Indy 500 Drivers Visiting 21 Cities in Annual Multi-City Media Tour
INDIANAPOLIS (Monday, May 22, 2017) – In what has become an annual Indianapolis 500 tradition, the 33 participating drivers will fan out across North America on Tuesday of race week to spread the word about “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”
This year, the field for the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil is scheduled to visit 21 cities in less than 24 hours. Drivers will meet with local media to discuss the race and partake in activities to increase the already-surging interest in the Indy 500, the world’s largest single-day sporting event set for May 28 race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
2008 Indianapolis 500 winner Scott Dixon, who captured the pole position Sunday with an average speed of 232.164 mph in Fast Nine Shootout qualifying, will visit Toronto, where he has won twice in his Indy car career on the streets around Exhibition Place. The Verizon IndyCar Series visits the Canadian city again for the Honda Indy Toronto in July.
Starting on the outside of the front row is reigning Indianapolis 500 champion Alexander Rossi, who will travel to New York City. Joining Rossi will be heralded Indy 500 rookie and two-time Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso, Rossi’s Andretti Autosport teammate and fifth-position Indy 500 qualifier, as well as AJ Foyt Racing driver Conor Daly.
Wrestling legend Ric Flair will join the three drivers in New York City as the official celebrity emcee of the Indy 500 Snake Pit presented by Coors Light, which will feature EDM artists Zedd and Marshmello, along with support by RL Grime, Action Bronson, Adventure Club and The Trap House in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway infield on race day.
Pennsylvania natives Marco Andretti and Sage Karam will throw out the first pitch at Citizens Bank Park in front of their home crowd as the Philadelphia Phillies meet the Colorado Rockies in a National League baseball game. Helio Castroneves will bring the INDYCAR Experience street-legal two-seat Indy car to NRG Park to surprise members of the NFL’s Houston Texans with a thrill ride.
Sports fans can catch “Dancing with the Stars” sensation James Hinchcliffe on “SportsCenter” at 9:40 a.m. and 7 p.m. ET Tuesday, as the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports driver visits ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut.
The full list of the markets to be visited and drivers attending is below:
Bristol, Connecticut/ESPN: James Hinchcliffe
Buffalo: Graham Rahal
Charlotte: Will Power
Chicago: Juan Pablo Montoya
Columbus: Mikhail Aleshin
Dallas-Fort Worth: Tony Kanaan
Dayton: Jack Harvey, Zach Veach
Denver: Buddy Lazier
Detroit: Carlos Munoz, Simon Pagenaud, Spencer Pigot
Fort Wayne: Jay Howard, James Davison
Houston: Helio Castroneves
Louisville: Pippa Mann, Ed Jones
Miami-Fort Lauderdale: Oriol Servia, Gabby Chaves, Sebastian Saavedra
Milwaukee: Max Chilton, Charlie Kimball
New York: Alexander Rossi, Conor Daly, Fernando Alonso
Philadelphia: Marco Andretti, Sage Karam
St. Louis: Ed Carpenter, Takuma Sato
San Francisco: JR Hildebrand
Tampa-St. Petersburg: Ryan Hunter-Reay
Toronto: Scott Dixon
Washington: Josef Newgarden
Coverage of the 101st Indianapolis 500 begins at 11 a.m. ET Sunday on ABC and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network. Tickets are available at IMS.com.
Sources: Curt Cavin/Verizon IndyCar Series PR