Force Indy Team Feels Welcomed By Fans At Its First IMS Races

The Force Indy auto racing team made its debut recently at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Black-owned team is already feeling the impact it's making on motor sports.

The team is competing in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship series. That is part of the Road to Indy ladder system, which could lead them to compete in the IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500.

The team is part of IMS owner Roger Penske’s Race for Equality and Change initiative. Force Indy’s aim is to get more Black people onto motor sports teams. 

Team principal Rod Reid described the feeling of competing at the “Racing Capital of the World” as electric.

“This has been, for me, it's been several years in the making, but for the young people, the men and we had a woman working on crew this past weekend,” said Reid. “So the young men and women of Force Indy were just so excited about being there and being a part of the overall event.”

In its races at IMS, Force Indy’s highest place finish was 10 out of 26 drivers. While the results were not what driver Myles Rowe hoped for, he said the support of fans has been incredible.

“The fans are awesome, you know, and I can’t wait for the speedways to be able to allow 100 percent capacity because it’s amazing to see how passionate these fans are,” said Rowe. “I mean I thought I was passionate about racing.”

The team's next race will be at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis May 27 and 28.

Contact reporter Samantha at shorton@wfyi.org or follow her on Twitter at @SamHorton5.