How Texas A&M ‘won’ the greatest spectacle in racing — the Indianapolis 500
Texas A&M’s goal is to win a national title in football, but until that feat is accomplished, the Aggies will always have the Indianapolis 500.
Texas A&M’s investment in a sponsorship of an IndyCar driver resulted in the type of exposure on Sunday that a major university doesn’t typically enjoy on Memorial Day weekend, and definitely not during the running of the Indianapolis 500.
IndyCar driver Felix Rosenqvist of Sweden is sponsored by Texas A&M, and on Sunday he won the closest edition of the Indy 500.
After a chaotic series of events in the final 10 laps that saw two caution flags, he dropped from first place to third with three laps remaining. Two of the final three laps were under caution, which created a last-lap sprint under green to the finish.
He came from behind on the front straightaway to move past David Malukas to win by two-one-hundredths of a second, the closest finish in the 110-year history of the event. It was the 70th and final lead change of the race, another record.
“That’s the way I’ve always pictured it,” Rosenqvist said. “I’ll watch it a million times. I feel like it’s been a dream.”
Rosenqvist’s helmet features the Texas A&M logo; every time the Fox cameras went to his in-car camera, you’d have to turn off the monitor not to see the A&M logo.
A&M announced this sponsorship back in March, and it resulted in “winning” what remains the greatest spectacle not in racing but sports.
The Indy 500 retains its power
The people who run the games and events we love can screw up a lot, but the Indianapolis 500 remains one of the few that not even political leaders, or even private equity, could ruin.
(This is not a paid advertisement for the Indy 500, but donations, gifts or bribes are welcome.)
Whatever NASCAR brings with its Daytona 500, or Formula One with its follow-the-leader Monaco Grand Prix, those respective racing series are both off the podium when compared to the scale, power and all-out assault on the senses created by the Indy 500.
If you have a life — not just sports — bucket list, the Indy 500 should be in the top three. The Indy 500 may be the last premier sporting event in America whose mission is not to destroy your life savings.
Take the tradition of an Army-Navy football game, the power of a Metallica concert, and the scale of an Olympic opening ceremonies, and you’re in the area of the Indy 500.
It is the largest one-day sporting event in the world with a “reported” 250,000 attending. Not sure if that figure is correct, but what is correct is that it’s more people in one concentrated area than anywhere else on earth for five or so hours.
You did not need to know Rosenqvist or Malukas, or any of the other driver in Sunday’s race, which is often a sad reality of this era of IndyCar, to appreciate the day. To appreciate the scale, and the number of people.
The first 30 minutes leading up to the start of the race, coupled with the first 10 laps, remain the class of live sporting events. The flyovers. The playing of the national anthem along with “Back Home Again In Indiana,” along with “Start your engines,” is an experience that needs to be felt live. Just once.
The Indy 500 is the one sporting event where the primary apparel worn and purchased by the fans is not for the participants but the venue. For every one “Foyt Racing” jersey worn by a fan there are thousands of “Indianapolis Motor Speedway” shirts and hats.
Texas A&M probably won’t hang a banner at Kyle Field commemorating its 2026 Indy 500 championship — although it is A&M, so don’t rule it out — but until that day comes when the Aggies can celebrate a national title in football, they will always have Indianapolis.
