GEICO’S DUO OF CHAMPIONS, PAPIS AND TRACY, ON THE WORLD’S BIGGEST STAGE
By Max Papis Racing | May 25, 2009 at 1:44 pmIndianapolis, IN (May 22, 2009) – Sponsors are getting excited about the biggest weekend in auto racing in which racers will take to the track in Indianapolis on Sunday afternoon and then, on Sunday evening, at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, NC. While most companies will be appearing at one venue or the other, GEICO Racing will be on-hand at both racetracks sporting championship drivers in the respective races.
2003 Champ Car champion Paul Tracy will be the first to hustle around a race track on Sunday, as he will start 13th in the #15 GEICO car for KV Racing Technology in the 93rd running of the Indianapolis 500. He is making his first return to Indianapolis Motor Speedway since 2002 when the Indy Racing League ruled that he passed Helio Castroneves under caution, relegating Tracy to a 2nd place finish. Ironically, Tracy’s starting position, 13th, matches the car number of close friend and GEICO NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver, Max Papis.
Max Papis, the 2004 Grand-Am Series champion, will spend his Sunday afternoon watching his friend and teammate Paul Tracy chase his first win in Indy. Once the checkered flag is displayed in the Hoosier State, Papis will climb into his own GEICO car, the #13 Germain Racing Toyota Camry, to compete in the Coca-Cola 600. Papis’s 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut has been impressive, as he has qualified for all six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races that he has attempted.
Tracy and Papis have remained in constant contact during the month of May, often comparing notes and sharing their experiences. Once fierce competitors, the pair have developed an unlikely friendship over the last few years. Fittingly, they are competing in the two biggest races in the world on the same day on behalf of the same sponsor: GEICO. Last week even found the two of them in feature stories in the USA Today on back-to-back days.
While the race outcomes for both drivers will be decided in forty-eight hours, GEICO has already won the race. They have received unparalleled media exposure in each of their efforts.
The 93rd running of the Indianapolis 500 is on Sunday, May 24th, and it will be televised live on ABC at 12:00 PM (ET), while the IMS radio network will carry the live radio broadcast.
The Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race will be televised live on FOX beginning at 5:00 PM (ET), while the Performance Racing Network (PRN) will carry the live radio broadcast.
To learn more about Max Papis, Paul Tracy and the GEICO Racing program, please visit: www.geicogarage.com
