Indianapolis Motor Speedway Officials

Through 2009

Year	Speedway President	Sanction	Chief Stewart	Pace Car Driver	Starter	Honorary Referee
1911	Carl Fisher	AAA	C.W. Sedwick	Carl Fisher	Fred Wagner	R.P. Hooper
1912	Carl Fisher	AAA	C.W. Sedwick	Carl Fisher	Fred Wagner	R.P. Hooper
1913	Carl Fisher	AAA	C.W. Sedwick	Carl Fisher	Charles Root	Laurence Enos
1914	Carl Fisher	AAA	C.W. Sedwick	Carl Fisher	Thomas Hay	John A. Wilson
1915	Carl Fisher	AAA	C.W. Sedwick	Carl Fisher	Thomas Hay	A.R. Pardington
1916	Carl Fisher	AAA	C.W. Sedwick	Frank Smith	George Dickson	Howard Marmon
1919	Carl Fisher	AAA	W.D. Edenburn	Frank Smith	E.C. Patterson	Eddie Rickenbacker
1920	Carl Fisher	AAA	W.D. Edenburn	Barney Oldfield	E.C. Patterson	Clifford Ireland
1921	Carl Fisher	AAA	W.D. Edenburn	Harry C. Stutz	Thomas Hay	David Beechcroft
1922	Carl Fisher	AAA	W.D. Edenburn	Barney Oldfield	Eddie Rickenbacker	Richard Kennerdell
1923	Carl Fisher	AAA	W.D. Edenburn	Fred Duesenburg	Eddie Rickenbacker	John O. LaGorce
1924	Carl Fisher	AAA	W.D. Edenburn	Louis Pettijohn	W.S. Gilbreath	Henry Ford
1925	Carl Fisher	AAA	W.D. Edenburn	Eddie Rickenbacker	Seth Klein	Charles Schwab
1926	Carl Fisher	AAA	W.D. Edenburn	Louis Chevrolet	Seth Klein	Arthur Brisbane
1927	Carl Fisher	AAA	W.D. Edenburn	"Big Boy" Rader	George Townsend	Charles Kettering
1928	Eddie Rickenbacker	AAA	W.D. Edenburn	Joe Dawson	Chester Maitland	Larry P. Fisher
1929	Eddie Rickenbacker	AAA	W.D. Edenburn	George Hunt	Larry Fisher	Harvey Firestone
1930	Eddie Rickenbacker	AAA	W.D. Edenburn	E.L. Cord	Gratland Rice	Vincent Bendix
1931	Eddie Rickenbacker	AAA	W.D. Edenburn	"Big Boy" Rader	Barney Oldfield	William Knudsen
1932	Eddie Rickenbacker	AAA	W.D. Edenburn	Edsel Ford	Gar Wood	Edsel Ford
1933	Eddie Rickenbacker	AAA	W.D. Edenburn	Byron Ford	Roscoe Turner	Larry Fisher
1934	Eddie Rickenbacker	AAA	W.D. Edenburn	"Big Boy" Rader	Seth Klein	Roy Chapin
1935	Eddie Rickenbacker	AAA	Charles Merz	Harry Mack	Seth Klein	Amelia Earhart
1936	Eddie Rickenbacker	AAA	Charles Merz	Tommy Milton	Seth Klein	Ralph DePalma
1937	Eddie Rickenbacker	AAA	Charles Merz	Ralph DePalma	Seth Klein	William Knudsen
1938	Eddie Rickenbacker	AAA	Charles Merz	Stuart Baits	Seth Klein	Harvey Firestone
1939	Eddie Rickenbacker	AAA	Charles Merz	Charles Chayne	Seth Klein	Roscoe Turner
1940	Eddie Rickenbacker	AAA	Ted Doescher	Harry Hartz	Seth Klein	Paul Hoffman
1941	Eddie Rickenbacker	AAA	Ted Doescher	A.B. Couture	Seth Klein	Guy Vaughn
1946	Wibur Shaw	AAA	J.H. Mehan	Henry Ford II	Seth Klein	Jack Dempsey
1947	Wibur Shaw	AAA	J.H. Mehan	George Mason	Seth Klein	Ralph Gates
1948	Wibur Shaw	AAA	J.H. Mehan	Wilbur Shaw	Seth Klein	Al Feeney
1949	Wibur Shaw	AAA	Tommy Milton	Wilbur Shaw	Seth Klein	J.E. McManamon
1950	Wibur Shaw	AAA	Tommy Milton	Benson Ford	Seth Klein	Clarence Beesmyer
1951	Wibur Shaw	AAA	Tommy Milton	Dave Wallace	Seth Klein	Clarence Beesmyer
1952	Wibur Shaw	AAA	Tommy Milton	P.O. Peterson	Seth Klein	Raymond Firestone
1953	Wibur Shaw	AAA	Harry McQuinn	Willaim Ford	Seth Klein	Henry Ford II
1954	Wibur Shaw	AAA	Harry McQuinn	William Newburg	Bill Vanderwater	Ralph DePalma
1955	Tony Hulman	AAA	Harry McQuinn	T.H. Keating	Bill Vanderwater	R.A. Stranahan, Jr.
1956	Tony Hulman	USAC	Harry McQuinn	L.I. Woolson	Bill Vanderwater	Herman Teetor
1957	Tony Hulman	USAC	Harry McQuinn	F.C Reith	Bill Vanderwater	Louis Schwitzer, Jr.
1958	Tony Hulman	USAC	Harlan Fengler	Sam Hanks	Bill Vanderwater	R.A. Stranahan, Jr.
1959	Tony Hulman	USAC	Harlan Fengler	Sam Hanks	Bill Vanderwater	Vernon Bellman
1960	Tony Hulman	USAC	Harlan Fengler	Sam Hanks	Bill Vanderwater	Vernon Bellman
1961	Tony Hulman	USAC	Harlan Fengler	Sam Hanks	Bill Vanderwater	Raymond Firestone
1962	Tony Hulman	USAC	Harlan Fengler	Sam Hanks	Pat Vidan	R.A. Stranahan, Jr.
1963	Tony Hulman	USAC	Harlan Fengler	Sam Hanks	Pat Vidan	Baxter F. Ball
1964	Tony Hulman	USAC	Harlan Fengler	Benson Ford	Pat Vidan	Raymond Firestone
1965	Tony Hulman	USAC	Harlan Fengler	P.N. Buckminster	Pat Vidan	Raymond Firestone
1966	Tony Hulman	USAC	Harlan Fengler	Benson Ford	Pat Vidan	Raymond Firestone

Year	Speedway President	Sanction	Chief Stewart	Pace Car Driver (Start)	Pace Car Driver (Cautions)	Starter
1967	Tony Hulman	USAC	Harlan Fengler	Mauri Rose	N/A	Pat Vidan
1968	Tony Hulman	USAC	Harlan Fengler	William Ford	N/A	Pat Vidan
1969	Tony Hulman	USAC	Harlan Fengler	Jim Rathmann	N/A	Pat Vidan
1970	Tony Hulman	USAC	Harlan Fengler	Rodger Ward	N/A	Pat Vidan
1971	Tony Hulman	USAC	Harlan Fengler	Eldon Palmer	N/A	Pat Vidan
1972	Tony Hulman	USAC	Harlan Fengler	Jim Rathmann	N/A	Pat Vidan
1973	Tony Hulman	USAC	Harlan Fengler	Jim Rathmann	N/A	Pat Vidan
1974	Tony Hulman	USAC	Tom Binford	Jim Rathmann	N/A	Pat Vidan
1975	Tony Hulman	USAC	Tom Binford	James Garner	N/A	Pat Vidan
1976	Tony Hulman	USAC	Tom Binford	Marty Robbins	N/A	Pat Vidan
1977	Tony Hulman	USAC	Tom Binford	James Garner	N/A	Pat Vidan
1978	Joe Cloutier	USAC	Tom Binford	Jim Rathmann	N/A	Pat Vidan
1979	Joe Cloutier	USAC	Tom Binford	Jackie Stewart	Jim Rathmann	Pat Vidan
1980	John Cooper	USAC	Tom Binford	Johnnie Parsons	Don Bailey	Duane Sweeney
1981	John Cooper	USAC	Tom Binford	Duke Nalon	Don Bailey	Duane Sweeney
1982	Joe Cloutier	USAC	Tom Binford	Jim Rathmann	Don Bailey	Duane Sweeney
1983	Joe Cloutier	USAC	Tom Binford	Duke Nalon	Duke Nalon	Duane Sweeney
1984	Joe Cloutier	USAC	Tom Binford	John Callies	Don Bailey	Duane Sweeney
1985	Joe Cloutier	USAC	Tom Binford	James Garner	Don Bailey	Duane Sweeney
1986	Joe Cloutier	USAC	Tom Binford	Chuck Yeager	Don Bailey	Duane Sweeney
1987	Joe Cloutier	USAC	Tom Binford	Carroll Shelby	Don Bailey	Duane Sweeney
1988	Joe Cloutier	USAC	Tom Binford	Chuck Yeager	Don Bailey	Duane Sweeney
1989	Joe Cloutier	USAC	Tom Binford	Bobby Unser	Don Bailey	Duane Sweeney
1990	Tony George	USAC	Tom Binford	Jim Perkins	Don Bailey	Duane Sweeney
1991	Tony George	USAC	Tom Binford	Carroll Shelby	Don Bailey	Duane Sweeney
1992	Tony George	USAC	Tom Binford	Bobby Unser	Don Bailey	Duane Sweeney
1993	Tony George	USAC	Tom Binford	Jim Perkins	Don Bailey	Duane Sweeney
1994	Tony George	USAC	Tom Binford	Parnelli Jones	Don Bailey	Duane Sweeney
1995	Tony George	USAC	Tom Binford	Jim Perkins	Don Bailey	Duane Sweeney
1996	Tony George	USAC IRL	Keith Ward	Bob Lutz	Don Bailey	Duane Sweeney
1997	Tony George	USAC IRL	Keith Ward	Johnny Rutherford	Don Bailey	Bryan Howard
1998	Tony George	IRL	Brian Barnhart	Parnelli Jones	Don Bailey	Bryan Howard
1999	Tony George	IRL	Brian Barnhart	Jay Leno	Don Bailey	Bryan Howard
2000	Tony George	IRL	Brian Barnhart	Anthony Edwards	Don Bailey	Bryan Howard
2001	Tony George	IRL	Brian Barnhart	Elaine Irwin-Mellencamp	Don Bailey	Bryan Howard
2002	Tony George	IRL	Brian Barnhart	Jim Caviezal	Joie Chitwood III	Bryan Howard
2003	Tony George	IRL IndyCar Series	Brian Barnhart	Herb Fishel	Johnny Rutherford	Bryan Howard
2004	Tony George	IRL IndyCar Series	Brian Barnhart	Morgan Freeman	Joie Chitwood, III	Bryan Howard
2005	Joie Chitwood, III	IRL IndyCar Series	Brian Barnhart	Colin Powell	Joie Chitwood, III	Bryan Howard
2006	Joie Chitwood, III	IRL IndyCar Series	Brian Barnhart	Lance Armstrong	Johnny Rutherford	Bryan Howard
2007	Joie Chitwood, III	IRL IndyCar Series	Brian Barnhart	Patrick Dempsey	Johnny Rutherford	Bryan Howard
2008	Joie Chitwood, III	IRL IndyCar Series	Brian Barnhart	Emerson Fittipaldi	Johnny Rutherford	Bryan Howard
2009	Joie Chitwood, III	IRL IndyCar Series	Brian Barnhart	Josh Duhamel	Johnny Rutherford	Bryan Howard
2010	Jeff Belskus	IRL IndyCar Series	Brian Barnhart	Robin Roberts	Johnny Rutherford	Paul Blevin

Indy Racing League notes
For two runnings of the Indy 500, the Indy Racing League fell under the overall sanctioning umbrella of USAC. For the first nine races of its existance (from January 1996-June 1997), the IRL was a division of USAC. After two controversial races (the 1997 Indy 500 and the 1997 Texas 500k), the IRL abruptly removed itself from oversight by USAC, and started to sanction the series in-house.

In 1992, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway had trademarked the name INDYCAR, and licensed it to CART. After the open-wheel split, the Speedway and IRL sought to disallow the use of the term INDYCAR by the CART organization. After a settlement in late 1996, the IRL regained the rights to the term, and agreed to a 6-year non-use period. Starting with the 2003 season, the IRL began to use the CamelCase term IndyCar, advertising itself as the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series. The premier level of open wheel racing sanctioned by the IRL, which competes in the Indianapolis 500 has had several advertised names since 1996.

1996-1997: USAC Indy Racing League
1998-1999: Pep Boys Indy Racing League
2000-2001: Indy Racing Northern Lights Series
2002: Indy Racing League
2003-2007: Indy Racing League IndyCar Series
2008: Indy Racing League IndyCar Series in DIRECTV HD
2009: Indy Racing League IndyCar Series
2010-2015: Indy Racing League IZOD IndyCar Series

Hulman/George family notes
Following the death of Tony Hulman on October 27, 1977, the management of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was reorganized. Hulman's widow, Mrs. Mary Fendrich Hulman was named the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Chairman of the Board. In May 1988 at age 83, Mary F. Hulman was named chairman of the board emeritus. Her daughter, Mari Hulman George, was named the new IMS Chairman of the Board.

Anton "Tony" Hulman George was named President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in January 1990 following the death of Joe Cloutier. In 1994, Tony George announced the formation of the Indy Racing League (IRL). He became the first CEO of the IRL and it began competition in 1996.

Tony George stepped aside from the day-to-day role of President of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in late 2004. In December 2004, Joie Chitwood, III was promoted to President and COO of the Speedway. Tony George remained as the CEO of the IRL and Hulman & Co. Meanwhile, Tony George bought the assets of Kelley Racing, and IndyCar Series team, and founded Vision Racing. The team was entered full-time into the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series, as well as the Grand Am series. Around the same time period, Brian Barnhart (competition division) and Terry Angstadt (commercial division) were named presidents of the Indy Racing League. Charlie Morgan was also named president of IMS Productions.

On February 22, 2008, the entities of the Indy Racing League and Champ Car unified into a single series, largely under the leadership of Tony George. For the 2008 "unified" season, George continued as CEO of the Indy Racing League. By 2009, after many factors, rumors began during the month of May that Tony George could be outsed of his position(s). Three days after the 2009 Indy 500, Robin Miller initially reported that Tony George had been voted out of his position of power by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway board. The report was denied, and the report was retracted.

On June 30, 2009, Tony George resigned from his three major positions: CEO of the Speedway, CEO of the Indy Racing League, and CEO of Hulman & Co. Jeff Belskus was named the new CEO of the Speedway. Curt Brighton was named president and CEO of Hulman & Co. Tony George was given a seat on the IMS board of directors.

As of July 1, 2009, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corp. board of directors consisted of: Mari Hulman George (chairperson), Tony George, Josie George, Nancy George, Katherine George-Conforti, and attorney Jack Snyder.

On July 20, 2009, Joie Chitwood III announced his resignation as President and COO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, effective August 6, 2009 (following the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard). He was replaced by Jeff Belskus.

After a short stint on the IMS Board, Tony George resigned his position on the board effective immediately on January 19, 2010. His position as owner of Vision Racing also was scaled back, as the team was unable to field a full-time entry for the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series season. For the 2010 Indy 500, Vision Racing is scheduled to enter a car in partnership with Panther Racing.

Official starter (flagman)
Bryan Howard and Paul Blevin are currently the official starters of the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series, including the Indianapolis 500. Howard has served the position since 1997. Paul Blevin served as Howard's assistant from 1999-2007. As of 2010, Howard and Blevin are rotating the position at Indy, with Blevin scheduled to serve as starter for the 2010 race, and Howard serving again in 2011. Since 2008, Tom Hansing from the USAC Silver Crown series, has served as the assistant. In 2010, Jack Nicholson was invited to serve as honorary starter. The race had two early yellows, and Nicholson stayed in the starter's stand to wave the green flag during the first two restarts in addition to the opening lap.

Honorary starters
An honorary starter has been used to wave the green flag in the following years:

1993  Nick Fornoro (Longtime CART/PPG Indy Car series starter/flagman)
1997  Ronald R. Fogelman, U.S.A.F. (Celebrating the United States Air Force)
1998  Mark Page (Sr. VP of Store Operations for Pep Boys)
1999  Jim Postl (President and CEO of Pennzoil)
2000  Howard Katz (President of ABC Sports)
2004  Nick Lachey (singer from the band "98 degrees," TV personality)
2005  Reggie Miller (Retired Indiana Pacers basketball player)
2006  Sugar Ray Leonard (Retired professional boxing legend)
2007  Peyton Manning (Indianapolis Colts quarterback, Super Bowl XLI MVP)
2008  Kristi Yamaguchi (1992 Olympic figure skating gold medalist)
2009  Allen Sirkin (COO of Phillips-Van Heusen, manufacturer of IZOD clothing)
2010  Jack Nicholson (actor)

Since the inception of the pack-up rule in 1979, when the pace car leads the cars during a yellow flag situation, an official has typically driven the pace car during these periods, not the celebrity driver.

The position of Chief Stewart was replaced by the title of IRL Director Racing Operations from 1998-2000. In 2001, Brian Barnhart's title became Vice President of Racing Operations. In 2005, Barnhart was named President of the Indy Racing League.