To further pump up the excitement of Sunday’s 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 – which is officially sold-out – all 33 drivers in the race field spent Tuesday flying to various cities for a number of media opportunities.
Some went to baseball games, others to the zoo, and all had countless media interviews as a prelude for Sunday’s milestone event.
The media tour, which began in 2011, scattered the drivers to a variety of markets, from New York City and Chicago to Miami, Phoenix, Toronto, Buffalo, St. Louis and even Bethlehem, Pa.
Pole-sitter James Hinchcliffe kicked off things by taking a bite out of the Big Apple (New York City), along with 2014 Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay, 2014 Verizon IndyCarSeries champion Will Power and two-time series race winner Marco Andretti.
Here’s where the contingent of drivers visited, followed by a number of social media posts related to their visits:
Bethlehem, Pa.: Jack Hawksworth, Bristol, Conn. (ESPN): Tony Kanaan, Buffalo: Josef Newgarden, Charlotte, N.C.: Juan Pablo Montoya, Chicago: Helio Castroneves, Cincinnati: Sage Karam, Mikhail Aleshin, Cleveland: Pippa Mann, Columbus, Ohio: Charlie Kimball, Dallas: Graham Rahal, Dayton, Ohio: Stefan Wilson, Detroit: Ed Carpenter, Simon Pagenaud, Sebastien Bourdais, Fort Wayne, Ind.: Bryan Clauson, Buddy Lazier, Louisville: Matt Brabham, Alexander Rossi, Max Chilton, Spencer Pigot, Miami: Oriol Servia, Carlos Munoz, Gabby Chaves, Milwaukee: Conor Daly, New York: Will Power, Marco Andretti, James Hinchcliffe, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Townsend Bell, Phoenix: Scott Dixon, St. Louis: JR Hildebrand, Toronto: Takuma Sato, Alex Tagliani
#Indy500 pic.twitter.com/7M6DAHbyus
— Mike Kitchel (@mikekitchel) May 24, 2016
The #Indy500 hits the big apple! #INDYCAR #NewYork pic.twitter.com/dnJQfas1gZ
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) May 24, 2016
Totally cool to toss a first pitch at the @Cardinals @Cubs game to Indiana native @jphbaker. I'll take baseball game media any day! #indy500
— JR Hildebrand (@JRHildebrand) May 25, 2016
. @PippaMann made new friends (human & otherwise) today in #Cleveland during @IndyCar #MediaDay! Thx @KomenNEOhio! pic.twitter.com/Zl81ExQlnl
— Cathy Kightlinger (@CKightlinger) May 25, 2016
- @KomenNEOhio thank you so much for having me in your city today! Pleasure was all mine! ☺️
— Pippa Mann (@PippaMann) May 25, 2016
Nice work on the first pitch at the @Cardinals game tonight @JRHildebrand! #Indy500 #INDYCAR pic.twitter.com/rOCqPScacz
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) May 25, 2016
We had a great time at Speeding to Read today w/ @GrahamRahal and @CBellRacing & it looks like the students did too!https://t.co/I6mRD9FDZJ
— Texas Motor Speedway (@TXMotorSpeedway) May 24, 2016
#Indy500 driver @h3lio 's 1st pitch @whitesox ... Yeah it was a strike! #IndyCar #mlb pic.twitter.com/fgzrv6u8UR
— Pat Caporali 🇨🇦🏁 (@PCaporali) May 25, 2016
Someone... Please. Make. It. Stop!! @h3lio is out of control now! @TheRealRoxette #Indy500 #IndyCar #Indycaraoke pic.twitter.com/LcmNFgdP5p
— Pat Caporali 🇨🇦🏁 (@PCaporali) May 25, 2016
3x #indy500 winner @h3lio visits @loswhitesox broadcast booth @whitesox game.. #indycar #MLB pic.twitter.com/ODY5jwytHz
— Pat Caporali 🇨🇦🏁 (@PCaporali) May 25, 2016
When u realize you need either a shorter last name or significantly broader deltoids. (h/t @indycar) pic.twitter.com/QUwWbPoAkK
— nascarcasm (@nascarcasm) May 24, 2016
.@JRHildebrand presented @jphbaker with a 100th #Indy500 milk bottle at the @Cardinals game tonight! pic.twitter.com/g01Bpk4r8S
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) May 24, 2016
Indianapolis 500 rookies @AlexanderRossi @SpencerPigot @MattyBrabs @maxchilton visited today. Best of Luck guys! pic.twitter.com/GANQQ6Ns4m
— Louisville Zoo (@LouisvilleZoo) May 24, 2016
Hey. Pretty decent first pitch from @IndyCar driver @JRHildebrand here at Busch Stadium. #Indy500 pic.twitter.com/13mpEQ3FJT
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) May 24, 2016
Great day in #NYC talking all things #Indy500! #IndyCar https://t.co/HHlxJiEgJ6
— Andretti Autosport (@FollowAndretti) May 24, 2016
It's fate! Driving home from the Louisville, @AlexanderRossi passes a @NAPARacing semi heading Indy's direction! pic.twitter.com/hPb0RGqSLi
— Andretti Autosport (@FollowAndretti) May 24, 2016
Next Stop: @scottdixon9 talks w/ @CraigFouhy of @abc15 #INDYCAR #INDYRIVALS pic.twitter.com/CLUUEFYHEL
— Phoenix Raceway (@phoenixraceway) May 24, 2016
VIDEO: Indy 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya visits WBTV: He was on the NASCAR Circuit for seven years winning t... https://t.co/B68DUWl586
— WBTV_Sports (@WBTV_Sports) May 24, 2016
During media event for @hondaindy @tagliani took my gig to interview @TakumaSatoRacer #IndyCar pic.twitter.com/LFLtuSoka6
— Todd Lewis (@ToddLewisSports) May 24, 2016
So it's @MCW1 and @ConorDaly22 in a spirited game of horse at the @Bucks training facility during @IndyCar 500 week pic.twitter.com/yl9BG3XOTY
— Lance Allan (@lanceallan) May 24, 2016
Shoutout to @GrahamRahal & @CBellRacing 4 making @TXMotorSpeedway Speeding To Read Championship Assembly a great day pic.twitter.com/KMjfT7KCay
— "Ziz" (@Ziz007) May 24, 2016
Great to talk to Indy Car drivers Bryan Clauson and Buddy Lazier, the 1996 500 Champion on NBC 33. Have a safe race pic.twitter.com/pfe8Pi6vQr
— Kent Hormann (@KentHormann) May 24, 2016
Malaika the giraffe has a new best pal! #Indy500 #IndyCar pic.twitter.com/4zqqL4K9D8
— Andretti Autosport (@FollowAndretti) May 24, 2016
Great visit with @SageKaram & @mikhailaleshin today! Good luck at the #Indy500! @IMS 🏁 pic.twitter.com/D4dfrr7IYd
— Cincinnati Zoo (@CincinnatiZoo) May 24, 2016
Overlooking a quiet trading floor as we await @CNBCClosingBell - catch @MarcoAndretti LIVE in just a few mins. #NYSE pic.twitter.com/uOh4zVlB43
— Andretti Autosport (@FollowAndretti) May 24, 2016
.@AlexanderRossi is spending some up close and personal time with some sea lions at the @LouisvilleZoo! #Indy500 pic.twitter.com/9aFsYOMT6G
— Andretti Autosport (@FollowAndretti) May 24, 2016
Thanks Columbus for the #Indy500 media day! In the air... #WheelsUp back to Indy for Community Day tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/81hDMCiUGP
— Charlie Kimball (@charliekimball) May 24, 2016
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