Borg-Warner Presents Trophy to 1996 Indy 500 Winner Buddy Lazier
8 May 1997
'Baby' Borg-Warner Trophy Presented to Indy 500 Winner Buddy LazierINDIANAPOLIS, May 8 -- Borg-Warner Automotive, Inc. presented a personalized replica of its famous Borg-Warner Indianapolis 500 Trophy to 1996 race winner Buddy Lazier today. The presentation was made at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum by William "Skip" Cline, Borg-Warner Automotive Vice President and Controller. "Borg-Warner has been awarding its trophy to Indy's race winner since 1936," said Cline. "We are proud to be a longtime sponsor of this great racing spectacle. It's an honor to have Buddy Lazier's likeness alongside those of the other great Indy winners on our world famous trophy. Our congratulations to Buddy on his first Indy victory." Buddy is a second generation driver. His father, Bob, preceded him at the Indianapolis 500 in 1981, finishing 19th. Buddy is a veteran of four Indianapolis 500's and set an aggressive pace by winning the 1996 Indy 500 with an average speed of 147.956 miles per hour. Each winner of the Indy 500 receives a replica of the Borg-Warner Indianapolis 500 Trophy. The driver's trophy is fondly referred to in the racing world as the "Baby" trophy. The replica bears the winning driver's likeness on its base along with the winning time. Each winning driver's image is created in sterling for the larger Borg-Warner Indianapolis 500 Trophy. Buddy's image for the trophy was sculpted by artist Will Behrends who created the life-like look from studying three pictures of the winner. Buddy's image was then affixed to the sterling silver trophy and replica. The trophy, which stands almost five feet high, is on permanent display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum. On race day, it is moved to the Winner's Circle. Concluding the presentation, Cline noted, "Just as the Indy 500 has long been associated with top performance and leading-edge automotive technology, these same qualities characterize Borg-Warner Automotive. It is our components and systems that provide the drive in today's vehicles. Along with this technical know-how, the people of Borg-Warner Automotive value competitive excellence the way Buddy and his fellow drivers do. Our people are proud to be associated with the Indy 500 and with this unique trophy that bears our name. We know of no other corporation that presents such a special award as the one we gave Buddy Lazier today." Chicago-based Borg-Warner Automotive, Inc. is a leading supplier of highly engineered components and systems primarily for automotive drivetrain applications. The company operates manufacturing facilities in 12 countries serving the North American, European and Asian automotive markets. SOURCE Borg-Warner Automotive, Inc.