[coverattach=1]INDIANAPOLIS (March 12, 2009) - Don Schumacher Racing was one of five Indiana-based motorsports teams that were honored by the Indiana Legislature and the Governor’s Office on March 10 for bringing 2008 series championships home to Indiana.
Governor Mitch Daniels and Lt. Governor Becky Skillman personally welcomed representatives from Don Schumacher Racing on behalf of Driver of the Year and six-time Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher, as well as NHRA Funny Car Champion Cruz Pedregon, Indy 500 and IRL champion Scott Dixon, ALMS champion Scott Pruett, team owner Chip Ganassi and Vance and Hines Motorsports following special ceremonies in the Indiana Senate and House of Representatives.
Schumacher was in Las Vegas with his father, team owner Don Schumacher, attending the annual Matco Tools Expo. DSR, based in Brownsburg, Ind., was represented by Senior Vice President Mike Lewis and Director of Marketing and Licensing Will Truitt. Lewis and Truitt presented NHRA "Wallys" (winner's trophies) to Governor Daniels and Lt. Governor Skillman, commemorating Schumacher’s record-breaking championship at the wheel of the U.S. Army Top Fuel Dragster.
Schumacher’s 15 victories were the most earned by any champion driver in any series and tied the all-time NHRA record for wins in a single season.
The day’s activities also included the unveiling of the 100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500 ticket featuring 2008 champion Dixon by Joie Chitwood, President of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Chitwood, Dixon and car owner Ganassi unveiled an oversized version of the prized ticket in separate ceremonies before the Indiana Senate and House of Representatives.
Pedregon was also invited to speak on behalf of the three championship NHRA teams: Eddie Krawiec’s Vance and Hines Pro Stock Motorcycle Team, Schumacher’s U.S. Army Top Fuel Team and his own Advance Auto Parts Funny car Team. Krawiec was testing in Georgia in preparation for the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., this weekend.
Indiana Motorsports Day was conceived by Rollie Helmling, former President of USAC and current Director of Motorsports Initiatives for the Governor’s Office and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. Helmling and the Indiana Motorsports Association have organized a Motorsports Caucus of 72 Senators and Representatives chaired by Senator Tom Wyss. IMA President Chris Paulsen and Executive Director Tom Weisenbach arranged an after-hours bus tour of Pedregon Racing and Target Chip Ganassi Racing, providing the Caucus members a first-hand look inside two championship facilities.
“Indiana’s growing motorsports industry has solidified its position as the motorsports capital of the world,” said Wyss. “Today we congratulate these teams for their achievements and thank them for the role they play in the Indiana economy."
The motorsports industry in Indiana includes more than 1,400 motorsports-specific businesses that employ thousands of Hoosiers. In 2008 alone, motorsports companies committed more than 250 jobs and $17.6 million to expand their operations in the state. The town of Brownsburg, alone, boasts 21 active NHRA pro teams with some 300 employees, 50 transporters and half-a-million square feet of shop space. Amazingly, every NHRA championship team since 2001 in Top Fuel and since 2003 in Funny car has based its operations in central Indiana.
Governor Mitch Daniels and Lt. Governor Becky Skillman personally welcomed representatives from Don Schumacher Racing on behalf of Driver of the Year and six-time Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher, as well as NHRA Funny Car Champion Cruz Pedregon, Indy 500 and IRL champion Scott Dixon, ALMS champion Scott Pruett, team owner Chip Ganassi and Vance and Hines Motorsports following special ceremonies in the Indiana Senate and House of Representatives.
Schumacher was in Las Vegas with his father, team owner Don Schumacher, attending the annual Matco Tools Expo. DSR, based in Brownsburg, Ind., was represented by Senior Vice President Mike Lewis and Director of Marketing and Licensing Will Truitt. Lewis and Truitt presented NHRA "Wallys" (winner's trophies) to Governor Daniels and Lt. Governor Skillman, commemorating Schumacher’s record-breaking championship at the wheel of the U.S. Army Top Fuel Dragster.
Schumacher’s 15 victories were the most earned by any champion driver in any series and tied the all-time NHRA record for wins in a single season.
The day’s activities also included the unveiling of the 100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500 ticket featuring 2008 champion Dixon by Joie Chitwood, President of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Chitwood, Dixon and car owner Ganassi unveiled an oversized version of the prized ticket in separate ceremonies before the Indiana Senate and House of Representatives.
Pedregon was also invited to speak on behalf of the three championship NHRA teams: Eddie Krawiec’s Vance and Hines Pro Stock Motorcycle Team, Schumacher’s U.S. Army Top Fuel Team and his own Advance Auto Parts Funny car Team. Krawiec was testing in Georgia in preparation for the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., this weekend.
Indiana Motorsports Day was conceived by Rollie Helmling, former President of USAC and current Director of Motorsports Initiatives for the Governor’s Office and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. Helmling and the Indiana Motorsports Association have organized a Motorsports Caucus of 72 Senators and Representatives chaired by Senator Tom Wyss. IMA President Chris Paulsen and Executive Director Tom Weisenbach arranged an after-hours bus tour of Pedregon Racing and Target Chip Ganassi Racing, providing the Caucus members a first-hand look inside two championship facilities.
“Indiana’s growing motorsports industry has solidified its position as the motorsports capital of the world,” said Wyss. “Today we congratulate these teams for their achievements and thank them for the role they play in the Indiana economy."
The motorsports industry in Indiana includes more than 1,400 motorsports-specific businesses that employ thousands of Hoosiers. In 2008 alone, motorsports companies committed more than 250 jobs and $17.6 million to expand their operations in the state. The town of Brownsburg, alone, boasts 21 active NHRA pro teams with some 300 employees, 50 transporters and half-a-million square feet of shop space. Amazingly, every NHRA championship team since 2001 in Top Fuel and since 2003 in Funny car has based its operations in central Indiana.
![031009-Motorsportsgroup002[1].jpg](/data/attachments/0/269-944ec15add0db549059566532318cd4e.jpg)
