W8USR - Special Events

The Checkered Flag Award

Event History & Significance

The Checkered Flag Award is an exclusive amateur radio certificate issued by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Amateur Radio Club (W9IMS). It commemorates major auto races at the legendary speedway. To qualify for the Checkered Flag Award, I had to make a confirmed contact with all three W9IMS special event stations during the 2006-2007 Racing season.

All three stations were hosted by the International Motor Speedway Amateur Radio Club. The three events were the IndyCar Grand Prix, the Indianapolis 500, and the NASCAR Brickyard 400. The key details for participant's contact requirements were that licensed amateur radio operators had to log all three W9IMS events in the same calendar year. Shortwave Listeners (SWLs) were able to qualify by submitting reception reports.

The station traditionally operated heavily on the 40m and 20m bands (usually around 7.245 MHz and 14.245 MHz). Weekday operating hours were typically between 6:00 PM and 10:00 PM Eastern Time. You can track upcoming operational windows, frequency updates, and submission instructions via the SWLing Post or by looking up the W9IMS Callsign Database on QRZ.

Station Log: Contact History

Award officially issued in August 2007 following successful confirmation of all three racing legs: