Troy Lee lends his talent to the Indy 500
He has designed the helmets for the University of Notre Dame football team, founded a motor sports and mountain biking apparel line, and sponsored his own race team.
And now, the man behind the premier custom helmet paint shop Troy Lee Designs can add designer of the 2015 Indianapolis 500 program to his list of achievements.
Troy Lee, a Laguna Beach resident, was approached by the automobile race organizers to design the covers of the programs for this year’s Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis and the 99th Indianapolis 500.
For a racing enthusiast who has attended the American Championship car race, as the Indy car race is known, for 35 years, the responsibility was an honor.
“It’s definitely in that arena of me being super-stoked,” Lee said Monday afternoon at his retail shop off Glenneyre Street. “It’s really awesome.”
Racing officials knew of Lee because his company has built a reputation on customizing helmets for the world’s fastest racers, including past Indianapolis 500 champions Juan Pablo Montoya, Helio Castroneves and Scott Dixon. Actor Patrick Dempsey and country singer Lyle Lovett also have sported Lee’s designs.
About three months ago, racing executives contacted Lee to see if he would design the cover of the program for the Indianapolis 500. After learning that he had six weeks to draw it, he began sketching a design immediately after he hung up the phone.
The iconic Indy 500 logo, he said, is horizontal with wings protruding out of a tire, and he had to manipulate it a bit to get it to fit on the program. He also added helmet images.
The coordinators said the design was too busy, so he started anew. For a cleaner version, he found inspiration in a design that was used from 1955 to ’65 featuring the Indianapolis Motor Speedway wing and wheel logo and oversized racing flags. He applied gold leaf and striping, a look that was particularly prominent on old race cars.
“I like to bring traditions back and include lost history in a design,” Lee said.
The Indy 500 committee was so pleased with the design that it asked Lee if he could also apply it, with a black background, on the Angie’s List Grand Prix program. The Indy 500 program would have a white background.
“Troy Lee was a natural choice to be the 2015 Indianapolis 500 program cover artist, as his name and work are already well-known and respected in the racing industry,” Dawn DeBellis, director of creative services for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, said in an email. “Several drivers in the Verizon IndyCar Series already wear helmets with his designs, so it was a great fit. Troy is a phenomenal talent and it was an honor to work with him.”
Lee attended the 99th Indy 500, held May 24 at the speedway, and autographed fans’ programs and posters for 2 1/2 hours.
What began as a hobby for a motocross-racing teen who painted helmets in his garage has grown into a brand often seen on the track.
Lee’s father, Larry Lee, painted helmets while he made a name for himself on the speedway.
Around 11, Troy began painting helmets too.
The first helmet Troy Lee painted was for himself, but the design quickly gained appeal as friends and family began asking him to paint them a custom design.
“I was not planning to make a living out of it,” said the younger Lee, who has owned and operated the line out of his Corona factory for three decades. “For fun, I ran an advertisement in a magazine, and all these helmets were dropped off on my porch.”
Lee joins Thomas Kinkade, David Uhl and LeRoy Neiman as artists of the Indianapolis 500 covers. Copies of the posters may be purchased at his boutique for $10, programs are $15 and a framed original canvas is for sale at $7,500.
His next project comes from a group of friends who asked him to design a replica of the steam-powered rocket Evel Knievel used for his famous 1974 attempt to jump Snake River Canyon in Idaho.
“I have crazy friends,” Lee said with a laugh. “But when I told my kids I was building a rocket, they thought it was so cool. I really enjoy doing what I do.”