May 2001 Indy 500 and Parade

Eric has attended most Indy 500 races since he started going with his father in 1974.  This page shows some pictures from the 2001 500 Festival Parade and Indy 500 race.    

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Left - Banners mark the opening of the 500 Festival Parade.
Center - Float in honor of Indiana Olympic athletes.
Right - Float commemorating the Statue of Liberty. 

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Left - General Jones, Commandant, United States Marine Corps.
Center - The ever-popular festival princesses.
Right - Indiana Governor and First Lady O'Bannon in a classic Cord pace car.

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Left - The popular mini-Indy race cars (not the real Indy 500 cars!).
Center - Balloon in honor of the Indianapolis Racing League (IRL) drivers.
Right - Row 2 drivers Mark Dismore, Gil de Ferran and Arie Luyendyk.  (de Ferran finished 2nd in the race.)

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Left - Six former winning cars from 1911-1961, in honor of the 90th anniversary of the Indy 500.
Center - Race cars line up behind the pace vehicle prior to the start of the race.
Right - Drivers use the "warm up" lane during a caution period following an accident.

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Top - Three race cars, again using the "warm up" lane, perhaps after exiting the pits.
Left - Brazilian driver and race winner Helio Castroneves, during victory lap.
Right - Castroneves riding around the track on a pace vehicle after the ceremony in victory lane.

Click on thumbnails to see larger versions of these pictures.

For more information on the race, see the Indianapolis Star News web site.

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