IZOD Macy’s Autograph Session Ends on a High Note in Las Vegas

BY BRUCE MARTIN

LAS VEGAS – The final IZOD Macy’s Autograph Session of the 2011 season may have been the best as the largest collection of drivers all season – along with racing legend Mario Andretti – were swarmed by a huge throng of fans at Macy’s Fashion Show Mall on Wednesday night.

Nearly all of the 34 drivers that will race in Sunday’s IZOD IndyCar Series World Championship Presented by Honda – the largest field for an IZOD IndyCar Series race since 35 drivers made the 1997 Indianapolis 500 starting lineup — were in attendance. Andretti rounded out this impressive group of drivers, as the 1969 Indianapolis 500 winner and 1978 Formula One World Champion gave a link from the sport’s glorious past to the great stars that make up the IZOD IndyCar Series today.

“I’ve never seen so many drivers assembled before a race anywhere,” Andretti said. “The drivers when they are asked to participate are here. You can see the value of it all. With IZOD, the marriage they have with Macy’s is fabulous. It’s been great all year. This is what the series needs. We need to be mainstream and this is the way to do it. IZOD is the perfect title sponsor for IndyCar because they see the benefit and the series sees it as well. Macy’s is absolutely awesome. All the major cities – we’re in New York, San Francisco – everywhere. IZOD is so trendy about everything. It’s totally awesome.”

The line of fans eagerly awaiting the autograph session at Macy’s Fashion Show Mall extended well into the lower level of the Macy’s store located at the impressive shopping paradise off the “The Strip” – Las Vegas Boulevard.

 “Look at all the people that are here,” exclaimed Damon Benefield, the vice president and general manager of Macy’s Fashion Show Mall. “It far exceeded our expectations. The impact here in Vegas is enormous. You have people locally and impact on the community and people worldwide are here today. It’s an awesome event. I was on vacation and we had three drivers at first and when I got back it was up to 34 people so we were blown away. You can tell the response from everyone in Vegas is an awesome job.

“It’s all about partnership and to have IZOD as our brand within Macy’s together we’re able to bring magic to our customers. We’re really appreciative of the event and the collaboration with IZOD. My daughter is 14-years-old and she likes Danica so to be able to bring her here we couldn’t be happier.”

GO TO MACYS.COM/IZOD TO PURCHASE THE LATEST IN IZOD FALL FASHION.

Patrick was one of the fan favorites of the autograph seekers that got to meet the stars of the IZOD IndyCar Series and it was a chance for her to bid farewell to some of those fans. Patrick is competing in her final race in the series as she heads to a full-time NASCAR effort in 2012.

Patrick admitted the IZOD partnership with Macy’s has been extremely beneficial to the sport and it’s one that she will miss as she moves on.

“Macy’s is great because we are definitely coming to the people and there is a buzz that gets generated from this,” Patrick said. “IZOD and Macy’s have done a great job. It’s really good. It’s a good venue for sure. It helps that Randy Bernard (INDYCAR CEO) has spent a significant amount of time in Las Vegas and has a lot of connections. We are here for a number of days and we have a lot of stuff on our side. The series has gone full-court press on promoting this event. It’s really good to see the video screens on the casinos on The Strip promoting this event and I hope it generates with a big crowd for the race.

“There is always a great turnout and that is a credit to Macy’s and IZOD and the IndyCar Series for promoting the event and having people turn out. I want to thank IZOD and Macy’s for all the great events they have put on for IndyCar. It helps generate fans and excitement for the weekend.”

DANICA PATRICK WITH MACY’S FASHION SHOW MALL EXECUTIVES AND ASSOCIATES.

As Patrick signed autographs, Carla Wenthe, the assistant store manager of Macy’s Fashion Show watched with approval. Wenthe and her staff began promoting this event several months ago and with the size of Wednesday night’s crowd she was able to bear the fruits of her labor.

“What an event this has been and it has put a smile on everybody’s face to get an autograph from their favorite driver. I’m a Danica Patrick fan but I also love Mario Andretti from when I first started watching racing years ago.”

When the IZOD IndyCar Series chose Las Vegas as the site of its championship event the Macy’s staff wanted to get in on the action.

“We’re very excited to see the crowd and being a local store and having the IZOD IndyCar Series championship race is very exciting for us,” Wenthe said. “Knowing the IZOD partnered with Indy we really worked with our special events to bring this to our store. Our store is tourist driven and if you talk to customers in line they are from all over – not just from Vegas. It’s really fun. They’ve brought all of their merchandise with them to sign so it’s very exciting.

In addition to the long line of fans there was also an impressive group of local media that had a chance to interview drivers before the race including the local CBS affiliate and other media outlets.

There is much to report as Team Penske driver Will Power enters the weekend 18 points behind Target/Chip Ganassi Racing driver Dario Franchitti in the battle for the IZOD IndyCar Series championship. While that battle is fierce Wednesday night was a chance for the drivers to meet the fans.

“Macy’s is a fantastic partner with IZOD and it’s great for the series,” Power said. “We look forward to a fantastic future. We’ve done this a few times this year and it’s a great turnout here. We have a lot of drivers here, too. It’s unbelievable. As a competitor it’s fantastic to see all of the other drivers here. They’ve done a great job of promoting this and it’s the best place to come.”

Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves of Team Penske always enjoys meeting the fans and having the autograph session at a Macy’s provides a great platform because it’s a more relaxed atmosphere than at a race track.

“For me it’s great because I’m able to chat and be close to the fans,” Castroneves said. “When you are at the race track it’s hard to give them 100 percent attention but you can do that here. For us having Macy’s and IZOD is just fantastic because it shows the connection between racing and clothing and fashion. Racing is fast but it’s also stylish. Just look at the driver’s uniforms.

“This is a perfect way for IZOD to show the connection with the series. When they are here at a shopping mall they see this buzz and it calls the attention to those who don’t know what is going on and hopefully gains more fans to watch the race.

“This is the type of fans we need to have. That means we are in the right place.”

Many of the fans that came to the autograph session will also be at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for Sunday’s Showdown which is full of tremendous storylines.

“This is awesome and the promotion has been very, very good,” Castroneves said. “There is a lot going on. It’s the last race of the season, a championship battle, Dan Wheldon can split $5 million with a fan, Danica Patrick leaving – there are so many things you can talk about that makes this race so exciting.”

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