Invoice York, who labored in and managed the media middle at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for greater than 50 years, died Aug. 20 close to Nashville, Tennessee. He was 91.
York, a proud native of Peru, Indiana, served and befriended journalists from across the globe and drivers and race crew officers in his roles within the media middle on the Racing Capital of the World from the late Fifties to the mid-2010s. His contributions spanned each occasion at IMS throughout that point, together with the Indianapolis 500, Brickyard 400, United States Grand Prix Formulation One race, Purple Bull Indianapolis GP MotoGP race and extra.
The colourful, genial York ran the IMS media middle with a good, agency hand, mixing a no-nonsense strategy with a hearty snort that earned admiration and respect from all journalists and officers.
York and longtime IMS media official Bob Laycock created handwritten Indianapolis 500 qualifying playing cards – full with driver and first sponsor title, and time and pace for every of the 4 laps of each certified driver, written in color-coded markers to match sponsor colours – that turned legendary fixtures on the partitions of the previous media middle situated adjoining to Gasoline Alley and the present media middle adjoining to the Pagoda. Drivers typically sought their qualifying playing cards as keepsakes, particularly from their rookie yr within the ‘500.’
He additionally was instrumental in serving to to extend the popularity of the Stark & Wetzel Indy 500 Rookie of the Yr Award within the Fifties when he was a gross sales consultant for the Indianapolis-based meat firm.
York started working within the IMS press room in 1958 as a statistician, finally taking up administration duties within the media middle by way of 2008. He then continued to function a media middle liaison into the mid-2010s. Working at IMS was a part-time job for York – he was a really profitable salesman throughout his skilled profession – however a job he fulfilled with full-time ardour and talent.
He earned quite a lot of auto racing awards for his work, together with the 2010 Bob Russo Founders Award for lifelong contributions to the game, the 2011 Jim Chapman Award for excellence in motorsports public relations and the STP Unsung Hero Award.
Whereas York was a famend determine amongst world racing media, he additionally was revered and admired by Nationwide Soccer League {and professional} basketball journalists resulting from his longtime work within the media rooms of the Indianapolis Colts and Indiana Pacers.
York was the primary chief of the statistics crew for the Pacers in 1967, a job he maintained for 5 a long time and greater than 2,000 video games because the franchise moved from the American Basketball Affiliation to the Nationwide Basketball Affiliation. The Pacers’ media room in Gainbridge Fieldhouse is called in his honor.
He additionally led the stat crew and labored within the media room for the Colts from their arrival in Indianapolis in 1984 by way of the 2010s, working at each their authentic residence on the RCA Dome and their present residence, Lucas Oil Stadium.
York was predeceased by his spouse, Jay, and son Rick. He’s survived by a daughter, Marla.
