Lunchtime foot and motor traffic came to a standstill May 18 as Indianapolis 500 past and present converged on Herald Square, the New York landmark made famous by the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Fronted by the yellow car that started it all - the 1911 Marmon Wasp - and the biggest prize in motorsports - the iconic Borg-Warner Trophy - drivers competing in the May 24 race lined up in the traditional 11 rows of three for a photo op in front of Macy’s flagship store (where it’s been located since 1902).
The event, which preceded a media gathering at Calvin Klein headquarters in Times Square South and followed multiple national TV appearances by front-row starters Helio Castroneves, Ryan Briscoe and Dario Franchitti, was held in conjunction with IZOD’s exhibit “In Pursuit of FAST: 100 Years of Indy Racing, Fashion and Design” at Macy’s on Broadway through June 3.
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“This is certainly an exciting opportunity for us with our partners at IZOD to be a part of this special Macy’s promotion and helping us celebrate our centennial,” Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Indy Racing League CEO Tony George said. “It’s been a very exciting Month of May and we look forward to capping it off with a very exciting race.”
IZOD, a best-selling brand in the Phillips-Van Heusen Corp., portfolio, has created Indy car racing heritage-inspired and modern performance clothing lines to correspond to the Brickyard’s 1909 birth date.
The historic exhibit - featuring multiple generations of race cars from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum, 500-Mile Race-winning driver helmets, original photographs and memorabilia—dresses the large display windows and lines the (Broadway to Seventh Avenue) aisles. After the outdoor photo session, spectators/shoppers stopped to photograph the Borg-Warner Trophy, which occupied a center-aisle display space reserved during the winter holidays for the Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball.
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“So many Macy’s customers are fans of the Indianapolis 500, and that connection is just terrific,” said Terry J. Lundgren, chairman, president and CEO of Macy’s Inc. “(This exhibit) is really special. I walked around the store before it opened, looked at all the cars and read about all the history. There’s a story behind each one. It’s a fascinating experience.”
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