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Today I learned of the passing of IMS PA Announcer Tom Carnegie and I sat in my office and cried. I never met Tom Carnegie but he was part of my family. As the Voice of the "500" for my entire life there are very few memories of trips to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that don't include Tom's voice echoing in the background.
As I have mentioned elsewhere my grandfather was at the inaugural Indy 500. My mother has attended 60 Indy 500s and I have attended 38 straight. When I was a child my mom would take us kids to the track for practices and qualifications. She probably convinced Dad that she was doing it for us but as a parent I now know that she was doing it partly for her own enjoyment and partly to pass on the race fan legacy that bonds our family.
I spent some of the early and mid 70s race days learning some interesting lessons while strolling through the snakepit. I got to know some of my more distant relatives thanks to the Indy 500 because they would only visit Indianapolis for the race and the night before the race party that Mom & Dad always host. When I think of my aunts and uncles that have passed, I think of the races where we were cheering for different drivers or their reactions to crashes, passes, and Mario slowing down. My brother always sat in front of me at the race. As kids we enjoyed making fun of Janet Guthrie just to get our sisters mad. Our extended family would always go to dinner after the '500' and talk about what we had seen that day. When we met for Thanksgiving we would talk about either last year's race or next year's race.
I remember skipping school to go to Fast Friday. I remember buckets of fried chicken, tenderloins, and eventually lots of beer. LOTS of beer. I remember seeing fights, sunburns, and nudity. I love the Alley Cats, the suites, the flyovers, the colors, the drunk passed out next to the "No Pass Out" sign, the cars, the speed, AJ cussing on the PA, AJ crying on the PA, Tony Hulman saying, "Gentlemen Start Your Engines", trying to stay warm in 1992, trying to stay cool in 2010, tornados, rainouts, Florence Henderson singing, the Purdue drum, and the balloons. We cry together when they play Taps, we sing along with Jim Nabors, we wave and salute the soldiers and we cheer together until the finish.
For every one of those memories I can associate a great friend or family member. And in every one of those memories I can hear Tom Carnegie's voice.
Rest in Peace, Tom Carnegie.
As I have mentioned elsewhere my grandfather was at the inaugural Indy 500. My mother has attended 60 Indy 500s and I have attended 38 straight. When I was a child my mom would take us kids to the track for practices and qualifications. She probably convinced Dad that she was doing it for us but as a parent I now know that she was doing it partly for her own enjoyment and partly to pass on the race fan legacy that bonds our family.
I spent some of the early and mid 70s race days learning some interesting lessons while strolling through the snakepit. I got to know some of my more distant relatives thanks to the Indy 500 because they would only visit Indianapolis for the race and the night before the race party that Mom & Dad always host. When I think of my aunts and uncles that have passed, I think of the races where we were cheering for different drivers or their reactions to crashes, passes, and Mario slowing down. My brother always sat in front of me at the race. As kids we enjoyed making fun of Janet Guthrie just to get our sisters mad. Our extended family would always go to dinner after the '500' and talk about what we had seen that day. When we met for Thanksgiving we would talk about either last year's race or next year's race.
I remember skipping school to go to Fast Friday. I remember buckets of fried chicken, tenderloins, and eventually lots of beer. LOTS of beer. I remember seeing fights, sunburns, and nudity. I love the Alley Cats, the suites, the flyovers, the colors, the drunk passed out next to the "No Pass Out" sign, the cars, the speed, AJ cussing on the PA, AJ crying on the PA, Tony Hulman saying, "Gentlemen Start Your Engines", trying to stay warm in 1992, trying to stay cool in 2010, tornados, rainouts, Florence Henderson singing, the Purdue drum, and the balloons. We cry together when they play Taps, we sing along with Jim Nabors, we wave and salute the soldiers and we cheer together until the finish.
For every one of those memories I can associate a great friend or family member. And in every one of those memories I can hear Tom Carnegie's voice.
Rest in Peace, Tom Carnegie.
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