Editor's Note: Dario Franchitti won his second Indianapolis 500 on Sunday. He crossed the finish line under a yellow flag, usurping Dan Wheldon from a try for the win. Car owner Chip Ganassi became the first owner to win at NASCAR's Daytona 500 and the Indy 500 in the same season. Franchitti and Wheldon, and the other drivers were in Manhattan earlier this week and discussed cars, technology and their careers.

New York City - The fastest drivers in the world raced into Manhattan this week for an opportunity to greet fans prior to the big race - the Indianapolis 500 - a 500 mile, 200 lap historic race that is celebrating its 94th year this Sunday, and will be shown on ABC at 1 p.m.

The IZOD car. (Joe Strand)

IZOD (which owns other brands such as Arrow, Bass, Van Heusen and Calvin Klein) is the title sponsor for the IndyCar Series and Honda threw this event to allow fans to meet and greet some racing car legends.

Arriving late to Herald Square (perhaps they should have driven themselves), the drivers fell in behind the legendary, charismatic, and 1969 Indy 500 winner, Mario Andretti, and included skilled speedsters Sarah Fischer (owner/driver in the Dollar General No. 67 Dallara); Dan Wheldon; Danica Patrick (who will be in the 23rd position); and the most recent and three-time Indianapolis 500 champion Brazilian Helio Castroneves. Castroneves also won the "Dancing With the Stars" competition in 2007. In the front row with Castroneves at Sunday's race will be Dario Franchitti (2007 winner), and Will Power. Roger Penske has won the Indianapolis 500 as an owner 15 times, and will be going for 16 this weekend with his three-car team of Castroneves, Power and Ryan Briscoe.

Cameron Haven, IZOD "Trophy Girl."

Andretti promptly took his spot in the IZOD two seater car in front while the other drivers lined up next to the 33 silver Honda Accord Crosstours parked in the numeric order the drivers will race on Sunday. Seated with Cameron Haven the official and only "Trophy Girl," the IZOD car bears Andretti's name, as well as actor and producer Mark Wahlberg, who has expressed his love of racing many times.

Following the event, a luncheon was held at Gotham Hall providing an opportunity to speak with many of the drivers.

Spotting Fischer, one of only four women competing on Sunday, I asked her how she felt as a woman in what is traditionally considered a man's sport, and she offered "I have two perspectives, being a car owner and a female entrepreneur is one side, and the other is being a female athlete race car driver which I have done for 20 years so I've built the background to be able to be here, and I think that is the most important thing - having the ability to be competitive, and then all the glitz and glamour can follow that." Fischer rejects the label of "pioneer" and went on to explain "I'm a real person and someone anyone on the street can approach and I appreciate the quality of those people, and I think that is more important than anything I can do in the 'role model' standpoint - it's important that I maintain that in my character. There may be young girls out there who want to be an owner of a race car and work in this business and those are real people too. Married to her team manager, Andy O'Gara, Fischer is competing in her ninth Indy 500. This native of Commercial Point, Ohio revealed that this profession requires a great deal of travel, and "This is about the middle of our season, as there is a championship which combines all the races together, and then there is the Indy 500."

Macy's heralded in the drivers.

Commenting on Mario Andretti, Fischer revealed "Mario is such a tradition in himself, that to be part of a tradition breaking field is fantastic."

Discussing the role of technology, Fischer commented that "Technology has played a huge part in safety and that has been important to me as I age (she's 29), and to stay in a sport like this we need to have these cars be safe - that is number one, and number two I think technology has helped our entertainment value by making the cars more competitive, and racing closer together which is all a reflection of what we do behind the scenes, so if we continue to endorse technology then our on track performances will allow us to be more entertaining."

Driver Sarah Fischer.

Commenting on the resurgence of popularity for the sport, Fischer stated "When I got into this sport in 1999 it still had that really strong short track fan base, and I still think that is our primary fan base, but we are bringing in new fans - fans who didn't know about us and want to learn about us, and that's amazing - to have people want to know more and having IZOD be a part of this and outreach that information is wonderful to give it to those fans and bring it in."

Catching up with Franchitti, he relayed that "I have been racing for 27 years, since I was 10 years old. This will be my seventh Indy 500, and I won in 2007." Commenting on Mario Andretti, Franchitti said "Mario is a hero of mine and to call him a friend is a real privilege. I've know him a long time, but he is an icon - it's great for the sport but it's really great for us to have him around." Franchitti is from Scotland (between Edinburgh and Glasgow), and said "My parents and sister are in Scotland, and I have a brother in London, but I live in Tennessee with my wife. (Franchitti is married to actress Ashley Judd). He further elaborated "Scotland is my home, I get terrible homesickness. I've been here for 12 years, but Tennessee is pretty cool and very pretty." Franchitti too commented on the amount of travel "The championship is 17 races, and we start testing the cars in January and February, and the first race is in March, and the last race is in early October."

The legendary Mario Andretti arrives and high-fives the fans.

Asked to pick three vehicles to arrive at the ultimate race car, Franchitti pragmatically responded "The funny thing about race cars is the best one is always the next one - more power, more grip and generally faster so it's always the one that hasn't really been drawn yet." However, he did reveal his fondness for "Classics such as mid-60s Ferraris, as far as street cars, Porsche and Ferrari are my thing - the '73 Porsche RX is pretty cool, and so was Steve McQueen's car in 'Thomas Crown Affair' - there are only 10 of them in the world - and that was a beautiful car."

Can you hold up your fingers for how many times you've won the Indianapolis 500? Dario Franchitti (middle) and Helio Castroneves (right) with other winners can.

Franchitti discussed the role of technology by indicating "Technology plays a massive role in this sport - much more than you can probably ever imagine. When we drive the cars every movement we make and every movement the car makes is monitored - temperatures, suspension, tire pressure - the whole thing is instruments. Countless of millions of dollars are spent every year developing these cars to make them faster. Companies like Honda their big thing is to make them with more horsepower, less fuel and more efficient. With what is going on in the world that is very relevant."

Driver Danica Patrick.

When asked about the 'old school' Franchitti commented "I think some of the art forms are gone but that is progress. Carbon fiber in the 1980s has made it much, much safer. I also think with IZOD's involvment I have seen the sport really come up in the last 10 years. Fans are behind it again, and that's really nice to see."

Speaking with Wheldon (driver #4 Panther Racing car), a lovely Englishman, currently living in St. Petersburg, Florida, (with a condo in Indianapolis as well) he relayed "We have been traveling for media yesterday and today and it's been a huge success. Obviously, the IZOD IndyCar series has really got a lot of momentum right now, and I think people's perception of us is definitely showing that. We've been to the Walt Disney World of Sports, ESPN, Boston (which is a great town that I'd like to go back to), and it's been hugely successful." Wheldon went on to explain that he's been racing since he was four years old, but has been in IndyCar since 2002." [Sunday's race will be his eighth].

I asked Wheldon what role he felt technology played in the sport today, and if there are any 'old school' aspects he'd like to see kept in the sport. He responded that "Technology has had a huge impact on racing in general, but particularly for drivers. I think what you have to be careful about is everybody at some point wants to go back to how times used to be perhaps, but I think what is important is that the engine manufacturers, obviously Honda being the sole manufacturer in the series, uses this series to improve the performance, safety and other aspects of their road cars, and I think certainly sometimes the role of technology changes things, but it is important to maintain that parallel because it's important to keep engine manfacturers involved in the series." Wheldon further elaborated "It [technology] has had a huge impact, and there is a lot you can do now as the driver by studying that data, videos, even driving simulators that can replicate driving conditions, so I'd have to say that technology has played a huge part and the IndyCar series is very technologically advanced compared to a series like NASCAR, so it's important that we continue that trend in my opinion."

Driver Helio Castroneves.

When asked if he felt that some of today racing restrictions might interfere with a driver's sheer love of speed, he replied "Absolutely not," and went on to explain "Well, if you asked a driver would I want to be doing 250 miles around Indianapolis - absolutely, but there comes a point where they have to look at the safety, which obviously is a very important part of the IndyCar series too. Again, a lot of what has changed is technology, and for me it is very important to continue that trend and let it continue to develop. We are the pinnacle of open wheel racing, and we are considered the pinnacle of technology in motor racing. There are more budget restrictions with us, but with the budget restrictions that the teams have here, I think it is important to continue that trend. Panther Racing, for example, works incredibly hard with the race car, but you know there are a lot of others out there that don't do that, and I think that is what separates us from the others.

I asked Wheldon if he could take three manufacturers to create his 'dream machine' what would they be - without hesitation he answered - "Ferrari, Acura and Rolls Royce."

If you didn't know anything about racing and still don't just remember that these athletes are committed, professional, smart and FAST.

Good luck to all...

Driver Dan Wheldon.