INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark can still get nervous in front of a mic. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway proved that Sunday.
“I’m usually not nervous when there’s a microphone in my face, but when you get in front of 300,000 people and on live television, that’s a lot,” Clark said Tuesday. “I didn’t want to mess up my four words, but it was still super cool.”
As grand marshal of the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500, Clark was the one to command drivers to their cars ahead of the race. It was something she practiced with teammate Lexie Hull, who joined her at the speedway, beforehand.
But it didn’t necessarily go the way they hoped.
“We practiced, and the big focus was there was going to be a pause,” Hull said with a laugh. “She did not pause, so I wouldn’t say she went directly how we wanted it to go, but I thought she did a great job though.”
Buy Caitlin Clark merch!
But, Clark insisted when asked about her practice with Hull, her introduction didn’t go as she was told, either. She was standing on the podium by herself, she said, for three minutes in front of 300,000 people, and she was told the public address announcer would introduce her to give the command.
That introduction never came, so eventually, she just went for it.
“They had me standing there for a very long time, so I was, like, getting nervous,” Clark said, laughing. “And then, they told me that the guy was going to say, like, I’m here to give the command, but he never said that, so I was like, awkwardly waiting for a second, and I was like, ‘You know what, whatever, I’m just going to go for it, I can adjust,’ and it turned out fine. The crowd was cheering anyway, so it just seemed like I was giving them a second to cheer.”
At the end of the day, too, it was only four words. Four words that, when nervous, Clark thought she rambled through.
“People were telling me what not to say, not to mess me up, and like, tell me other things to say, but I’m like, ‘No guys, I only have four words,’” Clark said. “… You get nervous and then you talk way faster, that’s always how it goes, you think you’re gonna talk slow, and then you get out there and you go way faster.”
After three years in Indianapolis, Clark finally crossed off the greatest spectacle in racing off her Indiana bucket list — and she was treated to that record-breaking finish as Felix Rosenqvist passed David Malukas for the closest win in Indy 500 history.
“I left before the race was over, but I was watching at home on TV, and I was screaming at the TV,” Clark said. “It was pretty fun and really cool.”
Fever coach Stephanie White, who grew up in Indiana and has had multiple playing and coaching stops in Indianapolis over the years, made it to her first Indy 500 this year, as well.
And, after seeing it through the TV so many times, she finally understood the allure of an in-person experience at the speedway.
“The experience was amazing, and what a finish,” White said. “I was a little worried we were going to finish on a yellow, but it was a lot of fun. It’s so much more fun to be there in person. So I was glad to experience that, and certainly glad to experience it with my son.”
Her son was rooting for Alexander Rossi, who started second and raced with injuries to his right foot and left middle finger. Rossi only made it to Lap 93, however, before an engine fire in his car in pit lane forced him out of the race.
But still, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for White to have with her son.
“He was very disappointed, but at the same time, I don’t think there was one second where he didn’t have a smile on his face,” White said Monday. “As a parent, to see something for the first time through the eyes of your child is really rewarding, so I was just thankful and grateful to have that experience.”
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at chloe.peterson@indystar.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. Subscribe to IndyStar TV: Fever for in-depth analysis, behind-the-scenes coverage and more.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Caitlin Clark was nervous as Indy 500 grand marshal: ‘I didn’t want to mess up my four words’
Reporting by Chloe Peterson, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
