Mark Miles can close his eyes and still hear the deep, resonant voice of longtime Indianapolis Motor Speedway announcer Tom Carnegie's voice echoing across the cavernous facility each May as it announced a new track record.
It doesn't matter much that Carnegie, who came to be known as the "Voice of the Speedway" during 60 years at the track, retired in 2006, five years before his death. His signature calls of "He's on it!" and "It's a new track record!" became the soundtrack for thousands of fans who made the pilgrimage to the Brickyard.
"That excitement," said Miles, the chief executive of IndyCar, "is just part of the brand."
Yes, speed has always been part of the brand. But even though the 33-car field that will take the green flag in Sunday's race -- postponed from its typical Memorial Day weekend date because of the coronavirus pandemic -- is the second-fastest in history as a collection, the top speed set by pole sitter Marco Andretti of 231.068 miles per hour remains well off the record.
Tony Stewart set the pole mark of 233.100 mph in 2006 on a track that had been just resurfaced. Arie Luyendyk eclipsed him with the fastest single lap in speedway history with a mark of 236.986 mph the following day.
Those records might not be safe too much longer.
IndyCar increased the amount of boost this year to help compensate for the weight of the new aeroscreens designed to provide more safety for the driver. That's a big reason for the increase in speed. But it also follows a long-range plan put in place by IndyCar to slowly build up the kind of speed that has captured the public's imagination over the years.
"As long as the progression is managed," IndyCar president Jay Frye said Wednesday. "We were smart the other day. Our engine manufacturers started working toward this last fall. Who knows? We just have to be smart moving forward."