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the USAC20 and the Championship Auto Racing Team racing divisions
and participated in the Indy 500.21 Mr. Menard viewed motor
sports as a way to garner publicity for the stores, attract
suppliers’ attention, and distinguish Menards from its
competition.22 On the advice of Menards’s attorney, Webster Hart,
over concerns about Menards’s liability in the event of an
injurious racing accident, Mr. Menard formed TMI in order to
shield Menards from potential liability.
2. Mr. Menard’s Participation in Motor Sports
a. Participation as a Driver
Although Mr. Menard has never personally driven Indy cars,
he has participated in motor sports for some time. In the 1980s,
Mr. Menard personally drove cars in the IMSA series and the IS
series and also raced gocarts. Since the formation of TMI in
1992, Mr. Menard has personally participated in gocart racing, IS
series racing, and, in the early 1990s, sports car racing.
b. Indy 500
When TMI participated in the 1997 and 1998 Indy 500 races,
20Menards participated in the United States Auto Club during
the following years: 1980-82, 1984, 1986-87, and 1989-92.
21Menards first qualified for the Indy 500 in 1981 and
participated thereafter in 1982, 1984, and 1989-91.
22Eventually, Home Depot and Lowe’s also became involved in
motor sports.
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