Indy Insights

TheIndy Racing League needed some good news.

I got a turbo-charged shot of it Thursday when officials announced that clothing maker IZOD has become a multi-year title sponsor of the IRL’s IndyCar Series.

IZOD brings serious money and marketing muscle to the series. An example of its reach was that, simultaneous to the announcement at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a huge billboard touting the new relationship was unveiled in New York City’s Times Square.

IZOD also moves the series out of traditional motorsports sponsorships – think tires, automotive lubricants or sparkplugs – into an entirely new realm.

Coolest of all for the consumer: part of the deal includes rights to use the IndyCar Series two-seater race car – the one with a real race driver in the front seat and a passenger in the back – and allow it to be on the track for the parade laps prior to the start of races.
That includes the granddaddy of them all, the Indianapolis 500.

IZOD did not say how it will choose the lucky passenger but can you imagine being in the two-seater on the Speedway oval in front of 300,000 spectators just moments prior to the start of the Indy 500?

One word: Wow!

That's like getting to hit a tee shot on No. 1 at Augusta National right before the first round of the Masters, or being on top of a thoroughbred during the post parade at the Kentucky Derby.