By Josh Williams
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Indianapolis 500 race car drivers pulled into the heart of Manhattan's gridlock and pedestrian plazas to get New Yorkers revved up for this weekend's race.
Danica Patrick, defending champ Helio Castroneves, Dario Franchitti (Mr. Ashley Judd) and racing legend Mario Andretti sat in their cars and waved for photographs. Later, they signed autographs for racing fans.
The Indy 500 takes off on Sunday.
While slick race cars are unusual in Manhattan, given the general crawl of traffic, they might become more common if a Formula 1 bigwig gets his way.
Bernie Ecclestone, a Formula 1 honcho, wants to bring a Grand Prix to Manhattan's backyard.
"[The race would be] in front of Manhattan in New Jersey, with the skyscrapers in the background," Ecclestone told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, the Associated Press reported back in March. "Fifteen minutes from the center of New York to the circuit would be marvelous."
