For the 15th consecutive year, the winner of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge will be presented with a custom-made belt buckle to commemorate the prestigious accomplishment.
NTT DATA, part of the NTT family of companies, presents the Indianapolis 500 winner with the belt buckle each year during Monday’s media photo shoot on the Yard of Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The rodeo championship-style belt buckle was selected as a nod to NTT DATA’s United States headquarters in Texas.
The oversized sterling silver belt buckle features 14-karat gold accents in three variations – yellow gold for the background, white gold for the border and rose gold accents. The background has bricks in yellow gold, as well as the race event name and date. The oval buckle measures 4.5 inches x 3.5 inches and features the official 108th Indianapolis 500 presented Gainbridge logo. The border incorporates the three precious metals, including smooth beads in rose gold and sterling silver along the rope board in 10K yellow gold. The hand-crafted belt buckle is produced by A Cut Above Buckles, based in Dammeron Valley, Utah.
Representative of the integration of quality, performance, precision, technology and collaboration that is synonymous with NTT DATA’s brand, the belt buckle is a distinctive keepsake and part of the items bestowed upon the winner of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”
“The winner of the 108th Running of the Indy 500 needs that magical combination of speed, teamwork, performance, precision and good fortune for years of hard work and determination to earn the coveted Borg-Warner Trophy,’’ said Margo Cooke, head of marketing, North America for NTT DATA. “This race has amazing traditions. NTT DATA is proud to have begun one in 2010 when the inaugural ‘NTT DATA Buckle Award’ was awarded to Dario Franchitti. Fourteen years later, we remain proud to recognize the winner of this prestigious sporting event.”
The presentation of the belt buckle dates to 2010 when Dario Franchitti won his first of two buckles. His other came in 2012. The other Indy 500 winners who have earned the “NTT DATA Buckle Award” are Dan Wheldon (2011), Tony Kanaan (2013), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2014), Juan Pablo Montoya (2015), Alexander Rossi (2016), Takuma Sato (2017, ’20), Will Power (2018), Simon Pagenaud (2019), Helio Castroneves (2021), Marcus Ericsson (2022) and Josef Newgarden (2023).
Live coverage of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge pre-race starts at 11 a.m. ET on NBC, Universo, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
Visit ims.com to purchase tickets for the 108th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 26 and for more information on the complete Month of May schedule at IMS.
