#IndyCarDad refers to Paul Van Thomme — a longtime IndyCar fan whose first trip to the Indianapolis 500, taken with his daughters after his own father’s death, became one of the most-shared sports stories of late May 2026 when the visit included a garage tour with Meyer Shank Racing, a face-to-face meeting with driver Felix Rosenqvist, and a finale in which Rosenqvist won the race by the closest margin in Indy 500 history.
What Happened
Van Thomme’s lifelong dream had been to attend the Indianapolis 500 with his father, who passed away before that could happen. In May 2026, his daughters Jenna and Billie surprised him with tickets to the 110th running of the race. Jenna filmed his reaction and posted it to TikTok; the clip pulled close to 500,000 views, was picked up by USA Today, and was reposted by IndyCar’s own social channels, with the family quickly nicknamed the “IndyCar dad” online.
After the TikTok went viral, Meyer Shank Racing — through driver James Hinchcliffe — invited the family for a garage tour at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. There, Van Thomme met Felix Rosenqvist and saw his Creed-themed No. 60 SiriusXM Honda up close. The family also met Billie’s favorite driver, Will Power, along with Helio Castroneves.
Reactions
The story became a self-contained feel-good arc precisely because of what happened next. On May 24, 2026, Rosenqvist made a last-lap pass on David Malukas to win the 110th Indianapolis 500 by 0.0233 seconds — the closest finish in the race’s century-plus history, in a year when the win also doubled as Rosenqvist’s first 500 victory as a new father. The TikTok and the post-race photos of Van Thomme with the winning driver were shared widely under #Indianapolis500, turning what had started as a personal family moment into one of the defining sports-fan stories of the 2026 #IndyCar season.
Aftermath
Coverage from Yahoo Sports, The Indianapolis Star and Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s own newsroom framed the arc as a near-fairytale — a fan who flew in for his first 500, met the eventual winner before the race, and watched him pull off the closest finish ever — and used it as the human-interest spine for broader pieces about Rosenqvist’s emotional 2026 win.
Variations & Related Tags
The story circulates under #IndyCarDad and #PaulVanThomme, alongside #Indianapolis500 and #IndyCar coverage of the 2026 race.
Sources
- https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/viral-indycar-dad-goes-first-130742954.html
- https://x.com/Enquirer/status/2058907236701729076
- https://x.com/GreggDoyelStar/status/2058914791465316698
- https://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/news-multimedia/news/2026/05/24/05-24-500-race-lead-ims
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Indianapolis_500