Caitlin Clark is usually not shy. But at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, speaking in front of 300,000 people during a nationally televised event, even Clark admitted she felt a little “awkward.”

As Grand Marshal of the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500, Caitlin Clark had the honor of giving the famous command, “Drivers, to your cars.” She delivered it perfectly, but later admitted she was nervous beforehand. According to Clark, the person who was supposed to cue her never actually gave the signal.

“Well, they had me standing there for a very long time, so I was like getting nervous,” Caitlin Clark said while speaking to reporters on Tuesday. The 24-year-old explained that she was waiting for a cue that never came. “They told me that the guy was going to say ‘And here to give the command,’ and then he never said that, so I was awkwardly kind of waiting for a second.”

Eventually, Clark decided to stop waiting and just go for it herself. “I was like, ‘You know what, whatever. I’m just going to go for it. They can adjust.’ And it turned out fine.”

Even so, Clark admitted the moment made her nervous.

“It turned out well, I was definitely a little nervous,” Clark continued. “I’m usually not nervous when there’s a microphone in my face, but when you get in front of 300,000 people and on live television, that’s a lot. I didn’t want to mess up my four words, so. But, it was still super cool.”

Despite the nerves, Clark said she loved the experience at the Indianapolis 500. Still, after finally checking it off her bucket list, she somehow ended up missing the biggest moment of the event.

Caitlin Clark Was Screaming at the TV During Indy 500 Finish

While speaking to reporters, Caitlin Clark admitted she actually left before the Indianapolis 500 reached its dramatic finish. Still, that did not stop her from reacting like every other fan watching from home.

“Obviously, a really cool finish,” CC said, according to The Athletic’s James Boyd. “… I left before the race was over, but I was watching at home on TV, and I was screaming at the TV.”

And honestly, she had every reason to react that way. The ending quickly became one of the wildest finishes in Indy 500 history.

Felix Rosenqvist made a stunning last-corner pass on David Malukas to win the race by just 0.0233 seconds. It officially became the closest finish the event has ever seen.

That said, do you think Caitlin Clark handled the unexpected Indy 500 moment perfectly?

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Written by

Sauramita Debbarma

Edited by

Souvik Roy