Jim Cornelison To Return For 2018 Indy 500 Performance

INDIANAPOLIS, IN — If you haven't heard Jim Cornelison sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" before a professional sporting event, or if you missed this year's belt of "Back Home Again in Indiana" before the 2017 Indianapolis 500, you'll have another chance in May 2018. Indianapolis Motor Speedway has announced Cornelison will return to sing "Back Home Again in Indiana" before the 102nd Running of the Indianapolis 500, presented by PennGrade Motor Oil. The "Biggest spectacle in racing" will take place May 27, 2018.

If you love Chicago sports, you can most likely pick out Cornelison's voice anywhere, as he's the talent behind our national anthem before Chicago Blackhawks home games for almost a decade, and all other Chicago professional sports team.

But besides a well known face in Chicago, Cornelison is a true Hoosier, graduating in 1992 from the Master of Music program at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, IMS reports.

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“Jim perfectly captured the powerful emotion behind one of Race Day’s most iconic moments, and barely a day has gone by without a fan asking us to bring him back for next year’s race,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said in a release. “We’re happy he’s returning to IMS and we’re grateful to our friends with the Blackhawks’ organization for working with us to make this happen.”

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IMS said Cornelison will be the first performer to sing “Back Home Again in Indiana” in consecutive years since the retirement of Jim Nabors in 2014, who sang the tune 36 times during Indy 500 pre-race ceremonies between 1972-2014.

Cornelison's resume is extensive, as he's sung in front of national audiences at many other sporting events, including a 2012 Ryder Cup golf match, Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race, ESPN’s “College GameDay” before an Indiana-Ohio State game in August 2017, has made television performances on “TODAY,” “The Colbert Report” and “Harry Connick Jr. Show,” and much, much more.

“Last year was such an amazing experience, and I can’t wait to come back to Indy,” Cornelison said in a release. “I already have Race Day circled on my calendar!”

More information: indianapolismotorspeedway.com

Photo credit: John Konstantaras/AP