Headlining the May 28-29 National Auto Racing Memorabilia Show as guests will be: the incomparable Mario Andretti; two-time Indy 500 Champion Arie Luyendyk; four-time top five Indy 500 finisher and 7-time National USAC midget champion Mel Kenyon; Speedway Hall of Fame mechanic and car builder A.J. Watson; 8-time Indy starter (1956-1963) Bob Christie; the “main man” at the Indy Racing League- Brian Barnhart as well as one or two current IRL drivers. The event is held at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis. Autograph tickets must be picked up, or purchased, for most guests. The tickets will be numbered or color-coded to greatly reduce your wait time in the autograph area.
Show hours are noon to 7:00 on Friday and 9:30-4:30 on Saturday. Friday admission remains at $10.00; Saturday admission has been lowered to $7.00. A Young Person (ages 7-14) admission is $3.
A discount hotel package for exhibitors has been secured. There are no minimum nights and the rates are less than one half their rack rates for this time period.
There will be at least three race-driven cars on display at the Show. Included are a Mel Kenyon midget car, John Darlington’s recently restored 1970 Mark Donohue car and a current IRL car.
Mel Kenyon will conduct a special program for young people on Saturday morning. The exact time and many more details of this new feature have yet to be finalized. Mel commented, “I’ve always enjoyed sharing some of what I know about racing with the younger folks. They have great questions and a genuine interest.”
John Douglas, Show Manager, elaborated, “We’ve worked very hard, and there is still much to do, to make this annual event more enjoyable for everyone. Any changes we’ve made have been thoroughly thought out. I think our dealers are going to be very pleased on several fronts. The public is going to be happy with more aisle room, all the autograph/show guests and a lot of the little ‘addeds’ we’re putting in.” As just one example, “Where else could you share a few moments with someone like Brian Barnhart? He’s the ‘Tom Binford’ of the 2000s. When the green flag drops, everything involving the Race is in his lap. He’s also added a tremendous amount of credibility to the IRL. On top of all this, Brian fully understands the race collector, because he is one,” added Douglas.
The Show will have its largest number of exhibitors in several years, including MANY new table/booth holders. Just a few of the notables: The Indy Racing League, Greg Tucker Autographs- one of the premier autograph dealers in the country, one of eBay’s signature authenticators; Leland’s- one of the top 2-3 memorabilia auction houses in the country. They’ve auctioned the Howdy Doody puppets, Babe Ruth uniforms and some of the most valuable sports and Americana artifacts on record; Target-Chip Ganassi Racing; Greenfield Gallery of Milwaukee with their fabulous Armin Krueger photo library; Andretti-Green Racing, the folks who own and operate the two seat Indy car that is being scheduled around the country, and former Indy 500 driver and race commentator Larry Rice. THE SHOW WILL NOW BE IN TWO SEPARATE ROOMS, JOINED BY A SHORT WALKWAY, AT THE CONVENTION FACILITY.
“The National Indy 500 Collectors Club will have a booth at the Show. Please bring your friends over to sign up for membership. If your dues are soon to expire, stop by and settle up.”, commented John Darlington, the Club’s President.
Bill Daniels and Gerry Thompson, both part of the Show’s ownership, were unanimous, “We’re really looking forward to a great event. We already have a long list of things for 2005 that we just could not get to in time for this year.”
Interested parties can check for last minute additions, changes involving the Show via internet access at: www.billdaniels.com

Andy Granatelli signed many autographs at last years show.