Indianapolis 500 Centennial Celebrated on Forever Stamp

INDIANAPOLIS, May 20, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Ray Harroun, winner of the
first Indianapolis 500, begins racing his Marmon “Wasp” through the nation’s
mail stream today in the form of 50 million First-Class Mail Forever stamps to
celebrate 100 years of racing at the iconic brickyard.

The first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony took place at the Speedway as a
prelude to Fast Friday, the qualification runs for the 100th Indianapolis 500.

“At the Postal Service, we understand the power of our stamps in celebrating
American history and culture — in this case, the 100th anniversary of the
Indianapolis 500,” said Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe in dedicating the
stamp. “I won’t be so bold as to predict the winner of the race, but I will
predict that 50 or 100 years from now the U.S. Postal Service will issue another
stamp to commemorate the next milestone anniversary of this great event.”

Joining Donahoe in dedicating the stamp were Greg Ballard, Indianapolis mayor;
Jeff Belskus, Indianapolis Motor Speedway president; Duane “Poncho” Carter Jr.,
1974 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year; and Dave Calabro, Indianapolis Motor
Speedway announcer.

“We’ve eagerly been awaiting this day since the United States Postal Service
announced the commemorative stamp honoring the 100th Anniversary Indianapolis
500 last December,” said Belskus. “It’s a great honor and an important part of
our Centennial celebration that the iconic image of the Marmon ‘Wasp’ will be
seen on mail sent from coast to coast.”

The First 500

On May 30, 1911, approximately 80,000 spectators gathered at the Speedway to
witness the first running of the Indianapolis 500. Driving a Marmon “Wasp” he
designed, Ray Harroun beat 39 other drivers to win with a time of 6 hours, 42
minutes and 8 seconds. A century later, the Indy 500 has become an American
cultural phenomenon rich in ceremony and tradition and is hailed as “The
Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

The car was built by the Indianapolis-based Marmon Motor Car Company and
included one of Harroun’s own inventions, the rearview mirror. Today, it is a
prime attraction at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.

The Indianapolis 500 Forever Stamp is always equal in value to the current
First-Class Mail one-ounce rate.

Ordering First-Day-of-Issue Postmarks

Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They
may purchase new stamps at local Post Offices, at The Postal Store website at
www.usps.com/shop, or by calling 800-STAMP-24. They should affix the stamps to
envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes to themselves or others, and
place them in larger envelopes addressed to:

Indianapolis 500 Stamp
Postmaster
125 West South Street
Indianapolis, IN 46206-9998

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return
the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark. All orders
must be postmarked by July 20, 2011.

Ordering First-Day Covers

The Postal Service also offers first-day covers for new stamp issues and Postal
Service stationery items postmarked with the official first-day-of-issue
cancellation. Each item has an individual catalog number and is offered in the
quarterly USA Philatelic Catalog. Customers may request a free catalog by
calling 800-STAMP-24 or writing to:

Information Fulfillment
Dept. 6270
U.S. Postal Service
PO Box 219014
Kansas City, MO 64121-9014

Ordering the stamp and related products

In addition to the stamps, there are seven philatelic products available for
this stamp issue. Many of these items will be on sale at the race. Customers can
order all stamps and products online at www.usps.com/shop, by calling 1-800
STAMP-24, or by using the mail-in order form in the USA Philatelic Catalog.
Customers can subscribe to the catalog at www.beyondtheperf.com,
www.usps.com/shop, or by calling 1-800 STAMP-24.

— 467261, First-Day Cover, $0.88.
— 467265, Digital Color Postmark First-Day Cover, $1.60.
— 467271, First-Day Issue Collection – 10 1/2″ x 9″ folder that includes a
mounted sheet of stamps, an official First-Day-of-Issue ceremony
program, and a Postmark Card that includes both the official black and
digital color first day of issue postmarks, $16.95.
— 467291, Ceremony Program, $6.95.
— 467292, Stamp Deck Card, $0.95.
— 467294, Stamp Deck Card w/Digital Color Postmark, $1.95.
— 467299, Cancellation Keepsake – includes a sheet of stamps w/Digital
Color Postmark First- Day of Issue Cover, $10.95.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on
the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

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Please note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media
resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at www.usps.com/news.

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only
delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million
residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax
dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and
services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most
frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal
Service has annual revenue of more than $67 billion and delivers nearly 40
percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S.
Postal Service would rank 29th in the 2010 Fortune 500. Black Enterpriseand
Hispanic Businessmagazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce
diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency
six consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the
Ponemon Institute.

SOURCE U.S. Postal Service