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Lou Palmer (born Louis A. Perunko Jr. on March 10, 1932, in Wheeling, West Virginia - died January 19, 2008, in Indianapolis, Indiana) was an American broadcaster best known for his work at the Indianapolis 500 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network from 1958 until 1989.
Palmer, who was raised in Syracuse, New York, had moved to Indianapolis in 1953. Shortly after joining the news department of WIBC in Indianapolis he received an invitation from the "Voice of the 500", Sid Collins to join the IMS Radio Network for the 1958 Indianapolis 500. As a rookie on the network, Palmer was assigned to the rather remote location of turn three of the track because 'nothing ever happens there'. On the opening lap of the race, however, Palmer was thrust into duty, reporting on a massive 15-car pileup that occurred in the turn. The crash almost completely blocked the track and ended with the death of driver Pat O'Connor. Jerry Unser's car cleared the track's outer retaining wall causing him to suffer a dislocated shoulder during the first lap crash.
In 1963 Palmer moved from turn 3, and became a pit reporter for race day, a position he would hold through 1987. During his time as a pit reporter, he traditionally covered the south pits and interviewed the winning driver in victory lane. In 1988, he moved into the booth, replacing Paul Page as the chief announcer of the 500.
Palmer's tenure as chief announcer lasted only two years (1988-1989). After the 1989 race, he was released of the position [1] [2] [3] and replaced by Bob Jenkins. [4] [5] [6] Palmer holds the distinction of the shortest tenure of all IMS Radio Network chief announcers with just two races.
Palmer later anchored the CART radio network.
Following the 1988 Indy 500, Palmer and Paul Page co-hosted/narrated a 3-hour video produced by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway called "The Indianapolis 500 - An American Tradition since 1911". The production detailed each Indianapolis 500 race until 1988 and included archive footage as well as interviews with drivers such as 1911 winner Ray Harroun and the first triple winner of the 500 Louis Meyer. It also told the history of the IMS and its founding father Carl Fisher, as well as later owners Eddie Rickenbacker and Tony Hulman.
Palmer continued to work at WIBC during the year but annually took a hiatus every May which he would spend most waking hours at the Speedway, feeding daily reports every 30 minutes and anchoring WIBC's day-long qualification coverage.
Lou Palmer died on January 19, 2008, in Indianapolis at the age of 75. He was survived by his second wife Beverly, son Al and daughter Laura. His first wife Cal died in 1997.
The 35th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Wednesday, May 30, 1951. The event was part of the 1951 AAA National Championship Trail, and was also race 2 of 8 in the 1951 World Championship of Drivers. For the second year in a row, no European Formula One-based teams entered the race.
The 40th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Wednesday, May 30, 1956. The event was part of the 1956 USAC National Championship Trail and was also race 3 of 8 in the 1956 World Championship of Drivers.
The 41st International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, May 30, 1957. The event was part of the 1957 USAC National Championship Trail and it was race 3 of 8 in the 1957 World Championship of Drivers.
The 42nd International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 30, 1958. The event was part of the 1958 USAC National Championship Trail, and was also race 4 of 11 in the 1958 World Championship of Drivers.
The 43rd International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 30, 1959. The event was part of the 1959 USAC National Championship Trail and was also race 2 of 9 in the 1959 World Championship of Drivers.
The 44th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Monday, May 30, 1960. The event was race 2 of 12 of the 1960 USAC National Championship Trail and was also race 3 of 10 in the 1960 World Championship of Drivers. It would be the final time World Championship points would be awarded at the Indy 500.
Donald C. Davidson was the historian of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 1998 to 2020, the only person to hold such a position on a full-time basis for any motorsports facility in the world. Davidson started his career as a statistician, publicist, and historian at USAC. His radio program, The Talk of Gasoline Alley, is broadcast annually throughout the "Month of May" on WFNI in Indianapolis, and he is part of the IMS Radio Network.
Paul Page is an American motorsports broadcaster who is best known for serving as the play-by-play commentator for the Indianapolis 500 for a total of 27 years across radio and television. Page was the radio Voice of the 500 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network from 1977 to 1987, and again from 2014 to 2015. He served the same role on television in 1988–1998 & 2002–2004.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network, is an in-house radio syndication arrangement which broadcasts the Indianapolis 500, the NTT IndyCar Series, and Indy Lights to radio stations covering most of North America. The network, owned by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and headquartered in Speedway, Indiana, claims to be one of the largest of its kind in the world. It currently boasts over 350 terrestrial radio affiliates, plus shortwave transmissions through American Forces Network and World Harvest Radio. The network is carried on satellite radio through SiriusXM, and is also accessible through online streaming, and downloadable podcasts. For 2017, the broadcast reached 20.5 million listeners.
The 55th 500 Mile International Sweepstakes was a motor race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Saturday, May 29, 1971. Al Unser Sr. won for the second consecutive year, dominating most of the race. Unser became the fourth driver to win the Indy 500 in back-to-back years, and it was his second of a record-tying four Indy victories.
The 61st 500 Mile International Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 29, 1977. Considered one of the most historically significant editions of the Indianapolis 500, several sidebar stories complemented the unprecedented accomplishment of race winner A. J. Foyt. Foyt became the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 four times. As of 2023, Foyt's record has been tied by Al Unser Sr., Rick Mears and Hélio Castroneves, but still stands as an Indy 500 record. Foyt's victory is also the last time the winning car was built entirely within the United States.
The 51st International 500 Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, over two days, Tuesday May 30 and Wednesday May 31, 1967. The race was dominated by Parnelli Jones in the radically new, four-wheel drive STP-Paxton Turbocar gas turbine entered by prolific car owner Andy Granatelli. With three laps to go, however, Jones coasted to a stop when a $6 transmission bearing failed. A. J. Foyt assumed the lead, and weaved his way through a pileup on the final lap, to win his third Indy 500 victory.
The 50th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Monday, May 30, 1966. The official program cover for the race celebrated both the 50th running of the race, and 150th anniversary of Indiana statehood.
The 33rd International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was an automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 30, 1949.
The 74th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 27, 1990. Dutchman Arie Luyendyk took the lead with 32 laps to go, and earned his first-ever victory in championship-level competition. It was the second consecutive year the Indy 500 was won by a foreign-born competitor, the first time that had occurred since 1965–1966. Luyendyk completed the 500 miles at an average speed of 185.981 mph (299.307 km/h), a record that stood for 23 years until 2013. In reference to the long-standing speed record, the 1990 race had often been referred to as "The Fastest 500."
The 73rd Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 28, 1989. The race was won by two-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion Emerson Fittipaldi. Fittipaldi's victory made him the first Indianapolis 500 winner from Brazil, the first foreign-born winner of the race since Mario Andretti in 1969, and the first non-American winner since Graham Hill in 1966. Though Fittipaldi started on the front row and dominated much of the race, he found himself running second in the waning laps. Michael Andretti passed Fittipaldi for the lead on lap 154, then led until his engine blew. Al Unser Jr. moved up to second, but trailed Fittipaldi by a big margin. Gambling on fuel mileage, Unser caught up to Fittipaldi after a fortuitous caution period on lap 181, and subsequently took the lead on lap 196.
Robert Francis Jenkins was an American television and radio sports announcer, primarily calling Indy car and NASCAR telecasts for ESPN/ABC and later Versus/NBCSN. Jenkins was the radio "Voice of the Indianapolis 500" on the IMS Radio Network from 1990 to 1998, then held the same role on ABC Sports television from 1999 to 2001.
Sid Collins was an American broadcaster best known as the radio voice of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network from 1952–1976. Collins coined the phrase describing the annual May motorsports event as "the greatest spectacle in racing".
The 1994 Brickyard 400 was held on Saturday, August 6, 1994, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race marked the nineteenth race of the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. It was the first NASCAR stock car race at the famous Speedway and the first race of any kind held at the track beside the Indianapolis 500 since the Harvest Classic in 1916. The race featured the largest crowd in NASCAR history, and a then NASCAR record purse of $3.2 million.
Believe Lou Palmer is mentioned in the movie Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (1974).