New racing fans embrace motorsports, gear up for Indianapolis 500

New racing fans embrace motorsports, gear up for Indianapolis 500

INDYCAR racing is drawing fans of all ages.

INDIANAPOLIS - It wasn't a race to see who can meet the most drivers, but Hayden Jaskela had quite the starting position. He was one of the first to meet the man in the orange hat, Scott Dixon, INDYCAR SERIES driver.

Ready to meet an INDYCAR driver

What we know:

When FOX6 News asked him why Dixon is his favorite driver, he said, "My middle name's Scott, and he's also a redhead."

Jaskela joined other young people at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, who cheered for Dixon, like Titus Repp.

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"He signed a car for me," said Repp, a 10-year-old INDYCAR SERIES fan. 

While some fans had their eyes on the future of INDYCAR, one man was looking back.

What they're saying:

"Here I am, kind of honoring my dad," said Dylan James, a new INDYCAR SERIES fan. "He passed last year."

James is from New Zealand, like Dixon. 

"I think it's going to be emotional," said James. "He loved the spectacle of epic sports events; he went to several, never to the Indy 500, so it's a big deal to be remembering him this way."

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It's a father-son bond Doug Boles knows well. He's the president of INDYCAR and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

 "I grew in a family where my dad actually worked in the sport, so it was kind of all I've really ever known, especially this place, the Indianapolis 500," said Boles. "We just had this connection around the sport."

Racing brings unity

Dig deeper:

As the 109th Indianapolis 500 approaches, Boles said he is looking forward to the unity the race brings.

"I look forward to seeing the families, the generations of families that have been coming to the speedway so often," said Boles.

Jaskela is already a part of the special tradition. He admires drivers, like Dixon, who make history with every lap.

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"I hope he wins," said Jaskela.