For the Love of Speedway

For the Love of Speedway

Back in July of 1995, a family from Arkansas decided to pick up and move to Indianapolis for the dad to live a lifelong dream of working in motorsports. A husband, wife, two daughters 4^th and 6^th grades, moved on faith, no jobs, only ads in the newspaper for employment, and an answered ad for a place to live. But what started as one dream, turned into living many, with racing jobs, racing experiences, planting roots in the historic town of Speedway, Indiana, and sharing the love of it all with everyone.

Many people have Speedway stories that are much more colorful, exciting, glamorous, and entertaining. But this story is one of a family passion and a simple dream and finding a way to live it out.

This couple was married on Memorial Day Weekend in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1994 with the intention of coming to the Indy 500 each year for their anniversary. The bride’s wedding band even had 11 rows of 3 diamonds, signifying the starting field. That honeymoon was spent at the family lake house, watching the iconic ending to the 1994 race. They were screaming on the deck as they rooted on one of their favorite drivers, Al Unser, Jr. The last few laps were exciting wondering if Al had enough fuel to make it, then Emerson Fittipaldi brushes the wall. Little Al wins! 

This wedding date was intentional, the honeymoon perfect, with dreams of racing in the back of their minds. The husband asks his new wife, “What would you think of moving to Indy?” The wife replies, “I would go anywhere with you.” (Queue sapping movie music.) Then she proceeds to research everything involved in a move, ordering a mail subscription to the Indianapolis Star to look for rental properties and jobs and keeping up on the latest Indy news. She made phone calls, sent resumes, all the things you’re supposed to do in 1994. 

As they were discussing this potential move one day in March of 1995, the wife says, “What if I send a resume to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, what would it hurt? They probably don’t have anything for me, but how cool would that be?” Having almost 13 years of retail experience with Dillard’s Department Stores, in supervision, management, and design, she was truly sending correspondence on a whim, “To Whom it may concern”.

Weeks later she receives a letter back from IMS on the beautiful wing and wheel letterhead. It states something like, “…we have passed your information on to our Gift Shop Manager and should there be any interest, he will reach out to you.” How nice! A personal letter from the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway! She was saving that for posterity. But also, her thought was, “gift shop” like that of the kind you find in a hospital. Having worked for the largest family-owned department store in the country, she wasn’t too sure about that. She kept searching.

After realizing they needed to “live” in Indianapolis to have a better chance of finding jobs, the couple decided to take the big leap. They packed everything up and moved.

They had found a rental home suitable for a family. The husband had found a part-time job to make ends meet. And two weeks before the moving truck came, the wife got a call…. from the “Gift Shop Manager” at IMS! 

Who knew that IMS had a full-blown Retail Sales and Merchandising Department that ran 30+ shops at that time on the grounds during events! And who knew that it was a year-round operation and that she may be qualified for a position there. And who knew they were creating a new position that she would be perfect for? Two weeks after the move at the beginning of July 1995 she started employment and worked 21 days straight in her first weeks preparing for the second Brickyard 400.

What an experience! This family was living the dream. The girls were able to experience IMS and racing up close and personal. The younger of the two being totally smitten with the sport, the personalities in it, and the history of this amazing race and place.

During the first Community Day at IMS, this daughter was able to meet drivers she had watched for years, being a shy little girl asking AJ Foyt for an autograph all by herself, sitting in Tyce Carlson’s car, and getting to touch the outside wall of the track as her dad drove her around at a slow 5 mph pace in a long line of spectator’s cars. She was able to roam the grounds with her mom and see the inner workings of the venue that puts on the largest single-day sporting event in history. And she got to live out her dreams, too.

The job that gave this family an incredible IMS experience was full of hard work and long hours. Hiring seasonal retail staff, merchandising shops, hosting driver autograph sessions, and getting to meet amazingly kind people like Florence Henderson and Jim Nabors.  This first job also led to the wife being the first Human Resources Manager at IMS after the department was started in 1999. Recruiting, hiring, coaching managers, gaining corporate experience in one of the most famous organizations in the world. 

Yet during this time, the husband was struggling with finding his own job in motorsports, the whole reason for the move. It was stressful and painful being turned down time after time. But there were a few key people in the local motorsports community that gave him a chance and let him work on cars for free, giving him valuable experience. They didn’t quite think this guy from Arkansas knew what he was doing. He had to prove himself.  It took years, but he eventually landed his dream job and began traveling to race across across the country.

After almost 8 years at this most iconic race track, the wife had to step away. Having two teenage girls without a parent at home much, was not ideal. Plus, they had moved for the husband’s dream, not hers, or so she thought. She moved into a more tradition corporate role that would allow her to be home on weekends. But the love for the track, the town of Speedway, and the history was there for life.

In 2008, the older daughter and her husband, whose family had been coming from Jasper, Indiana for 30+ years, had their wedding reception at the Brickyard Crossing Inn’s Pavilion. They had 70 of the motel rooms booked for guests and ended up being the last to stay there before this famous inn was torn down the following week. The family still talks about this to this day, how privileged they were to stay there, let alone to have the history of being the last.

So many wonderful IMS memories to go with every facet of their lives.

Roots were planted in Speedway, strong relationships within the community were created, and the family has grown and continues to pass on this love.

That little shy girl who got AJ’s autograph married a Speedway boy and now resides there with him and their little girl, continuing the tradition of raising a family in Speedway, Indiana. She also has had the honor of photographing many Speedway families, capturing images as part of #thefrontstepsproject and shooting for The Real Women of Speedway.

The older sister’s family also carries on the tradition, coming to the race from out of state every year and passing along the love to their children.

And the wife who experienced working for the most special place in all of motor sports began sharing the love for the town of Speedway, its residence and businesses, and the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway in an online presence called @FortheLoveofSpeedway. She also makes racing décor and flag sets that many Speedway families, and people across the country, have on display during racing season. *Even in 2020 during a shut-down, over 200 families bought these festive flags to show their pride founded on the Indy 500 and Speedway, Indiana! A portion of the sales go to support the Mars Hill Arts Center as well as the Saint Christopher Food Pantry. 

This family continues to live out this dream that brought them here.

It is, after all, For the Love of Speedway.