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Carnegie
INDIANAPOLIS — A.J. Foyt lost a friend Friday. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway lost an icon.
Tom Carnegie, the veteran broadcaster who became best-known to generations as the voice of the Indianapolis 500, died Friday at his Indianapolis home following an illness, according to former employer WRTV. He was 91.
It may never be the same at the track.
“I know a lot of people that work there, at the speedway, and they do a good job, but you only have one Tom Carnegie,” Foyt told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “It’s kind of like Bobby Knight in basketball. There’s only Bobby Knight and there will never be another one. Or like Mario Andretti or A.J. Foyt.”
Carnegie’s deep, bellowing voice boomed over the public address system and became one of the track’s trademark features.
Fans and reporters alike could often be heard calling out Carnegie’s catch-phrases: “Heeeeez-on-it!” for the start of qualifying runs and “It’s a new track record!”
Through the years, Carnegie’s signature calls became part of track lexicon. What drivers and fans will remember most are the simple, succinct calls Carnegie made.
“I remember in the big wreck in turn four, and he said, ‘Where’s A.J.? Where’s A.J.? Here he comes,”’ said Foyt, who counted the 1967 victory as one of his record four 500 wins. “I guess he made a great impression on a lot of people because a lot of people told me later that, ’He scared us to death.”’
Carnegie was nimble enough to navigate through the changing broadcast landscape.
He started his career in radio, when that medium was big, later worked as a sportscaster for three decades at WRTV. He retired from WRTV in 1985, but continued working at the speedway until 2006.