SPEEDWAY, Ind. — The countdown is on for the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500, and 50 "festival event cars" lined up on the track Monday were part of an Indy tradition.
"We are counting them down," said Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug Boles. "Fifty-five days, and when these cars come out, people get to see them around the community, that means the race is just around the corner."
According to IMS, the cars have been used to remind Indianapolis-area residents of the upcoming race since the 1960s.
"Who's going to be in them? Well, all the folks who are part of the 500 Festival board, then a lot of our key folks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway," Boles said.
"They're great cars," Boles added. "Our partnership with Chevrolet is awesome, and when we get these Chevrolet Camaros, 455 horsepower, which you can't totally use all of it on the road, it's a lot of fun."
Boles said the Camaro he'll be driving is a little different from the others.
"I get the one car of all of them that's a manual (transmission) so I get to drive around in a manual. I like that old school manual. Number 11. I'm the 11th president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, so I drive Number 11."
It's not just preparations for the Indy 500 making for a busy season at IMS. Events for the GMR Grand Prix kick off on Friday, May 12.
"Yeah, that kicks everything off a couple weeks before the Indianapolis 500 and then, you know, obviously practice and qualifying," Boles said.
He said he hopes to see some bumping this year.
"Speeds should be good. If anything, we learned at Texas Motor Speedway this past weekend the racing should be really outstanding. They've messed a little bit with the rules package to make the cars run a little bit closer. I'm looking forward to seeing how that does here at the speedway."