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Thomas Kinkade's Indy Excitement
100 Years of Racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway®
Call an Art of the South Gallery for further details or
to reserve your very own canvas!
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"One hundred years have passed since the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway opened its track in 1909. I can well remember the
annual ritual of watching this famous race as a boy, watching
this famous race on the Wide World of Sports became an annual
ritual. The names from the sport are legendary: A. J. Foyt,
Parnelli Jones, Al Unser, Mario Andretti, Rick Mears and
countless others. Little did I realize that many years later I
would have the chance to meet these legends of racing and to
commemorate the cathedral of speed where they became famous.
To create my tribute painting as the official artist for the
Centennial Era of this famous speedway, I was allowed to take my
sketching materials right onto the grounds of the track. I even
got to set up and work at the famous brickyard starting line!
As I worked, I envisioned a crowd of cheering spectators from
each of the generations that have embraced the track as an
American icon. I even envisioned including famous cars from the
golden age of racing in my painting. The finished work required
countless studio hours, and an immense amount of final
detailing. I hope you will join me in saluting the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway as it celebrates 100 years of Indy Excitement."
- Thomas Kinkade
Thomas Kinkade's Indy Excitement will be available in the
following sizes:
18x27, 24x36, 28x42 and 40x60.
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Interesting Facts:
1. Thomas Kinkade was chosen as the official Centennial Era
artist for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway®. He was allowed to
take his sketching materials rightonto the grounds of the
Indianapolis Speedway and even to set up shop at the start line
of the race track!
2. Thom has included 25 N’s in Indy® Excitement, 100 Years of
Racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway®, in celebration for his
25 years as a published artist.
3. Thom has included Leroy Neiman and Norman Rockwell in this
work! Can you find them?
4. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway,
Indiana, is the home of the Indianapolis 500® race.
5. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is celebrating 100 years of
worldwide leadership in motorsports entertainment, as well as
honoring the 100th anniversaries of the opening of the venerable
racetrack, in 1909, and of the inaugural Indianapolis 500, in
1911, through its Centennial Era from 2009 through 2011.
6. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway stadium is the world’s
largest and highest-capacity sporting facility, with more than
250,000 permanent seats and infield seating that raises capacity
to an approximate 400,000.
7. Indiana businessmen Carl G. Fisher, James A. Allison, Arthur
C. Newby and Frank H. Wheeler pooled their resources to build
the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1909 as an automobile testing
ground to support Indiana’s growing automotive industry. The
focus of the facility soon turned to racing, with Ray Harroun
winning the inaugural Indianapolis 500 on May 30, 1911.
8. On the grounds of the speedway is the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway Hall of Fame Museum, which opened in 1956, and the
Brickyard Crossing Golf Resort, which originally opened as the
Speedway Golf Course in 1929. The Speedway was also the venue of
the opening ceremonies for the 1987 Pan American Games.
9. A Centennial Gala took place on February 27, 2009 at the
Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis. Nineteen of
the 27 living Indianapolis 500 winners — including four-time
winners A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears — were among the
featured guests at the black-tie event. Proceeds benefited the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation, which operates the Hall
of Fame Museum. |
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