By Eric Powell
indy500.com
Tuesday, June 7, 2005
Danica Patrick may not have won the 89th Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, but she won the hearts and allegiance of fans, who purchased a record amount of Patrick-themed merchandise in May.
Patrick-branded merchandise flew off the shelves of Indianapolis Motor Speedway retailers all month. Patrick's history-making drive in the 2005 Indianapolis 500, which saw her become the first woman to lead the race and then finish fourth - the highest-finishing woman ever at the "500" - led to a huge spike in retail sales.
Patrick-branded merchandise outsold all other IRL IndyCar® Series drivers combined, and IMS retail officials had to reorder merchandise bearing Patrick's name and likeness several times during the month of May. Two "reorders," for thousands of T-shirts, took place for Miller Lite Carb Day and Indianapolis 500 Race Day. MainGate printed a reorder of Patrick T-shirts overnight Saturday, May 28 so they were available for sale at IMS on Race Day, Sunday, May 29.
By the time track officials closed the public gates at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Race Day evening, the inventory of Danica merchandise still in the gift shops on Speedway grounds consisted of one baseball cap, two T-shirts and one 1/64-scale die-cast Indy car. Online sales of Patrick merchandise remain strong following the race.
Official Patrick merchandise also was popular outside of the Speedway.
Meijer retail and grocery supercenters in the Indianapolis area sold out its stock of Reebok Patrick T-shirts. All but one of the Hat World/Lids retail locations in the Indianapolis market sold out of Patrick hats on race weekend. The Lids on the Road trailer sold out of Patrick hats and T-shirts by Saturday, May 28, and the company's Web site also was sold out of Patrick hats.
Sales of Patrick merchandise also increased in Hat World/Lids locations in Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Dallas and Chicago.
Existing supplies of the Patrick T-shirt and baseball hat have been restocked and are ready for purchase at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Online Store at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com, via IMS Mail Order at (800) 955-INDY, at the Official Trackside Gift Shops located in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum or at the Brickyard Authentics Stores located in Circle Centre Mall in downtown Indianapolis and at the Indianapolis International Airport.
Patrick will continue her quest to become the first woman to win an IndyCar Series race at the Bombardier Learjet 500k on Saturday, June 11 at Texas Motor Speedway. The race will be telecast live at 8:30 p.m. (EDT) on ESPN.
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2006 Indy 500 tickets: The 90th Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for Sunday, May 28, 2006. Fans are encouraged to submit their ticket renewals, upgrades and orders for the race to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as soon as possible. The most convenient, fastest method is online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com.
The deadline for renewals, which give fans the opportunity to guarantee the same seating assignment, is Monday, June 13. Existing ticket customers who renew their seats online before June 13 will receive a free collector's edition DVD of highlights from the 89th Indianapolis 500, including the dramatic late-race duel between winner Dan Wheldon and Danica Patrick.
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