One strand at a time.
That’s the important instruction for Verizon IndyCar Series drivers participating in the Krewe of Bacchus Mardi Gras parade Feb. 15. James Hinchcliffe, Josef Newgarden, Carlos Munoz and Sage Karam and Mazda Road to Indy drivers Aaron Telitz and Neil Alberico will each have 2,000 custom beads -- themed around the inaugural Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana -- to throw to revelers from the Officer's float.
But with tens of thousands lining the parade route and all clamoring for custom-made beads as Bacchus rolls by, drivers will have to, well, pace themselves.
“They have to throw one bead at a time or they are going to run out fast,” warns Dan Kelly, a Mardi Gras bead-maker whose company, Beads by the Dozen, assembled INDYCAR’s 12,000 strands.
Drivers are participating with Oscar nominee John C. Reilly in the Bacchus parade – named for the Greek god of wine and known as one of Mardi Gras’ super parades. The procession on the 6.3-mile route in downtown New Orleans begins at 5 p.m. and concludes hours later at a black-tie party for thousands at New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The parade is held annually two days before "Fat Tuesday" -- the day before the start of Lent.
“We have a good group and we’ll be doing everything we can to enjoy the party and learn everything we can about the celebration and the city,” said CFH Racing's Josef Newgarden, who was among the Verizon IndyCar Series drivers testing this week at nearby NOLA Motorsports Park. “I was on Bourbon Street the other night so I got a preview of what I think we’ll see on the parade route. I’m looking forward to it.”
The parade puts the drivers in the midst of one of the biggest annual parties in the South. Mardi Gras takes up most of 30,000 hotel rooms in the city and generates over $840 million annually, according to the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau. Combined, Bacchus and Endymion, another super parade that runs this weekend, have 75 floats, 60 marching bands and more than 2,300 float riders who toss more than 1.5 million cups, 2.5 million doubloons and 200,000 beads.
The big bash gives drivers an opportunity to be a part of a New Orleans cultural mainstay as INDYCAR prepares for the inaugural Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana at NOLA Motorsports Park on April 12.
“I was at the announcement of the Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana back in June and got to meet a lot of the organizers, and they said from day one that they were going to roll out the red carpet and really put on a big show,” said Hinchcliffe, who drives for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. “To start that off with having some of the INDYCAR drivers in a Mardi Gras parade is a pretty special thing. It’s a great message to send to the people that INDYCAR is coming to town and we hope they come out to watch.”
The float, though, moves significantly slower than race speeds. Verizon IndyCar Series cars hit top speeds of more than 230 mph; the parade moves about one mile an hour.
The time will give drivers several hours to perfect their bead tossing techniques. That is, if they don’t run out.
“I guess it’d be like me driving an IndyCar,” said Clark Brennan, captain of the Krewe of Bacchus. “I wouldn’t know what to do.”
Not to worry.
“We’re already practicing,” Hinchcliffe said.
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