Legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway announcer Tom Carnegie passes

His voice is synonymous with the greatest speedway in the world. His calls made fans cheer. His phrases were memorable.

Tom Carnegie, the voice of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for more than 60 years, passed away on Friday at the age of 91.

From 1946 to 2006, Carnegie’s voice called 61 Indy 500s, 12 Brickyard 400s and six U.S. Grand Prix races.

The first time I went to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway I was introduced to Tom Carnegie’s voice. I never knew how memorable it would become. When I threw my protective headphones over my ears to protect my eight-year-old hearing, he sounded a lot like former Cincinnati Reds radio man Joe Nuxhall.

So I asked my dad, “Is that Joe Nuxhall?”

“No,” he replied.

Little did I know how much I would come to remember Tom Carnegie’s voice. Every qualifying day we attended, Tom Carnegie would call out my favorite lines.

“And, he’s on it,” Carnegie’s deep voice would bellow over the world’s largest outdoor public address system. One racecar would zip out onto the track and fly around the south end of the speedway.

When Casey Mears set a track record in 2004, Tom Carnegie’s voice called it out. “It’s a new…track…record,” he said. ESPN replayed the moment over and over again.

It gives me chills.

And I’m not even a fan of the Indy 500. But I realize Tom Carnegie’s importance to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

He will be missed.