INDY 500 FANS CAN MAKE HISTORY BY SELECTING 'THE GREATEST 33'

INDY 500 FANS CAN MAKE HISTORY BY SELECTING 'THE GREATEST 33'

Voting starts March 18; Interactive site offers chance to share memories, win prizes

INDIANAPOLIS, Thursday, March 17, 2011 - Racing fans, start your historical engines. It's time for you to select the 33 greatest Indianapolis 500 drivers of all time.

Voting for "The Greatest 33" starts Friday, March 18 at thegreatest33.com, where fans can choose their dream starting lineup of 33 drivers, win prizes and share their Indianapolis 500 memories. Fan voting will continue through Saturday, May 14.

"The Greatest 33," as selected by the fans, will be unveiled Sunday, May 15.

"We're thrilled to open fan voting for 'The Greatest 33,'" said Jeff Belskus, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation president and CEO. "The fans have been such vital witnesses to motorsports history at this iconic race for the last 100 years, so there's no one better to select this prestigious group of motorsports legends. Everyone at IMS is really looking forward to learning of their selections."

The Greatest 33 program and its interactive website are key components of the 100^th Anniversary Indianapolis 500, scheduled for Sunday, May 29 at IMS.

Fans will choose their Greatest 33 from a list of 100 drivers pre-selected by an esteemed panel of international motorsports media and historians. Statistics, audio from IMS Historian Donald Davidson and images from the vast IMS photo archive are available for each of the 100 candidates, providing hours of entertaining content. A section of the site allowing fans to compare the statistics of up to five drivers simultaneously will help make those tough final picks.

The Greatest 33 site also will form a unique Indianapolis 500 social community. Fans can share memories of all 100 candidates, with comments visible to all visitors. Linking to popular social networks such as Facebook and Twitter also is available.

Daily, weekly and grand prizes - including a Kymco ATV and scooters, VIP trips to the 2011 and 2012 Indianapolis 500, Indy Racing Experience two-seater rides, 2011 IMS race tickets, iRacing.com memberships and more - will be offered to fans who visit thegreatest33.com. Fans can continue to enter the sweepstakes at thegreatest33.com for chances to win prizes through 100^th Anniversary Indianapolis 500 Race Day, Sunday, May 29.

Combined with frequent content updates, the sweepstakes prizes will compel fans to visit the site and interact often.

"The spirit of the Speedway speaks from the innovative, interactive features at thegreatest33.com," Belskus said. "We think fans are going to love how the rich history and tradition of the '500' is captured and comes alive through the site."