400 tickets still up for grabs on Indy 500 pace car

Raffle proceeds to benefit downtown theater restoration

Plenty of tickets are still available to win this 2010 Camaro, used as the pace car for the 2010 Indianapolis 500. The car will be raffled off following the Fourth of July parade.
Plenty of tickets are still available to win this 2010 Camaro, used as the pace car for the 2010 Indianapolis 500. The car will be raffled off following the Fourth of July parade.

With just 200 tickets sold weeks before the raffle is slated to be drawn, Fulton residents interested in owning a new muscle car and helping restore the downtown theater still have a chance to be "1 in 600."

The Callaway Arts Council President Dale Lewis said he is disappointed that his organization has sold so few tickets so far to win the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro used as the pace car for the Indianapolis 500 of that year. However, he's confident that plenty more can be sold before the raffle's new time following the Fourth of July parade at the Memorial Park pavilion.

Lewis said the change to the venue was made when it was decided that the car would stand out more as part of the parade.

"We moved it so it could get more exposure. There's going to be an awful lot going on at the Street Fair," Lewis said. "This will make sure the Camaro is a little more high profile."

The car was used as the pace car - the vehicle used to limit the speed of competing cars during a caution period such as an accident or track obstruction - in the 2010 Indianapolis 500, one of the world's most prestigious racing events. The car comes with all of its paperwork, has just over 2,000 miles on the engine and was owned by a private collector in California before it was acquired by the Arts Council for the raffle.

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.