Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Air Force partners with Indy 500Patrons at the Indy 500 lineup to check out the Air Force interactive hangar prior to the Indianapolis 500 race May 26 in Indianapolis. The race day crowd saw 300,000 people come through the gates. (Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Chance Babin)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        Air Force partnership with Indy 500Air Force and Andretti Autosport personnel watch a helicopter flyover during the Indianapolis 500 in Indianapolis, May 26, 2019. The Air Force is a full-season associate partner of Andretti Autosport with a branded No. 25 Honda race car in their livery. The IndyCar series includes the types of recruiting events that help inspire, engage and recruit future Airmen. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Chance Babin)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        Air Force partnership with Indy 500Brig. Gen. Jeannie Leavitt, Air Force Recruiting Service commander, greets fans during the Indianapolis 500 in Indianapolis, May 26, 2019. The Air Force is a full-season associate partner of Andretti Autosport with a branded No. 25 Honda race car in their livery. The IndyCar series includes the types of recruiting events that help inspire, engage and recruit future Airmen. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Chance Babin)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        Air Force partners with Indy 500Conor Daly makes his way around the Indy 500 race track in his No. 25 Honda wrapped in an Air Force Heritage design, May 26 in Indianapolis. The Air Force made a strong push to those with an interest in science, technology, engineering and math. The Air Force and Indy Car racing share many of the same traits in these realms. (Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Chance Babin)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        Air Force partners with Indy 500Patrons at the Indy 500 lineup to check out the Air Force interactive hangar prior to the Indianapolis 500 race May 26 in Indianapolis. The race-day crowd saw 300,000 people come through the gates. The Air Force made a strong push to those with an interest in science, technology, engineering and math. (Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Chance Babin)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

Air Force Recruiting sets the pace at Indy 500Published June 7, 2019
                    
                    By Master Sgt. Chance Babin
                    
                    
                    Air Force Recruiting Service Public Affairs
            **INDIANAPOLIS (AFNS) --**The Air Force brand was on full display at the Indianapolis 500 auto race May 26, as Air Force Recruiting sponsored the No. 25 car driven by Conor Daly and was an associate sponsor for the Andretti Autosport team and its four drivers, including Alexander Rossi, who placed second in the race.
More than 300,000 people were in attendance at “the greatest spectacle in racing” and another 5.4 million watched the race on NBC. The event was the most streamed Indy car race ever on the network.
“We’re really happy to welcome the Air Force to the Andretti family for the Indy 500 with Conor and a full season across all our cars,” said Michael Andretti, Andretti Autosport chairman and chief executive officer. “Having five American drivers represent the team at America’s biggest race was very special and we’re honored to have the opportunity to pay tribute to the brave men and women of the U.S. Air Force. Having the Air Force with us, not just at Indy, but full season makes us very proud.”
This is the second year in a row Daly has represented the Air Force. Last year he raced for Thom Burns Racing in the Indy 500. Making the jump to the Andretti team was a big move for the local favorite, who is from Noblesville, Indiana.
“My car for the last two years has been the best looking car in the field and this year it’s going a lot faster. It’s just awesome to be part of this team,” Daly said.
Daly held his own throughout the race after qualifying 11th. He climbed to as high as fourth with 32 laps remaining. Andretti said a late mechanical adjustment may have cost Daly several places and left him vulnerable at the final restart with 18 laps to go. He finished the race in 10th place.
“(Daly) did a great job,” Andretti said. “We screwed him up a little bit on that last pit stop and that put him back. I think he had the potential to be right up there with Alex (Rossi) right there at the end. I really feel bad for him. He drove a really, really good race. He actually did a great job all month long. He’s a pleasure to work with. We had a lot of fun. Hopefully we can all do this again.”
Rossi had a back-and-forth battle with eventual winner, Simon Pagenaud, but gave up the lead in the final few laps to take second place for Team Andretti. Teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay finished eighth, giving Andretti three top-10 finishers.
“Those last couple of laps were incredible. They were really battling it out up at the front of the pack and I thought Alexander Rossi was going to end up in first place,” said Brig. Gen. Jeannie Leavitt, Air Force Recruiting Service commander. “I think partnering with Andretti Autosport gives us an opportunity to engage with the American public and tell them about all of the opportunities available when they join the Air Force. It is a great partnership.”
For the Air Force, being a part of Indy means a full month of events leading up to the big race.
“The investment with Conor Daly and the No. 25 car running in the Indy 500 was successful before the green flag dropped,” said Maj. Ross McKnight, AFRS branch chief of special events. “We’ve seen good lead and registrant numbers, great awareness and great push on social media. I’m real happy with how everything looks. We had the awareness and the reach, a lot of success at various high school visits as well as lead and registrants on the given weekends.”
While McKnight was excited with how the Andretti team performed, he was equally thrilled with the entertainment the race gave to fans. He hopes fans can recognize the traits a race team and the Air Force share and see the nearly 270 career opportunities available in the Air Force—either full or part time.
“I want the fans to be entertained and relate to the sport and see how it can be transitioned into supporting their Air Force,” he said.
There are many similarities between Indy racing and the Air Force, with each having dedicated teams that prepare for engagement.
“I think it’s a great fit because there’s a lot of science, technology, engineering and math,” Daly said. “The technology that goes into these cars, the work that is put into making these cars fast are all in the minute details, stuff you need to have when you’re flying fighter jets as well. Everything is really detail oriented and I think that aligns so well with everything in the Air Force.”
Capt. Nichole Stillwell, a 27th Fighter Squadron F-22 Raptor pilot at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, was a guest of AFRS for the weekend and represented the Air Force during the Indy 500 parade Saturday, riding with Daly in an Indy 500 Corvette pace car. She joined Leavitt before the race in a salute to the military, riding around the track with service members from all branches.
“The parade was the highlight,” Stillwell said. “I got to sit with Conor and get to know him. He is an outstanding individual. We got to see a lot of the fans and see the patriotism that is the Indy 500. It was pretty awesome.”
She said the racing teams and the Air Force have many parallels.
“The partnership with Team Andretti and the fact they correlate the precision and the teamwork it takes to execute the Indy 500 is similar to what we do in the Air Force,” the pilot said. “That was a real learning point for me to see how much we correlate and how similar we are. I learned a ton while I was here.”
The Indy 500 highlighted the military throughout the weekend and respectfully honored Memorial Day. The Air Force Heritage Flight performed a flyover before the race with a four-plane formation of an F-16 Fighting Falcon, P-51 Mustang, P-40 Warhawk and an A-10 Thunderbolt II. The A-10 and F-16 broke off and raced around the track using minimum radius turns. Finally, the F-16 ended the flyover with a maximum climb departure that sent the crowd into a roaring cheer.
“The Indy 500 is an iconic American event and has a tradition of being run on Memorial Day weekend,” Andretti said. “I think it’s so fitting because it allows us to use the largest racing stage to help honor the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms.”AFWN 



AFRS 



Air Force Recruiting Service 



Indy 500 



AF 



Air Force 



Indianapolis 500 



sponsor 



Race 



car 



racing 



entertainment Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                SecAF, CSAF, CMSAF begin Indo-Pacific trip focused on ACE
                    
                    DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fightInnovation
                F-16s arrive to be modified for autonomous testing
                    
                    AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalistsMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil