Colts' Clark Is Grand Marshal; Official Program Available Now
July 21, 2010 | By Paul Kelly
Indianapolis Colts tight end Dallas Clark, selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time after the 2009 season, will serve as the grand marshal of the Brickyard 400 on Sunday, July 25 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Clark will wave the green flag to send the field of 43 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers at speed into Turn 1 at IMS. The race starts at 1 p.m. (ET).
“Being a NASCAR fan, it is an honor to be grand marshal for the Brickyard 400,” Clark said. “We were at training camp for so many years prior to this, so it will be my first opportunity to see a race at the Brickyard. I am really excited.”
Clark has spent his entire eight-year NFL career with the Colts and was an integral part of the team’s Super Bowl championship run in the 2006 season. He holds Colts’ career tight end marks for receptions and touchdowns and was the second tight end in NFL history to have at least 100 receptions in one season.
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Official Program available: The Official Program for the 2010 Brickyard 400, packed with information about the annual midsummer NASCAR classic at IMS, is available for purchase.
Fans can purchase this 160-page commemorative program for $10 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, at the Brickyard Authentics store at the Indianapolis International Airport, at Brickyard Authentics Online at www.brickyardauthentics.com or by calling (800) 955-INDY.
Fun fan features include driver biographies, race roster, statistics, track records, a track map, schedules and a special section about Brickyard 400 history.
There also are a variety of feature stories, including pieces on NASCAR stars Juan Pablo Montoya and Kevin Harvick and NASCAR team owners Chip Ganassi, Rick Hendrick and Todd Braun.
Internationally acclaimed French artist Erwin Dazelle created the cover art for the Official Program. The art depicts two NASCAR Sprint Cup stock cars as well as an iconic image of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway featuring the Yard of Bricks and the Pagoda.
Dazelle, 35, from Bayonne, France, is one of the top artists in the southwest of France and the Basque country. Dazelle is a multi-talented artist who has mastered stained glass, clay and plaster modeling as well as painting. He began painting professionally in 1996.
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Coca-Cola drivers to sign autographs: Seven NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers will sign autographs at the NASCAR Green/Coke Recycling Autograph Session from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Saturday, July 24 in MotoGP Garages 16-18 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Drivers signing (scheduled to change): Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Bobby Labonte, Joey Logano, David Ragan, David Reutimann and Elliott Sadler.
Fans must bring a recyclable can or plastic bottle to the session to receive an autograph.
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iRacing to stage Brickyard 400: Thousands of worldwide members of iRacing.com will participate Saturday, July 24 in a virtual version of the Brickyard 400 and also help raise funds for the fight against cancer.
iRacing.com will contribute 5 cents for every one of the 160 scheduled laps completed by each driver participating in the online race. The proceeds will be donated to LIVESTRONG, the organization founded by cancer survivor and Tour de France champion cyclist Lance Armstrong. iRacing members and their friends also are encouraged to make pledges supporting drivers competing in the event.
The iRacing.com Brickyard 400 benefiting LIVESTRONG will start at 8:30 p.m. (ET) July 24. The race participants will be split into a series of 34-car iterations, all of which will run simultaneously. Fans can view the race of the top 34-car split on the Web at http://www.iracing.com/multimedia/live-broadcasts/. Included in the list of prizes that will be awarded to top fundraisers are tickets to the 2011 Brickyard 400, a NASCAR Racing Experience, and five $100 NASCAR Superstore Gift Cards.
Individuals wishing to support the fundraising element of the iRacing.com Brickyard 400 Benefiting LIVESTRONG will find instructions for pledging a donation by clicking here.
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Brickyard fans can help troops: Race fans visiting Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 23-25 for the Brickyard 400 can help American troops keep in touch with their loved ones by bringing to the track a gently used cell phone.
Cell Phones for Soldiers raises money through the collection of gently used mobile phones and will have drop-off boxes at IMS during the Brickyard 400. Drop boxes will be located at the Team Chevy Racing Display, adjacent to the IMS Hall of Fame Museum.
In addition to helping troops call home, the first 100 fans donating gently used phones will receive a hat, courtesy of the GM Military Discount program.
Over the last six years, Cell Phones for Soldiers has provided more than 1 million pre-paid calling cards and 60 million minutes of calling time to soldiers overseas.
“I want to urge race fans as they come out to each of the events throughout the year to bring whatever old cell phones they may have laying around – and we all know that we’ve got several stored away in shelves and drawers at our homes – and bring them out to the racetrack and donate them to the program,” said Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevy’s spokesman for Cell Phones for Soldiers. “Everybody who comes out to the racetrack can participate.”
Fans not attending the races this weekend can visit www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com for more information on how to donate.
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Double for ESPN’s Reid: Marty Reid of ESPN will have the rare role of serving as the lead announcer for television broadcasts of the Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same year.
Reid called the play-by-play for ESPN on ABC’s broadcast of the Indianapolis 500 on May 30 and will do the same for the Brickyard 400 on July 25, ESPN’s first Sprint Cup Series broadcast of 2010.
“To be able to do the Indianapolis 500 and now the Brickyard 400 in the same year is pretty special,” Reid said. “And to top it off with 16 more races, including the Chase, is going to be just phenomenal. It will be a great year, and I’m looking forward to it.
“The truth, I'm living a dream. Years ago, 28 of them to be exact, if you had told me some day I’d be lucky enough to broadcast the Brickyard 400, the Indianapolis 500, the final 10 races of the championship for NASCAR, oh, and along the way get to do drag racing for six years and every other motorsport that I've loved and enjoyed. Because you know me, if it’s got wheels and a motor, count me in.”
ESPN’s broadcast of the Brickyard 400 starts at 1 p.m. (ET) Sunday, July 25.
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SPEED Stage at IMS: NASCAR fans can participate in live broadcasts by SPEED during the Brickyard 400 at the SPEED Stage, located at the northwest end of the merchandise display row in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway infield.
Games and activities will start at 9 a.m. Friday, July 23 at the SPEED Stage, with live broadcasts of “NASCAR Smarts” at 1 p.m., “NASCAR Live” at 4:30 p.m. and “Trackside” at 5:15 p.m. Legendary team owner Chip Ganassi will b