SVRA - SVRA INDY LEGENDS CHARITY PRO-AM FIELD IS SET
RACER Magazine Announces Event Sponsorship, Paul Tracy Pulls Double-Duty
Southlake, TX (June 13, 2018) – The Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) today announced that the field is set for the June 16 fifth annual Indy Legends Charity Pro-Am Presented by RACER Magazine at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This year’s June 14-17 Brickyard Invitational has attracted an elite gathering of top drivers, including champions of the Indianapolis 500, IndyCar, NASCAR, Le Mans, the 24 Hours of Daytona, Trans Am, 12 Hours of Sebring, and classic short track racing with sprint cars and midgets.
“Our fifth running of the Pro-Am promises to be the best yet,” said Tony Parella, the CEO of SVRA. “With our promoter’s option entries it has an IROC feel to it, and I think it is very fitting that we announce a new sponsorship with our friends at RACER Magazine.”
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“RACER has followed the Indy Legends Charity Pro-Am with keen interest and reported on it both at RACER.com and the magazine since its inception in 2014,” said Paul Pfanner, founder, CEO, and executive publisher at RACER Magazine. “Tony and his SVRA team have created a vintage race that has become a part of the mainstream motorsports conversation. We’re proud that it is now called, the Indy Legends Charity Pro-Am Presented by Racer Magazine.”
Some of the top names who will be lining up at the famous yard of bricks include Al Unser, Jr., Bill Elliott, Paul Tracy, Willy T. Ribbs, Geoff Brabham, and Davey Hamilton. Sarah Fisher, the defending champion of the A Production class, and Max Papis, who won B Production last year, are looking to drink more milk. Three-time Indianapolis 500 champions Johnny Rutherford and Bobby Unser will oversee the entire weekend as Grand Marshal and Honorary Chief Steward. IMS Track Historian Donald Davidson will serve as master of ceremonies.
The charity event will benefit IGNITE – the Autism Society of North Carolina’s community center for young adults with high-functioning autism or Asperger’s syndrome. IGNITE was founded by The Evernham Family Racing for a Reason Foundation – a nonprofit established by legendary NASCAR crew chief Ray Evernham and his family. The Indy Legends Charity Pro-Am Presented by RACER Magazine also supports the Morgan Adams Foundation founded to fight children’s cancer by the parents of Morgan Adams, a five-year-old girl who lost her battle with brain cancer in 1997. The foundation has a history of working with vintage racers to support their cause.
The Indy Legends Charity Pro-Am Presented by RACER Magazine is the Saturday feature event of the Brickyard Invitational. The cars are 1963 to 1972 vintage Corvettes, Camaros and Mustangs of SVRA “Group 6” A and B Production. The professionals will be paired with amateur drivers. New rules this year include the requirement that the Pros qualify the cars and that is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday, June 15. Also, amateur drivers will start the race and be required to drive a maximum of seven laps.
The final Pro-Am entry is Rick Treadway, who raced in the Indy car series for two years, qualifying for the 2002 Indianapolis 500. He is the son of Fred Treadway, who won the 1997 Indianapolis 500 as a car owner. Treadway is a veteran of four Indy Legends Pro-Am races.
In addition to the Pro-Am, there will be a festival of other activities at the Brickyard Invitational including the Sunday, June 17 feature race by the professional Trans Am series headed by 2017 champion and emerging superstar, 20-year-old Ernie Francis Jr. Paul Tracy is pulling double-duty this weekend with his second appearance of the year driving Doug Peterson’s #87 Camaro in the TA 2 class. Tracy finished seventh in his return to professional racing at Road Atlanta in March.
“I went into the race testing myself to see if I could still be competitive,” Tracy said. “I think I not only demonstrated that, but also I had a lot of fun. These Trans Am cars and drivers are the real deal and I’d like to figure out if I can be more involved in the series.”
The weekend also presents the Hagerty Insurance “shine and show” car corral, vintage motorcycle racing, and 300+ vintage racers ranging over 100 years of automotive history racing in SVRA Groups 1 through 12. An oval exhibition featuring the iconic 1950’s roadsters will close the day on both Saturday and Sunday. Also, the Pre-1920 Race Exhibition Series cars will be on track along with a paddock area full of in-period equipment displays. Former Indy 500 Rookie-of-the-Year Lyn St. James will be among the drivers of those cars. She has also lined up a ride with SVRA star Bruce Hamilton for the Sunday enduro in his Indy Lights car. Geoff Brabham is entered in a Brabham BT-35 in the weekend’s Group 2 open wheel races.