Ryan Briscoe

Racing greats past and present were in high spirits at Friday’s 2015 Indianapolis 500 Carb Day.

“In a last minute sponsorship, Coke Zero agreed to be on James Davison’s car. They have zero calories, and James has zero chance of winning.”

The stars aligned for the 500 Festival parade, which promised a fairly high celebrity quotient and did not disappoint. Floats and cars, bands and marchers—they all moved swimmingly along the route that started on Pennsylvania Street downtown, wounded around Washington Street and Monument Circle, and then proceeded up Meridian Street.

Speedway big-timers Johnny Rutherford, Helio Castrovenes, and Arie Luyendyk, Sr. came out last night for the 13th-annual Racing to Recovery Gala at the Dallara IndyCar Factory in Speedway, to help raise money for the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation. If we’re honest, the term “gala” seems a little too fancy—it felt more like a friendly family reunion, as smiling Indy drivers (including Will Power, Ryan Briscoe, and Davey Hamilton) mingled easily with the avid racing fans and foundation supporters in attendance.