‘As special as it gets’: Indy 500 has Zak Brown feeling back home again with Arrow McLaren

INDIANAPOLIS – As the CEO of McLaren Racing (and overseeing Arrow McLaren), Zak Brown travels to some of the most exotic and cosmopolitan cities on Earth.

From Barcelona, Spain to Montreal, Quebec. From Sao Paulo, Brazil to Abu Dhabi, Bahrain.

Of course, there is this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix in one of the richest principalities on the planet on the streets of Monte Carlo.

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But this Sunday, there is only one place Brown wants to be, and that is in the capital city of the Hoosier State. Indianapolis, Indiana, also known as the “Crossroads of America.”

“The Indianapolis 500 is as special as it gets,” Brown told NBC Sports. “That’s my youngest memories of the sport. The Indianapolis 500 is a big deal. To go with a chance to win after we came close last year is really exciting.”

The McLaren name is legendary at the Indianapolis 500 dating all the way back to when its founder, Bruce McLaren of Auckland, New Zealand, arrived at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1968.

McLaren did not make the Indy 500 field that year but returned in 1970 with Gordon Coppuck’s curvy creation, the M15. Driver Chris Amon did not like oval racing and decided not to compete at Indy. Denis Hulme was injured in a fire in practice.

Replacement drivers Peter Revson and Carl Williams competed in the race with Williams finishing ninth.

Shockingly, McLaren was killed just a few days after the Indianapolis 500 in 1970, but the team regroups under the leadership of Teddy Mayer.

The M16 arrived in 1971 and the speeds at the Indianapolis 500 dramatically leaped. Revson won the pole, breaking the previous track