on the Yard of Bricks. The cars represent the first machines that each of the four-time winners of the Indianapolis 500 – A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears – drove to Victory Lane at the Speedway for the first time, and the very first car to win the Indianapolis 500.
•The No. 32 Marmon “Wasp,” driven to victory by Ray Harroun in the inaugural Indianapolis 500, in 1911.
•No. 1 Bowes Seal Fast Offy driven to victory by Foyt in the 1961 Indianapolis 500.
•No. 2 Johnny Lightning 500 driven to victory by Unser in the 1970 Indianapolis 500.
•No. 9 The Gould Charge driven to victory by Mears in the 1979 Indianapolis 500.
Helio Castroneves is attempting to become the fourth four-time winner of the “500” today.
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The six candidates for Chase Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year honors participated in a public question-and-answer session Saturday on the Coca-Cola Stage.
ANA BEATRIZ (No. 25 Ipiranga/DRR): “I want to thank Chase for putting this award together for the rookies to compete for. I’m very happy to be here because it was my dream to race in the Indy 500 one day. We put this deal with Dreyer and Reinbold Racing together at the last minute, so what we did in qualifying was very special. I’m very glad to have qualified on the first day. That was a very memorable day because of the stress that I was under. I was in and then I was out of the race and on my last attempt I was able to make it into the field. I’m very happy to be here.”
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO (No. 78 Team Stargate Worlds/HVM): “I think the whole month has been pretty special. This place is just amazing. Qualifying is something that is pretty hard to do, and we saw a lot of people not make the race, which proves that this field is really competitive. Just to be a part of the Indy 500 is something that every driver dreams of, and it’s unbelievable to be here. I can’t wait for the race.”
BERTRAND BAGUETTE (No. 36 Conquest Raci