Paretta Autosports at Indy
Paretta Autosports announced its bid to run this year's Indianapolis 500 just four months ago. To run a one-off 500 car is tricky enough though to build a female-focused team from the ground up is giving yourself another level of difficulty. From training a pit crew to go over the wall to giving drive, Simona de Silvestro a car capable of fighting Team Penske, Chip ganassi Racing and other stalwarts, it has been all-consuming since the start.
Last weekend, that paid off! Running a majority-female team, team owner Beth Paretta and racer de Silvestro made history! They qualified for the 2021 Indy 500!
The best to you .. the ladies of Paretta Autosports.
And let us not forget about the dedicated fans! Banned from the speedway last year, race fans have packed their coolers and rolled into Indy ready to .. cut loose! IMS had crowds for qualifying last weekend that rivaled the sizable ones last seen in 2016 for the 100th running of the race and when the Indy 500 drops the green flag with a reduced- capacity sellout crowd of 135,000 today it will be the biggest sports event in the world since the pandemic hit 18 months ago!
"Last year was the worst year ever. It was eerie on race morning. Cars were on the grid, not a soul anywhere. I had an interview on the sixth floor of the tower and I'm looking down thinking, 'Oh my goodness it can't get any worse than that.'"
Indy 500 winter, Mario Andretti
Simone de Silvestro finished the race along with her team. Congratulations!
Beth Paretta with driver, Simon de Silvestro
Pat Locke
Maestro Muse
