IMS, IRL teams embrace social media

SPEEDWAY, Ind. (IMS) - There are hundreds of stories circling around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, both on the famous 2.5-mile oval and in Gasoline Alley, during the Indianapolis 500.

Now fans around the world will have unparalleled information about everything that takes place during the Month of May at Indy, at their fingertips. The 2009 Indianapolis 500 will be the most accessible event in sports history, thanks to the burgeoning social media phenomenon of Facebook and Twitter, live streaming video and timing and scoring, blogs and television coverage.

Free live streaming video of on-track action will be provided at www.indy500.com and www.indycar.com from all Indianapolis 500 and Firestone Freedom 100 practice days, with free live timing and scoring every day there is track action, including Race Day, Sunday, May 24.

A host of motorsports and non-racing bloggers will cover the Indianapolis 500 live from the track this year. Chase Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year candidate Stanton Barrett also will write a daily blog, “Chasing Stanton,” at www.indy500.com as he describes from behind the scenes what it’s like for a driver to attempt to compete in the world’s greatest auto race for the first time.

Facebook, with more than 200 million active users, is described as an online social utility to help people communicate with family and friends. Users are able to post unlimited photos, videos and text to their page to share with other users.

Twitter is a service for friends, family and co-workers to stay in touch and connected in real-time by answering the question of “What are you doing?” Answers must be kept to a minimum of 140 characters in length. Twitter users can send “tweets” with mobile devices, instant messaging or on the Web.

Fans can keep current in May by following Facebook postings and Twitter “tweets” from a variety of personalities and sources, including the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. To find Facebook pages, enter the names in the list below in the search field at www.facebook.com. To find Twitter users, enter the addresses in the list below into a Web browser.

A list of Indy 500-related personalities and sources that use Facebook and Twitter regularly:

Facebook

Track, Sanctioning Body, Officials

• Indianapolis Motor Speedway
• IndyCar Series
• Firestone Indy Lights

Teams

• Conquest Racing
• HVM Racing
• KV Racing Technology
• Penske Racing
• Vision Racing

Drivers

• Stanton Barrett
• Ed Carpenter
• Sarah Fisher
• Ryan Hunter-Reay
• Graham Rahal

Twitter

Track, Sanctioning Body, Officials

• Indianapolis Motor Speedway
• IndyCar Series
• IMS Productions
• 500 Festival

Teams

• Bryan Herta Autosport
• Conquest Racing
• KV Racing
• Luczo Dragon Racing
• HVM Racing
• Rubicon Racing
• Sam Schmidt Motorsports
• Vision Racing

Drivers

• Marco Andretti
• Stanton Barrett
• James Hinchcliffe
• Ryan Hunter-Reay
• Tony Kanaan
• Alex Lloyd
• Mario Moraes
• Tomas Scheckter
• Alex Tagliani

MySpace

Track, Sanctioning Body, Officials

• Indianapolis Motor Speedway
• IndyCar Series