Kidsday talks with Indy 500 drivers

Originally published: June 26, 2009 11:19 AM
By Jasper Chiu, Jessica Murawski, Michael Rossides and Emily Ward Kidsday Reporters, 10 and 11, Lake Ronkonkoma and Centereach

Photo credit: Pat Mullooly, Newsday | Kidsday reporters Emily Ward, , Michael Rossides, Jasper Chiu and Jessica Murawski they are from Holbrook Road Elementary School, Centereach. They pose around a mini race car.

"Drivers start you engines" wasn't exactly what we heard in Herald's Square early Monday morning, but there were 33 race car drivers lined up in their starting positions for this Sunday's INDY 500 there.

It was awesome, three drivers wide and 11 drivers deep with Helio Castroneves at the pole position, and drivers Ryan Briscoe and Dario Franchitti all in the front row. This Sunday is the 94th Indianapolis 500, and these drivers were assembled in Herald's Square for a photo opportunity. We were hardly able to see the drivers or the open wheeled old-fashioned car they were lined up behind. What seemed like an event that was headed for disappointment, quickly took a turn for the better.

After the drivers left Herald's Square, we hustled over five blocks to the Indy Lookspace at 34th Street and 7th Avenue. Now this is where the fun really began. We got media passes and joined in with all kinds of other media reporters. Yes! We were part of this unique media event and luncheon. The Lookspace was very cool. There were four large screens displaying the history of racing and the Indy 500. There was a stage up front where the President and CEO of INDY addressed the press and the drivers.

Soon the drivers were introduced from the stage one at a time and then they joined the media down on the floor for interview. They weren't in the driving gear, but they were still just as exciting. It was great! We really worked the room. We got to interview several of the drivers such as Ryan Hunter-Reay, Scott Dixon, A.J. Foyt IV Dario Franchitti, Sarah Dixon, John Andretti and Marco Andretti. John and Marco are nephews of the famous Mario Andretti. We also spent some time with Danica Patrick and she is just as sweet as can be. But she says that she drives to win on the track, so look out!

Now if this all wasn't cool enough, we also got to eat lunch with some of the drivers. Michael and Jessica ate lunch with A.J. Foyt IV and Jasper and Emily ate lunch at Marco Andretti's table. Imagine sharing a table with these great drivers! Not only did we share the table, but also a few laughs. Marco Andretti is a really funny guy. Danica Patrick says that they all have a great time joking around together but then they fight it out on the track.

We weren't sure what to expect when we arrived at Herald's Square, but we never expected it to turn out to be the best day of our lives. Everyone was great to us, the other media, as well as the drivers and their staff. On a scale of 1 to 5 we rated this experience a perfect 5!