From the years 1972 to 1984, Paul Sylvester never missed a single Indianapolis 500. Like nearly every man living in central Indiana, The Greatest Spectacle of Racing was embedded in his Hoosier upbringing.
That time arguably represented some of the greatest years the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has ever witnessed. In those 13 years, drivers like Bobby and Al Unser, A.J. Foyt and Gordon Johncock dominated the Yard of Bricks, and Paul experienced it all from the confines of the steel grandstands.
Paul saw Johnny Rutherford win all three of his Indy 500 titles in 1974, 1976 and 1980. Indy 500 legend Rick Mears won his first of a record-tying four wins in 1979. And Paul still remembers witnessing the sheer excitement of the 1982 race, where Mears was edged out at the finish line by Gordon Johncock by .16 seconds.
Whether the occasion was good or bad, Paul said it was moments like these that made him fall in love with the Month of May.
"It's the greatest event in the world," Paul said. "Every time you get to go to that track, it's like you've never left. It really feels like home."
Then, in 1985, something came along in Pauls life that meant much more than the event he had grown to love. On race day, May 25, 1985, Paul witnessed the birth of his first child. Even though Paul missed his first race in 13 years, it was impossible for him to completely separate himself from the biggest annual event in the state of Indiana. Paul decided to name his first daughter Danielle in honor of the winner of the 1985 race, Danny Sullivan.
"I was born late in the night," Danielle Sylvester said, recalling a story she has heard hundreds of times. "My parents were still in the hospital the next day. My dad was listening to the race on the radio and when Danny Sullivan won he said, 'OK, that's it. She's officially going to be named Danny.' I think he did it to tease my mom a little bit, but that's the story."
Nearly 22 years after that day, father and daughter found themselves at the 2.5-mile oval, hoping to experience another amazing finish. After falling short two previous times, Danielle stood among the 33 500 Festival Princesses at the Yard of Bricks, waiting to hear the name of the 2007 500 Festival Queen.
THE BIRTH OF A DREAM
By the middle of the 1990s, the Indianapolis 500 had become more of a family-oriented event in the Sylvester household. Paul has arrived at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on race day only a handful of times since Danielle's birth, but the Memorial Day weekend event is still marked on his calender every year.
"From 1985 to now, I might have only attended three or four races," he said. "We'll sit around the pool at either a friend's house or our house and watch the race together."
Danielle said she always looks forward to those family get-togethers that are centered on both a Hoosier and family tradition. To her, the Indy 500 has become much more than a mere auto race.
"The Indianapolis 500 is a pretty big part of our lives," she said. "Living in Indianapolis your whole life like I have, it's almost impossible for it not to be a big part of your life. It's not just the race, though, it's all the festivities. Living in Indianapolis, the [500 Festival] Parade is a huge thing to take your kids to. That along with things like the Rookie Run on Kids Day is things that we always did because they're right here in our backyard."
The 500 Festival Princesses are a main component in one of the richest traditions of the month. It was during the Parade, as a 10-year-old Danielle admired the 33 Festival Princesses, that a dream was born in her heart.
"I was out at the parade when the Viper was the official pace car," she said. "I remember telling my parents at that time that I was going to be one of those girls because they got to ride in a cool car. I also told my dad that he needed to get me a Viper, but that hasn't happened yet."
From that day, being a 500 Festival Princess has always been in the back of her mind. However, it wasn't until four years ago that Danielle realized it was actually a possibility for her. Danielle learned is was more than a childhood fantasy, being a 500 Festival Princess provided her opportunities for her future.
Danielle, who is a marketing major at Ball State University, said the big drawing card to her was the chance to work on her future.
"When I heard about this I asked what I got out of it," Danielle said. "Then it was explained to me that this wasn't a beauty pageant. Instead it gave you opportunities to work with all the key decision makers in Indianapolis. That's when it became a dream and I told myself I was going to go after this and I was going to get it because I thought this was an opportunity that I wasn't going to receive otherwise."
Nothing comes easy
To become the 500 Festival Queen a woman from Indiana must go through three sets interviews and an on-stage public speaking appearance. This year, the public speaking performance took place at the Westin Hotel in the middle of April. The first set of interviews is in January and the Queen isn't chosen until the Saturday before Bump Day at the Speedway.
Princess Program Coordinator Colleen Bartel said the judges that select the Princesses and The Queen examine the interviews closely when they make their decision.
"Obviously Danielle is a very pretty girl, but she's also very good in interviews," Bartel said. "That's the reason she was selected. The judges were very impressed with her interviews."
About 250 women sent in applications to the 500 Festival Committee this year. The first set of interviews narrowed that number down to 66 women, and one more set of interviews was used to select the 33 Princesses.
It's difficult for any candidate to be crowned as the Queen, and Danielle has found that out from her personal experience. This year was the third year Danielle has tried to become a 500 Festival Princess. The past two years she hadn't made it past the second interview.
"I actually was not going to go out this year," she said. "I didn't really have much interest in it this year, only because I became President of [Alpha Omicron Pi] Sorority in January, and I knew my interviews would be then. I just thought, 'You know what? Sometimes you don't get everything.'"
Then Paul stepped in and talked his daughter into going after her dream for a third straight year. Paul said he wanted to stress to his daughter that the experiences she had gone through were not wasted as long as she had learned something through the process.
Even though Danielle was disappointed to not become a Princess for two consecutive years, Paul's support for his daughter never wavered.
"I really was telling her to go for it again because, with me being competitive in both business and in sports, I know that you don't give up if you don't at first achieve," he said. "I asked her what kind of experience she was getting from it and she told me she learned something every time she went through this experience. My comment to her was just, 'Well then keep on learning and growing. No matter the outcome, just know you did your very best."
Danielle took her father's advice and made it past her first interview like she had the last three years. However, it was her second interview that put her over the top.
As Paul remembers, the morning of Danielle's second interview fell on a rainy Saturday morning. He and Danielle had been in an argument the night before, but Paul still offered to drive Danielle to the interview session.
"It was only a 15 minute drive, but it was a very quiet ride for the first five minutes," he said. "I said to myself, 'This really isn't doing either one of us any good.' So I went back to the story of when she was born just to give her a perspective of what this race means to our family. All of a sudden, we were communicating like father and daughter and it was a beautiful thing. The last thing I said to her before I pulled up and let her off at the door was, 'You know what? You'll always be my princess.'"
Once Danielle got inside, she said she was feeling nervous. However, she said that the talk with her dad had helped to calm her nerves and got her ready for the interview.
Now, all she wanted was the chance to tell the judges the story of her birth and its ties to the Indy 500.
"I walked into the room for my second five-minute interview of the day and there happened to be two Danielle's trying out before me," she said. "One of the ladies teasingly said, 'Oh my gosh, there's so many Danielle's. Do you know why you were named that?' And I thought, 'Oh, this is it. This is my chance.' What are the chances that I would get to share this story? I kept thinking to myself, 'How in the heck am I going to bring up that story.' And then she flat-out asked me for my first question. That was when I thought this could be my year."
Coronation Day
A couple hours before Day 3 of Indianapolis 500 qualifications Saturday, Danielle stood at the Yard of Bricks as one of 33 Princesses. In the stands was her father, where he had been for so many memorable moments at the track.
"I got to stand at the Yard of Bricks for two hours Saturday before qualifications," he said. "I was living through my daughter, what an honor. So, to me, [Saturday] meant a tremendous amount."
Danielle Frazier, also a Ball State University student, was announced as one of two members in the Queen's court before Sylvester was handed the Queen's crown. Even if it wasn't his daughter's name, hearing the name "Danielle" echo through the loud public address system heightened the anticipation Paul felt as he sat in the stands along with the rest of the Sylvester family.
"When they called Danielle [Frazier's] name I kind of sparked up and said, 'Oh my gosh,'" he said. "But then it was Danielle [Frazier's] name, so I kind of went back to saying, 'You know, it's not really important if you win. It's just being a part of the core group [of Princesses].'"
Moments later, track announcer Dave Calabro announced Danielle Sylvester as the 2007 500 Festival Queen.
Upon hearing the announcement, Danielle said she was only worried about one thing.
"I saw the video of the girl who won last year and I remember thinking, 'Oh my gosh! She looks so cute and so graceful,'" Sylvester said. "When I heard my name, my mind was racing a million times a minute and I was saying over and over, 'I don't know what my faces looks like right now. I don't know what my face looks likes right now.' So, honestly, that was what was going through my mind because I was so excited. But I thought, 'I want to look graceful and I have no idea what I look like."
As for Paul, the idea of being graceful was the furthest thing from his mind.
"When they did announce her name, it caught me completely by surprise and for five seconds I was a raving father until I got composure and I said to myself, 'OK, sit back down,'" he said. "But I was obviously very proud."
While being the 500 Festival Queen has been a dream of Danielle's for as long as she can remember, she said it's turned into something more than that. Danielle said she's excited for the chance to be a positive role model for girls across the state and hopes to inspire them the same way she was as a 10-year-old girl.
"I think my perseverance really proves to not give up," she said. "One of the most important things to me with the fact that it took me three times was to tell a lot of other girls to not give up. 250 girls try out each year and only 33 make it. So it's important to go out for it again next year. I'm really glad for that opportunity to go back and say, 'Hey, I proved that if you keep going you can make it to where you want to go.'"
As happy as Paul was in the pageantry of Saturday's ceremony, he said he's able to keep it all in perspective. The thing that makes him most proud is not that his daughter is the 500 Festival Queen, but the fact that she gave it another try after being disappointed two times before.
"Danielle is a very sophisticated and dignified young woman, and her future did not ride on her being crowned as the Queen," he said. "Now, with her winning it, is it a jump-start? Absolutely. But the future of Danielle Sylvester did not ride on her being crowned Queen or not."
As great as the honor is for Sylvester, she's quick to point out there is still one more matter to attend to.
"I've accomplished the first part of my dream. Now I need my dad to buy me a Viper," she said with a laugh.
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