THE MODERATOR: Welcome to the world famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the start of the 2025 Indy 500 open test.
Joining us this morning, we welcome in Andy Brady, who is the president of Verizon Great Lakes market. In the middle, also joining us, the 2018 winner of the Indy 500, Will Power. And president of both INDYCAR and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Doug Boles.
Obviously a huge day for Verizon, Andy. Lead us off. Tell us all about it.
ANDY BRADY: Huge day for Indianapolis, the community in Indiana. Good morning, everyone. Super proud to be here with Doug and Will making a fairly big announcement here for the people of Indianapolis.
Verizon has been a military-friendly company for a very long time. We couldn't think of a better opportunity than to be with these two gentlemen, as well as the Indianapolis Colts and Roger.
What we're doing here as a military-friendly company is to help veterans who unfortunately can't pay for their medical bills. The veterans in the city of Indianapolis, it's about $6 million total, as I said, about $6.8 million total debt. About $16 million in the state of Indiana.
What we're announcing today in conjunction with IMS, Will and his incredible skill, and the Indianapolis Colts, we are announcing that we are wiping away $6 million in veteran healthcare debt in the city of Indianapolis, which will effectively wipe clear all of the debt these men and women have.
What's important about this, these are the same men and women that give us the ability to live the lifestyle we live, to enjoy this incredible racetrack, to talk about how fast we're going to go, to talk about the NFL, the NFL Draft that's happening tomorrow. I'm sure Roger has a lot of things going on with the Indianapolis Colts.
They gave us this ability. Giving back to them, when they didn't ask for health issues, they just have them, is the right thing to do.
On behalf of Verizon, ForgiveCo, our partner, IMS, Will and the Indianapolis Colts, the $6 million is what we're giving away.
THE MODERATOR: Impactful gift for American veterans.
For you, Will, I think one of the provisions, you have to finish in the top 10 on race day. No pressure there for that. You're a naturalized citizen back in 2018. Something like this is impactful for you, as well, right?
WILL POWER: Yeah, absolutely. When I think about the situation these people are in, it takes a huge amount of pressure off, huge amount of pressure. Medical bills, really no fault of their own. You get sick or injured or something happens to you, you can't help that.
Fantastic initiative. I love the fact that if I finish in the top 10 I'll add another $1 million. I'm not planning on just finishing in the top 10, I'm planning on winning, that's the goal (smiling).
Really cool to be a part of it. Very proud to have Verizon on my car for all these years. I think it's a fantastic initiative. I'll be doing everything I can to get that extra million bucks.
THE MODERATOR: Verizon, one of the most recognizable sponsorships in INDYCAR, certainly on your car, the No. 12.
Doug, obviously one of the most important features of the 500 is the ability to honor military veterans, current military members as well.
DOUG BOLES: When Andy and his team called and said they wanted to help make a difference in Indianapolis, central Indiana community, for military veterans, it just made sense. It fits in our DNA.
Since the Indianapolis Motor Speedway started running the Indy 500 in 1911, it was Decoration Day. So much of what the lead-up to the Indy 500 is, is celebrating those men and women who served, especially those men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice.
To be able to partner with somebody like Verizon, with other than Conor Daly, my favorite INDYCAR driver, Will Power, an opportunity to really elevate the challenge that our men and women have that have served to pay some of these medical bills and thank Verizon for that, it's really a special moment.
A couple other things that I think are really important. It also speaks a lot to the Indianapolis community that you have a family like the Irsays, a family like Roger Penske and his family, even the Pacers and the Simons, one of the things that this community does better than any community in the world is to come together to help those in need.
This is just another example of how the sports community here, we don't view ourselves as competitors, we view ourselves as contemporaries and helping each other. To have Roger VanDerSnick here today when you should be out thinking what is going to happen over the next few days for the future of the Indianapolis Colts, I appreciate your partnership alongside with Verizon.
The other thing I love about the partnership with Verizon, is they care about our customers, too. Over the last several years, we've been able to transform the customer experience here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway because of the partnership with Verizon.
All of the DAS network that we have here that allows our customers to hook up to the INDYCAR app or stay in text messaging with friends when 350,000 people are here, we can't do that without a technology partner like Verizon, who has helped us move everything to a 4G at least, and actually 71 of our zones are 5G here. It's really powerful when our fans can come in here and count on their cell service working.
The Speedway was built in 1911 to test the new technology of the day. Sorry, 1909. In 1909 that new technology was the automobile. Today the new technology is what Verizon brings to the table.
If Carl Fisher could come back today, he'd be going, Oh, my gosh, this is amazing that this place continues today to test new technology. Thanks to Verizon, partners like Verizon, we can do that for our fans even from the moment they come into the gates. Our Verizon connectivity and technology is what makes that customer experience so great.
For me, 32 days away from the 109th running of the Indy 500, to pull it all together like this, to do something good, have an opportunity to give back to the women and men who have allowed us to be free, celebrate the Indy 500 in a free country, this is a fantastic day.
THE MODERATOR: Andy, we've seen the impact of technology for INDYCAR and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This is the next evolution of that, correct?
ANDY BRADY: Doug is being kind. This is the most technologically advanced stadium in the world, hands down. We put $27 million into the stadium over the last couple years. We do that because you're our partner, the Roger Penske family, we want to see you win, Will.
WILL POWER: I want to win badly.
ANDY BRADY: What we've done to your point, there's 71 sectors here that we made 5G, 133 outside the stadium, because we want to make sure the fan experience outside, ingress and egress, we want to make sure the people coming in can have a seamless experience coming in. We want to make sure the technology on the racetrack... Can't drive the car. We only have specialist people to do that.
The other thing I failed to mention before, this $6 million is important to the state of Indiana, but this is part of a larger commitment that Verizon is making across the Great Lakes market, with $22 million that we're doing over the next two years. These are all of our partners.
We want to make the announcement here on the bigger event because of our relationship with the Penske family, Penske Racing, IMS and Will, but along with the NFL we made an announcement last week with the NFL Draft, we're doing $1 million in Green Bay, but across the Great Lakes a total of $22 million.
When these men and women get the letter that comes in the mail, the letter is real, don't throw it away. It says your debt has been forgiven. There's these emotions that goes through those veterans' minds. Everything from shock and awe to tears of happiness to why is it me.
What I can say to you is being a father of five, when you have children coming into the world, you get emotional. This is about the same level when you get a chance to hug and cherish the fact that you're helping another human being with an act of kindness. This really is what this is.
Several great brands coming together to help a community with a random act of kindness, for men and women who can't afford to pay for their medical bills, a situation they didn't want to be in.
This is what really signifies what success is, when you have people that give back into a community that really is in need.
It's not that the Indianapolis community is in need, it's the veterans are in need across the United States, but specifically we're focusing on Indianapolis here.
THE MODERATOR: If you have questions...
Q. How are you able to identify the individuals that need to have the debt relieved? Obviously there's a lot of records you probably have to go through to get that done.
ANDY BRADY: Yeah, we work with a company called ForgiveCo. ForgiveCo goes through the background of checking are they a veteran, number one. There's a variety of ways. I won't get into the technical ways of them doing it. They check it and make sure they are the ones that choose the veterans who get the benefit. It is not the IMS. It's not Will. It's not me, the Colts. It's ForgiveCo that does that.
They have the way of doing that. They work with debt collection agencies and figure out who are the right people to give to. They find it that way.
Q. From a Verizon standpoint, you mentioned the technology, the ingress, the egress. Have you partnered with the series sponsor, NTT, to work together on a lot of those things?
ANDY BRADY: Yeah, so we work with a lot of partners. This is a team atmosphere. When I talk about the most technologically advanced from a Verizon perspective, we've put our heart and soul into this stadium. But there are a lot of partners that IMS works with that are part of the overall greater good.
DOUG BOLES: I'll add to that it's the Verizon Foundation that allows us to really do that. It starts with that relationship with Verizon, then we work with other partners in places where Verizon may not have that expertise.
The foundation begins with the relationship with Verizon, otherwise none of those other partnerships would work.
Q. Will, will other partners be involved and how can they contribute to its success?
WILL POWER: Sorry?
Q. Will local veterans organizations or representatives also be involved in this initiative? How can they contribute to its success?
ANDY BRADY: Let me answer.
This is on behalf of Verizon, ForgiveCo, Penske, IMS, Colts. We are the ones that are supplying the debt relief in this initiative.
There are certainly a lot of people that can help other people, though. In any way that you can help a veteran in the community, then please do so.
This event, though, in particular, it's us coming together as really three great brands to help the people of the Indianapolis community.
Q. We often see sponsors changing all the time between cars in INDYCAR. Will and Andy, what do you feel has made Verizon such a stable and special partner for such a long period of time?
WILL POWER: I mean, it's been an incredible partnership. I think the question was what made it continue. I think it's success. Partnering with Penske, when I think about it from a driving perspective, you're given the opportunity week in, week out to have a car that's capable of winning, getting pole positions, winning the Indianapolis 500, winning championships.
I feel like I've been very fortunate to have had Verizon on my car for this long because it is actually unusual in motorsport. I'm not sure what the longest standing sponsorship partnership has been, but it's been almost 17 years now. Very fortunate. I hope it continues.
Like I said, I'm very proud to have Verizon on the car. Some of the stuff they do in the community, like what we're talking about today, is incredible. I feel lucky and privileged. I want to pay that back by performing in particular at this race, especially because it means giving another $1 million to the veterans.
DOUG BOLES: I think the thing that makes it special from a venue and series standpoint is it's much more than a sponsorship. It is a partnership. It truly is working together to solve problems.
So a perfect example, Andy and I talked about, how do we make that customer experience better. How do we take what Verizon does 365 days a year, for so many people, the technology they have, implement it at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and through the NTT INDYCAR SERIES in a way that we're getting better, we're producing a better product for our customer.
And so for us, it's a sponsorship, yes, but it's really a partnership where together we're learning, we're testing their new technology, we're allowing our customers to see it, and we're making the entire experience better.
For us, sponsorships come and go, but partnerships stay a lot longer. I think as you treat this Verizon one more like a partnership than a sponsorship is part of reason it's so successful for us.
ANDY BRADY: I think success helps drive an initial sponsorship. The culture that the Penske family and IMS brings and you bring is the reason why we stay. It's the people that create it, right? We want you to be as successful as you possibly can be, we want this track to be as successful as it can be, the Penske family, Penske Racing.
But the culture from the top is the reason why we work so hard together. We find solutions, that's the key thing. Partners look at opportunities and they fix opportunities.
If you're not a partner, you say, Here is a problem, then you blame. I think we find opportunities to work together as organizations, and the culture is really what kind of stands true.
You're a great person. The fact that you're successful in your craft, it's a double whammy. We're proud to have our name on your car.
WILL POWER: Thank you.
Q. Today is the start of preparations on track for the 500. How would you explain the month of May is? What maybe stands out to you about the 500?
WILL POWER: Yeah, it's obviously our Super Bowl. It's the history of this Speedway, the legends it's created that have run this race, won this race.
There's no feeling, you can't explain it, when you walk out there on race day, you walk out to Gasoline Alley, to see that many people in the stands, the sound of it, the feel of it. You always have butterflies, always feel nervous before you get in the car.
Man, I was in the museum yesterday. What is the name of the display? Starting Line Experience. It gave me goose bumps because you had the flyover, the national anthem, you had them singing 'Back Home in Indiana'. Yeah, there's no event like it.
I think the longer I've done it, the more I've appreciated it. The amount of media attention over the month, how hard it is get a pole position here. I'm the all-time pole position holder for INDYCAR, and I don't have a pole at this place. I've been on the front row and I've been on the back row. It's much harder doing the four laps to just get in the field than the four laps I did last year to get on the front row.
Gives you a lot of respect for the place. Can certainly bite you. When you win it, the feeling, there's no other feeling like it driving into Victory Lane here with that many people, doing the victory lap.
An incredible place, incredibly difficult to win. When you do, it's something you'll never forget.
THE MODERATOR: Will, heartwarming way to begin the test for you. How much are you looking forward to getting on track this morning?
WILL POWER: Yeah, really looking forward to it. Long list of test items. We actually have our race cars here. We'll be interested to see how fast we run.
We won't know till qualifying day. We won't know. You can feel good about it all the way up to qualifying, do the first run on Saturday and be quite disappointed. You don't know.
It's a tough game. Everyone continually improves an innovates. Just keep our heads down and keep working hard.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports