Ken Harrison hosts Indy 500 viewing party

If you can't be at the Indianapolis 500 on May 28, how about joining Ken Harrison at La Costa.

What: Indy 500 viewing party featuring 75-inch 4K TV with surround sound.

Where: Home AVTV & Design store at 7720 Rancho Santa Fe Road, Carlsbad 92009.

When: 8 a.m. Sunday, May 28 to conclusion. FREE EVENT.

As a kid growing up in the Cardiff by the Sea neighborhood of Poinsettia Heights, Ken Harrison used to recreate the Indianapolis 500 on an unused dead end of Le Gaye Drive. Several local kids raced their String Ray bikes around a chalk drawn oval track, listening to the radio broadcast of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

“We’d simulate the pace lap, crashes, pit stops, and tire changes,” said Harrison. Harrison’s favorite Indy driver back then was A.J. Foyt, who went on to become a four-time Indy 500 winner and now a Indycar Series team owner.

Back then; 1965 was ABC’s first TV broadcast of the race, an edited version, aired a week later on its Wide World of Sports program. Live TV broadcast of the race didn’t start until 1986.

Fulfilling a life long dream of his mom, Peggy, the Harrison’s traveled to Indiana in 1997 to see the 81st running of race. “In the 1950s, my mom and dad were big fans of the midget car races that ran around Southern California. Many of the midget drivers went on to race at Indy,” said Harrison. “I came along around then and that shuttered their plans to go see the race.”

With NASCAR’s huge popularity, and its big money sponsors, major TV coverage, and sold out races around the country, Indycars – open wheel racers similar to Formula One – has taken a back seat to race fans.

For the last several years, Harrison has watched the race alone, at home. “I know there are others out there watching at home too, and probably by themselves. Indy fans are few and far between in Southern California.

“But not this year,” said Harrison.

On race day Sunday, May 28, Harrison will be hosting an Indy 500 viewing party in La Costa. Fans are invited to join him at the Home AVTV & Design store at 7720 Rancho Santa Fe Road. The store will have the broadcast on its 75” 4K TV with surround sound.

“It will be a much more enjoyable once-a-year experience sharing it with other fans, supporting their favorite drivers and commenting on 220 MPH action,” said Harrison. The store will be supplying breakfast snacks and drinks. The event is free, with race coverage on ABC beginning at 8 a.m.

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