Indianapolis 700!

But will these critics be back for the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, June 4-8? They should be. The Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational will surely prove that it’s possible to celebrate the past, the rich heritage of auto racing and IMS, without denigrating the present. Tony Parella, CEO and President of the SVRA, has organized a potentially wonderful event with around 700 cars that span a century of racing, and there will be several star drivers in attendance.

The SVRA's slogan is, "Some people collect art…We race it," and we approve of that policy and sentiment.

So here’s a Q&A with Mr. Parella, whose eagerness to celebrate tradition will hopefully, establish a new tradition at the Brickyard.

RACER: When did you start considering this as an idea?

Tony Parella: I first approached Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the idea in June 2012, prior to me buying SVRA which was a deal I closed in September that year. I knew that with the support of IMS we could change the face of SVRA but more importantly change the face of vintage racing. Two years later, it’s really taken on a life of its own. People have said they want to build a Goodwood-type event here in the States but honestly, I don’t think anyone could replicate Goodwood. What we can do is create a variation of it and while the SVRA goes to many magnificent race venues, there’s only one place with the history to convey the long tradition of auto racing, and I feel very privileged that Indianapolis Motor Speedway has embraced this event. This cannot feel like any other event: it has to be very special.

It’s a very eclectic mix of cars. How did you decide how to define what would or wouldn’t appear at the event?

We have a 1908 American Locomotive that actually raced at IMS in 1910, won a sprint race there, and then raced in the inaugural Indy 500 in 1911. Probably the newest we have is a 2008 Daytona Prototype, so we do literally have 100 years covered.

However, we were very particular about what we took. The quality of the cars had to be a standard that really represented how the cars were raced back in their eras, prepared the way they should be, not modernized. That’s easy to say but hard to inspect, when we didn’t even stop the entries until past the 700-car mark! So there are several classes racing on the IMS road course including a pre-War class, but we also wanted to pay tribute to the oval, so we accepted several oval racecars – again dating back to pre-War all the way up to modern Indy cars – and so we’re going to see some fabulous variety demonstrations on the oval. We’ve got Bobby Unser’s 1981 Indy 500-winning Penske PC9 coming (TOP, IMS photo), for example, and the IMS Museum is also preparing some of its cars, so some of the celebrities coming to compete in the Pro-Am race are going to have the opportunity to participate in the oval demo, too. I’m very excited about that.

Will there be static exhibits too, or does every car have to be operational?
Oh, when I say 700 cars, I did mean 700 runners. There may be additional cars on display but not many: any car that’s entered will be in the oval demo or the road course or both. I don’t know of any other enclosed race course that has had 700 cars actively participate in one event.

Who are some of the names we’ll be able to see in action?
Al Unser Jr., Bobby Unser, Robby Unser, Scott Goodyear, Willy T. Ribbs, Johnny Parsons Jr., Davy Hamilton, Geoff Brabham, Lyn St. James, Rocky Moran, Eliseo Salazar, Dick Simon, Spike Gehlhausen, Alex Lloyd, Mark Dismore, Rick Treadway, and more. Parnelli Jones (LEFT, LAT photo) is grand marshal for the Pro-Am race, and he’ll give the command “Racers, start your engines!” from the driving seat of the pace car – his 1969 BOSS Mustang!

We want to make this like no other vintage race event they’ve ever been to in this country, and while I don’t think it’s right to say that I’m trying to build a U.S. Goodwood, I am trying to build the best event I can in this country and there’s no better place to do that than Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We put on a national championship event at Circuit of The Americas last year and it was a phenomenal success. We race at Watkins Glen, Road America, Mid-Ohio, Sebring, California Speedway, Virginia International Raceway… all over the map. But there’s only one Indy, and when you can have 24 legends who made the “500” come back and know the proceeds are going to the museum so will ultimately benefit the fans, I think that’s very admirable. I’m not sure you could have got that many for any other race track.

Ticket prices look exceptional value for money – $40 for three days. How’s that possible?
Well that team at IMS are excited to have us and were great to work with. So we discussed how we should price this, what are we trying to accomplish, and I was very vocal that the price should reflect vintage times because it’s a vintage event. So 8am-6pm each day, no break for lunch, and you can see cars racing on the road course or at speed on the oval the whole time, I agree, $40 looks like a bargain and the Speedway has been very supportive of that. Kids under 12 get in free. If people want to go camping, they can pitch a tent for $30 inside the Speedway and get a free firework display the like of which they won’t have seen, and listen to the band, Grand Funk Railroad…

I don’t know how many people we’ll draw – I’m not spending money on the advertising, I’m spending it on getting drivers there and putting the best possible show. But I think the posters and social media networks will help build such a reputation that we draw people the way we should. I’m very optimistic because the people of Indianapolis are embracing this in a way I didn’t even think was possible. We are very excited and I think with good reason.

For more details on the Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational, and to purchase tickets click here.