‘Idaho support’ at Indy 500: Payette driver meets Boise family ahead of Sunday’s race
IndyCar driver Sting Ray Robb greeted nearly two dozen Boise residents Friday, as the second-year driver met with family members and friends of Ada County’s Moore family outside the Indianapolis Raceway
Robb, 22, a resident of Payette who was born at St. Luke’s in Boise, began driving this year for AJ Foyt Racing’s two-car team in car No. 41, which he will drive in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500.
Members of the Moore family said they would be among the 345,000 people at the world‘s largest single-day sporting event: the 108th running of the Memorial Day Weekend classic showcasing the speed and tradition of America’s fastest racing series.
Mike Moore was the first of the Moores to attend the annual event, in 2005. Brothers Jeff and Larry joined him a couple of years ago, they said. Their sons and sister, Dorothy, and other friends soon followed.
This week, the entourage arrived in five motorhomes and set up what they call Camp Idaho in a grassy field across the street from the 2.5-mile oval track on the west side of Indianapolis.
“It’s family fun and nothing matches the start when the field of 33 IndyCars putting out 700 hp each gets the green flag,“ Mike Moore said. “The earth moves.“
Boise residents might recognize the Moores. Jeff, Larry and Mike for years ran A Company, a Boise-based, three-state construction-rental firm that was recently sold to a large conglomerate.
“It’s simply amazing that so many people from my home state attend this truly magnificent event,” said Robb, whose parents named him after the Corvette sports car. He will start his Chevrolet-Dallara 23rd in the 33-car field after qualifying at more than 229 mph.
Last year, as a rookie, he crashed out of the race.
“With all the Idaho support I have this year, who knows how far I’ll be able to go,” Robb said.
