Fantastico! Magnifico! Eccezionale! (Help, I’ve run out of Italian adjectives!) The highlight of the recent 2008 Indy 500 Media Tour was a 150mph+ thrill ride around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in a brand-new 2008 Chevrolet Corvette Pace Car driven by Italian driver Max Papis. As always, my camera and my recorder went along for the ride.   read more »

The ever-entertaining Eddie Cheever, winner of the 1998 Indianapolis 500, will serve as an analyst in the ABC/ESPN broadcast booth for the network’s coverage of the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500. During the recent 2008 Indy 500 Media Tour, Cheever took questions from the media and offered some very interesting comments on winning the Indy 500, the possible dynamics between him and former teammate and current ABC/ESPN analyst Scott Goodyear, and the possibility of participating in the IndyCar Series again as a team owner.   read more »

At the 2008 Indy 500 Media Tour I had the opportunity to ask Major General Martin Umbarger, the Indiana Adjutant General, a question about the Army National Guard’s sponsorship of the Panther Racing car driven by Vitor Meira. Specifically, whether he felt there was any issue with the Guard sponsoring a car driven by a foreign driver.   read more »

Team Penske drivers Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe, along with Penske Performance Inc. President Tim Cindric answered questions about driver personalities and team dynamics during the recent 2008 Indy 500 Media Tour.   read more »

One of the stops on the 2008 Indy 500 Media Tour was the top secret warehouse that stores Firestone Racing’s “Magic Rings”. In fact, so top secret is the location of this warehouse that tour attendees were blindfolded, transported via passenger bus, and subjected to rigorous background checks by armed guards prior to entering the facility.   read more »