On May 25, 2004, W9IMS became the Official Amateur Radio Club of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway -- the first time in history that a ham radio club has received this designation.

W9IMS will conduct special event operations for all three of the events that make up the Triple Crown on Indy's legendary 2½-mile oval, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com . These events are the Indianapolis 500 http://www.indy500.com , the United States Grand Prix http://www.usgpindy.com , and the Brickyard 400 http://www.brickyard400.com .

During 2004, W9IMS will operate from 1500Z to 0300Z on the weekends of May 15 and 16, May 22 and 23, and May 29 and 30 for the Indianapolis 500; June 12 and 13, and June 19 and 20 for the United States Grand Prix; and July 31 and August 1, and August 7 and 8 for the Brickyard 400. We will also be operating intermittently on the weekdays between those weekends.

W9IMS will operate on or near the following frequencies: 1840, 3840, 7240, 14070 PSK31, 14240, 21340, 28340, 50140, 144.240 SSB and 146.52 simplex FM. Watch for packet spots at sites such as DX Summit http://oh2aq.kolumbus.com .

For more info go to    http://www.qrz.com  and search call sign W9IMS

More:

Stations that work us (or log us, in the case of SWLs) will receive a custom W9IMS Indianapolis Motor Speedway QSL card for that event. There will be a unique card for each event!

Better yet, any station that takes the “checkered flag” by working W9IMS during each of the three Triple Crown special event operations will qualify for a special certificate. These special events will occur annually, and any combination of years will be valid as long as all three operations are worked or logged.

For an official W9IMS Indianapolis Motor Speedway QSL card commemorating the event you worked, send your QSL card with an SASE (#9 or #10 Business Envelope -- the QSL card will be 3.5 inches by 5.5 inches) to:

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Amateur Radio Club, P.O. Box 18495, Indianapolis, IN 46218-0495, USA

If you worked us during two events, you can send one QSL card with the two contacts listed on it and a First Class SASE and we can return both event cards in the one envelope.

If you worked us for all three events and would like the certificate, please send us $1 USD in the US and Canada or $2 USD outside the US and Canada. If you want to send one QSL card listing all three event contacts, we can send all three cards and the certificate for the price above.

Stations outside the United States may QSL via the bureau.

IMPORTANT! CARDS AND CERTIFICATES WILL NOT BE SENT UNTIL AT LEAST SEPTEMBER! Obviously, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is very busy with the three races and will not design the three cards and the certificate until after the Brickyard 400.

Please email W9IMS if you have any questions.