‘Godspeed’: Faith courses through the 100th running of ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing’

Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin offers an invocation prayer on May 24, 2015, prior to the start of the 99th running of the Indianapolis 500 in Indianapolis. Hundreds of thousands of people at the track join him in prayer, and millions more hear him on radio and television broadcasts of the race. (IMS Photo Archive)

By Sean Gallagher

SPEEDWAY—Minutes before 33 race cars roar down the front stretch of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 29 at the start of the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, silence will envelope the historic track as hundreds of thousands of spectators join Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin in an invocation prayer.

Millions more around the world, listening to or watching radio and television broadcasts of the event known as “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” will hear him pray and say “Godspeed” in the mother tongues of all the drivers.

The invocation, which has been offered by a Catholic priest or bishop since 1978, is a prominent public expression of how the Church in central and southern Indiana participates in this race that has become an integral part of the identity of Indianapolis since its first running in 1911.

“Giving the invocation is a thrilling moment, principally because I realize what an important event the 500 is for the people I serve,” said Archbishop Tobin. “I continue to grow in appreciation for what the race represents for the people of Indianapolis and the state of Indiana.”

‘A beautiful witness for the Church’

Yet there are other significant ways that Catholics have made the race a part of their lives and lived out their faith in the midst of it.

The Indy 500 and Indy racing in general have been a big part of the life of Father Glenn O’Connor for more than 40 years.

He was a college seminarian at the former Saint Meinrad College in St. Meinrad when a friend asked him in May 1975 to help rebuild the race car of Eldon Rasmussen, which the driver had wrecked during the first weekend of qualifications for the race.

So, with his academic year just completed, Father O’Connor came to Indianapolis, pitched in and even served on Rasmussen’s rag tag pit crew for the race. From that first experience, he was hooked.

“I never had enough sense to go home,” Father O’Connor, pastor of St. Susanna Parish in Plainfield, said with a laugh.

He did have enough sense to follow his vocation to the priesthood instead of making a career in racing.

“In those days, … you had all-nighters,” said Father O’Connor. “You did everything. It was long, exhausting hours. I said, ‘Man, there’s got to be a better way.’ It was fun, but I couldn’t do it full time.”

He laughed, though, when he said the hours of a priest have become more like those of an Indy Car race team 41 years ago.

“I used to moan when we’d be up to 10:00 or 11:00, and now I’m doing it three or four nights a week.”

With age and the demands of priestly ministry catching up to him, Father O’Connor no longer works on pit crews at several Indy Car races each year as he used to do. He now only works at the Indy 500 and stays behind the pit wall, working on tires for one of the teams fielded by Ed Carpenter Racing.

On race day, though, he isn’t just focused on helping his team take the checkered flag. He’s up early, celebrating Mass at 4:30 a.m. for the “yellow shirt” officials who help keep order at the speedway. He’ll later celebrate a couple of Masses in the track’s media center

Archbishop Tobin will continue a tradition he began last year when he celebrates a Mass open to anyone at 9 a.m. on race day on the Cooper Tire Stage just behind the pagoda, the raceway’s control tower adjacent to its front stretch.

Father O’Connor was a concelebrant at last year’s Mass. Soon after, though, he returned to his duties on his race team. He was with them when Archbishop Tobin gave the race’s invocation.

“What a powerful thing than to have that many people stop and pray,” Father O’Connor said. “It’s an evangelization tool, probably for the people who never thought about praying before a race. It’s a beautiful witness for the Church and a chance for service.”

‘Guys, how about a prayer?’

The same year that Father O’Connor began his involvement in the Indy 500, Father Joseph Feltz was a 12-year-old Boy Scout who marched around the speedway carrying a flag.

Just before the start, his scoutmaster turned him and some of his fellow scouts loose to wander the often raucous infield during the race.

Father Feltz was a race fan then, and his interest only grew when he began work as an engineer before discerning his vocation to the priesthood.

“I’m fascinated by how precise these pieces are that are put together to put out the kind of horsepower of these engines,” he said. “You’re talking about a package that can easily fit into any of our passenger cars.”

Now, in addition to serving as archdiocesan vicar for clergy, Father Feltz volunteers with IndyCar Ministry, an ecumenical organization that supplies chaplains to the Indy Car racing community as it travels across the country from track to track.

He served earlier this year at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Fla., and will assist at the Indy 500 as well, including helping to organize the Mass that Archbishop Tobin will celebrate.

“What a great witness it is,” said Father Feltz. “And what a great witness it is for the Catholics that find out about it and attend, to think that their archbishop would be willing to do this.”

As Archbishop Tobin prepares to offer the invocation, Father Feltz and other IndyCar Ministry chaplains make their way through the race teams on the front stretch making final preparations for the race.

“The chaplains make sure to get to each team and say, ‘Guys, how about a prayer?’ ” Father Feltz said. “It’s brief. But when they hear that call, they all come over and put their hands together right around the car, and we pray together.”

This ministry is offered, in part, because of the risks involved in auto sports. Over the years, Father O’Connor has on many occasions shifted from working as a race team member to priestly ministry when a driver or crew member has been injured or even killed.

“Some people want to pray,” he said. “Some people like to have a prayer said for them. It’s comforting for them. We do the best we can not only for the injured people, but also for the families. It’s probably as stressful for them out there waiting to find out what’s going on. I’ve spent a lot of time in the ER [emergency room] with families.

“They’re a close-knit bunch. When someone gets hurt or is in trouble, it’s a privilege to be able to work through some of that with them.”

In addition to serving the Indy Car community, Father O’Connor has been blessed through them with an added perspective on his own priestly life and ministry, and been encouraged by them to give his all to it, no matter what challenges he faces.

“I admire those people, what they do, their God-given talents and how they’re willing to dedicate themselves to that,” he said. “It’s not for the faint of heart by any means.”

Around the same time that Archbishop Tobin offers the invocation before the start of the 100th running of the Indy 500, Father O’Connor may very well offer in his heart a prayer of thanksgiving.

“I enjoy being a part of it so much, especially at Indianapolis,” he said. “Every year, I just thank God that I’m able to do it again. I’d never have dreamed in my wildest imagination that I’d be able to do it today.” †

 

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