Race Day Shuttle Service Available; 'Hoosiers' Heroes To Visit IMS
May 26, 2011 | By Tom Surber and Paul Kelly
Roundtrip Race Day bus shuttle service is available for the 100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 29 at four convenient locations, including three in downtown Indianapolis and one at Indianapolis International Airport.
Tickets are $24 per person for one-way or round-trip service. Tickets can be purchased on the day of the race at each location, with credit card, debit card and cash accepted.
Service will be provided by the SODREL Companies, the Free Enterprise System and Star of America Motor Coach, in partnership with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Fans will be served with air-conditioned shuttles and handicapped-accessible vehicles on all routes.
Service to the track will start at 8 a.m. at all four locations, with continuous shuttles until noon. Return service will take place for three hours after the end of the race, with all shuttles leaving from the staging area at the Main Gate East Parking Lot on the southeast corner of 16th Street and Polco Street in Speedway.
Shuttle details:
Brown Route
•Location: 1220 S. West St., Indianapolis (Corner of West and Morris Streets).
•Parking: $5 per car, cash only.
Black Route
•Location: IUPUI Lot 73 and 92, Downtown Campus, Corner of Michigan and California Streets in Indianapolis, with access from Michigan Street.
•Parking: $5 per car, cash only.
Purple Route
•Location: Hampton Inn Downtown, 105 S. Meridian St., Indianapolis (across from Circle Centre Mall and Hard Rock Café)
•Parking: None
Blue Route
•Location: Ground Transportation Lobby, Zone 1 at the airport. Get tickets inside at Star of America booth.
•Parking: $10 per car, airport garage. Fans must show race ticket stub to cashier upon exit to receive this special rate.
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‘Hoosiers’ heroes visit IMS Friday: In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the release of the classic movie “Hoosiers,” selected actors who appeared in the movie and members of the 1954 Milan Indiana state high school basketball championship team will appear during Miller Lite Carb Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 27.
A question-and-answer session with the actors, Milan players and “Hoosiers” writer/producer Angelo Pizzo will take place from 10:30-11 a.m. on the Coca-Cola Stage in the Pagoda Plaza at IMS. An autograph session from 11:10-noon will take place in the Pagoda Plaza.
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Victory Celebration tickets available: Tickets for the general public remain available for the Centennial Victory Awards Celebration presented by Ice Miller LLP on Monday, May 30. The gala will honor the winner of the 100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500 and salute the close of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Centennial Era.
The black-tie celebration will take place at a new location, the Grand Ballroom at the JW Marriott Indianapolis hotel in downtown Indianapolis. Doors open at 5 p.m., with dinner at 6 p.m. and awards at 7 p.m.
Tickets are available for $125, $150 and $200 per person, based on proximity to the stage. Tables seat 10.
To order tickets, call Linda Price at the IMS Ticket Office at (317) 492-6702.
Ice Miller is the presenting sponsor of the Celebration, while Apex-Brasil is a partner.
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iRacing Indy 500 on Saturday: Competitors in iRacing.com computer racing simulation will participate in the second annual iRacing.com Indy 500 on Saturday, May 28.
iRacing.com drivers will race 200 laps in a virtual versions of a Dallara chassis at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with a laser-scanned track surface creating the ultimate in realism.
A record number of entries is anticipated for this year’s iRacing.com Indy 500. But unlike the Indianapolis 500, everyone who enters the iRacing.com Indy 500 will be able to participate in the race.
That’s because the iRacing system can stage multiple numbers of 500-mile races simultaneously, each with 33 racers from around the world competing online. The system automatically assigns drivers to races based on their skill and experience levels, ensuring everyone enjoys a competitive race.
The top-rated split of the iRacing.com Indy 500 will be broadcast on iRacing.com beginning at noon Saturday, May 28. The race also will be streamed live on indycar.com and carried on the video boards at IMS. The winner of the top split will receive a valuable prize package, including a pair of tickets to the 2012 Indianapolis 500.
In honor of the 100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500, iRacing is running a special promotional offer. For just $15, new members will receive a one-month membership in the service and both the Dallara Indy car and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, along with the standard base package of five cars and eight tracks. For more information, visit http://www.iracing.com/indy-500/
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Harcus wins ‘True Grit’ Award: Paul “Ziggy” Harcus of Andretti Autosport was announced May 23 as the winner of the IMIS/C&R Racing “True Grit” Award.
The $5,000 award is annually given to a veteran INDYCAR team member who has achieved success, overcome adversity, excelled in preparation and has exemplified dedication to the highly skilled trade of building and maintaining IZOD IndyCar Series cars.
“It’s an honor for all of us at IMIS and C&R Racing to present the ‘True Grit’ Award to ‘Ziggy’ Harcus,” said Chris Paulsen, owner of C&R Racing and co-founder of International Motorsports Industry Show. “He represents what the ‘True Grit’ Award is all about and throughout the years has been one of the hardest working guys in the sport. At IMIS and C&R Racing, we work for the hardcore racer, and ‘Ziggy’ is certainly the definition of that.”
Harcus is in his fourth year with Andretti Autosport after spending 2005-07 as the director of operations for CART/Champ Car. Prior to his stint with the sanctioning body, Harcus worked with Kelley Racing, PacWest Racing and Galles Racing.
“I’m honored to win the IMIS/C&R Racing ‘True Grit’ Award,” Harcus said. “I’ve known Chris for a long time, and he’s a former Indy car mechanic so he knows the long hours and sacrifice that go into the job. I’m humbled that I’ve been selected for this award and it’s certainly nice to be honored by your peers. I want to also thank all the people I work with at Andretti Autosport.”
Paulsen and C&R established the “True Grit” Award in 1998 for crew members in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400.
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Centennial humidor available: A limited-edition Indy 500 Centennial Edition Humdior is available now at Brickyard Authentics, the online store of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Crafted individually by hand with traditional methods and joinery by Vanderburgh Humidors, only 11 Indy 500 Centennial Edition Humidors will be produced. Each will be individually numbered and engraved and will feature a full slice of a genuine 1909 brick once used to pave the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The interior is lined with 1/4-inch thick genuine Spanish c