IRL: National Car Rental Manager Knows Difference Between Indy Car and Stock Car Fans
12 May 1998
INDIANAPOLIS, May 11 - Bill Homan, manager of the National Car Rental location at 7111 W. Washington St. here, says there's one big difference between Indy car fans and stock car fans.The Indy car fans are a lot easier to satisfy.
"The Indy Racing League fans who are in town this month for the Indianapolis 500 are a lot more open about what kind of car they're renting," he explains. "For the fans who come here later this summer for the Brickyard 400 NASCAR Winston Cup race, you have to have a specific make and body style. Some of them won't drive a Ford or a Chevy, or vice versa.
"You only have two motors [Oldsmobile and Nissan] in the IRL right now and the IRL fans don't demand a particular body style, so that makes life a lot easier for us."
Serving the rental car needs for a crowd of over 400,000 is a challenge, but the National Car Rental sites around Indianapolis are full of cars ready for Indy 500 fans. The company's employees also are all set to cheer on Lyn St. James, since Arelco Inc., the National Car Rental franchisee for the area, is the official car rental agency of Lyn St. James Racing.
"We have mainly GM and Ford cars," Homan notes, adding with a smile, "so far no one has come in asking for a G-Force or a Dallara."
Arelco has 26 different sites in Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Texas and Arkansas. The site on Washington St. is near the airport, and the company also manages the National rental location at the Indianapolis Airport itself.
"In addition to the National Car Rental facilities, we have National Boat Sales, National Car Sales and Smith Motors divisions," added Mike Wynn, special events manager. "But the National Car Rental logo is the one that will be on Lyn's Lifetime Television car this month at Indy. We have locations all around the city; we have the metro Indianapolis area covered.
