TrueCar Racing's Shannon McIntosh Participates In Various Activities Surrounding the Indy 500 Before Racing At Lucas Oil Raceway In The Night Before The 500
BROWNSBURG, IN - Shannon McIntosh has been a busy woman heading into round five of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda series at Lucas Oil Raceway (LOR), the only oval event on the 2012 calendar. This will mark McIntosh's second start in a USF2000 car at the oval in Indianapolis as part of the "Night Before the 500" event.
"It will be really great to get back to Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis this weekend," said McIntosh. "I'm excited to just continue the momentum after receiving the hard charger award in round three in St. Pete. This weekend is all about continuing to learn and improve in the No 18 TrueCar machine and with a great team behind me, I feel very confident going into Saturday."
McIntosh returned to Indianapolis at the beginning of the month with TrueCar's "Women Empowered" initiative participating in various activities alongside the other TrueCar drivers to support IZOD IndyCar Series driver Katherine Legge as she qualified for her first Indianapolis 500. The female racecar drivers from various levels of motorsports have been hard at work spending time team building including group events such as a go-karting challenge and a visit to Bankers Life Fieldhouse to support the Indiaan Fever as they opened their 2012 WNBA season.
In addition to her responsibilities with TrueCar's "Women Empowered" initiative, McIntosh has hit the ground running with traditional Indy 500 activities including the CARA Charities Fashion Show, autograph sessions and attendance at the Yellow Party. The first ever Yellow Party is taking place Thursday evening downtown Indianapolis as a fundraising event aimed at raising awareness and donations for the fight against childhood cancer. Fans will have the opportunity to meet and interact with some of the most popular personalities in INDYCAR racing.
The "Night Before the 500" event, long known as the lead-up to the famed Indianapolis 500, will be preceded by a series of "Mazda Road to Indy" Summit activities at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Following a "Mazda Road to Indy" Oval Clinic earlier this month, drivers had a chance to put the advice from a panel of experts – including Beaux Barfield, Gerardo Bonilla, Ed Carpenter, Steve Knapp, Bobby Rahal and Johnny Unser – to practice with a five-hour test day at Lucas Oil Raceway on May 5. The summit will continued with a fitness and wellness program, an team shop tour and a reception with Firestone Indy Lights and IZOD IndyCar Series team owners later this week.
McIntosh, a sophomore USF2000 competitor originally from Miamisburg, Ohio, and a field of 21 cars will take part in the competition at the 0.686-mile oval. The series will kick off a full evening of racing which also includes the Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear and USAC Midget Series.
McIntosh begins practice in her TrueCar.com-sponsored Mazda on Fri., May 25 in preparation for the Indianapolis 500 support races. Qualifying is set to take place on Sat., May 26 at 4:10 p.m. and the green flag drops at 7:40 p.m. for her second debut on the oval.
In addition to TrueCar, additional racing support on McIntosh's No. 18 program is being provided by: CLEARBook, Fusion 1560 City Apartment Homes, TAG Heuer timepieces, Arai Helmets, Alpinestars, CrossFit9, Anytime Fitness St. Pete, U! Creative, and YogaBlu Studio.
Sanctioned by INDYCAR, the USF2000 National Championship, presented by Cooper Racing Tires and powered by Mazda, is one of three series of INDYCAR's "Mazda Road to Indy" ladder system and the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development driver program.
ABOUT SHANNON MCINTOSH:
Shannon McIntosh is a 22-year-old TrueCar-sponsored autoracing driver who competes in INDYCAR's 'Mazda Road to Indy' USF2000 National Championship Series, an important open-wheel stepping-stone to a career in the IZOD IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500. McIntosh began her racing career at age 5, and in 2011, was named as one of SEVENTEEN magazine's five "Pretty Amazing" girls. Tech giant, Mashable.com, listed her among a taste-making group of seven "Must-Follow Athletes on Social Media" while TAG Heuer timepieces depicts McIntosh in their "Time for Rebels" campaign. With over 17 years of racing experience under her belt ranging from USAC midgets to formula cars, McIntosh is the recipient of the 2006 "DARF Asphalt Driver of the Year" in the USAC Ford Focus Midget Series as well being awarded the Kara Hendrick Memorial Scholarship while attending the Lyn St. James Driver Development Program. McIntosh has been a guest or profiled on a variety of platforms including, MTV's The Seven, MTV News, E! News, SportsIllustrated.com, USA Today, Just Jared, Jr., ESPN.com, AOL.com, Girl's Life Magazine, and TLC's Sarah Palin's Alaska, among others. For more information, please visit, http://www.shannonmcintosh.com, http://www.twitter.com/shannon_mac, or http://www.facebook.com/shannmcintosh.