- Feb 5, 2002
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DANVILLE, Ind. (OSV News) — The thrill couldn’t get any better — or so Forrest Tucker thought.
As a longtime welder for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and as a talented sculptor, Tucker was honored to be asked to create a lasting tribute to the four race car drivers who have won the Indianapolis 500 four times.
Beginning in 2019, Tucker has sculpted four bronze bricks in honor of A. J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr., Rick Mears and Hélio Castroneves, with their names and the years they won the race on the bricks, which have been placed among the Speedway’s original red bricks at the start-finish line.
“To do something in the racing world that is part of the history of the Speedway — and my part will be there long after I’m gone — it’s the honor of a lifetime,” said the now-retired, 65-year-old Tucker, a member of Mary, Queen of Peace Parish in Danville. “I got a chance to meet the drivers and had some good conversations with them. I got a really close look at who they are as people. They’re all unique, as Christ made us.”
While Tucker will always admire these four legends in the racing world, he has a deeper spiritual connection to someone he also regards as an American hero — someone who is on the path to potential sainthood, someone whose remarkable life has challenged Tucker to create a sculpture that captures the essence of that person.
Unexpected inspiration
Continued below.
Indy 500 sculptor depicts first U.S. priest of African descent
This is the unlikely story of the connection between Tucker, a humble sculptor from the countryside of Hendricks County, and Father Augustus Tolton, who was born into slavery and overcame the racism of his country and his church to become a boundless source of hope, humanity and Christ's love in...
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