By John Clayton, Staff Writer

The two seminal moments of Kenny Brack’s on-track life — the ones he looks back on now with the most sense of pride and accomplishment — both happened at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The place seems to be filled with good karma for Brack.
After all, he won the Indianapolis 500 in 1999 as a driver for A.J. Foyt. In 2005, he returned to the sport and Indy — for the first time after the horrific 2003 crash at Texas that came eyelash-close to killing him — and put up the field’s fastest qualifying time.
So, launching a second career there — this one in music — with the band Brack seemed at least fitting if not some sort of rock-n-roll destiny for Brack, the former driver turned lead guitarist.
“The Speedway will always be special to me,” said Brack from his home in Belgium. “Being able to get the Indy 500 victory for A.J. and what it means to be a driver there for him and then to have my first comeback race after the accident — those are probably the two greatest moments of my racing career.”
Brack, the band (pronounced, Breck), is set to play at the Speedway during Carb Day May 25 and take part in the 500 Festival Parade May 26. A release party for the band’s first CD, “Brack: Greatest Hits, Volume I,” is also set for May 23 in Indianapolis.
With the CD, the two worlds of Brack, the racer/guitarist, are unexpectedly colliding. The band has recorded a timely tribute to Foyt called “Legend of the Speedway,” just as Foyt prepares to celebrate his 50th year at Indy as a driver and owner. The song’s accompanying video, which was recently shot at the famed Brickyard and at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, will be played on the speedway’s Jumbotrons regularly throughout the month of May.
“It’s a song I wrote before the accident, but I put it in a drawer,” said Brack, who played during the month of May in Indianapolis before with “Kenny and the Subwoofers,” a pickup group of musicians who were also involved in the racing industry.
But this time around, the music — if not all the songs — is on a more serious note.
“Legend of the Speedway ” began to take shape after Brack began working with Franc Aledia, an Ohio-based songwriter who is now the band’s lead singer. The two polished “Legend of the Speedway” and other songs that would eventually make up the band’s inaugural CD.
The timing couldn’t have been better.
“(‘Legend of the Speedway’) turned out to be a humorous song but also a very celebrating song for A.J.,” Brack said. “At the time, we thought, ‘Let’s go ahead and record it.’ It’s in line with that modern-rock kind of thing we’re doing. We didn’t even know at the time that it was A.J.’s 50th anniversary. We just recorded it and thought it was a cool tune.
“Everybody knows A.J. is a great champion and a legend, and everyone knows he’s an extraordinary character. I think the people who know him a little bit will find it a bit humorous.”
But what does Foyt think?
“I wouldn’t put out anything without his approval,” said Brack, adding that he could write the song from a perspective on Foyt that only he has — as one who won an Indy 500 and an IRL championship with him. “He’s putting up with it at least.”
What were the first steps toward the end of Brack’s career as a driver were his first toward one in music.
As a kid growing up in Sweden, he had always loved music. He spent his adult life with racing in the foreground, but he always showed up at the track with a guitar in a gig bag.
Then, he touched tires with Tomas Scheckter at 220 miles per hour at Texas Motor Speedway. It was the beginning of the accident that would send him spinning like a carbon-fiber top into a catch fence. His ankles were shattered. His other injuries included a fractured sternum and a fractured right femur. He spent the next two months on his back and the next 19 months fighting through eight different major surgeries.
Somehow, though, his hands and arms were spared. He could still play the guitar.
“I really had nothing else that I could do but play the guitar and lot of morphine,” Brack said.
But a funny thing happened just after Brack was forced to face his own mortality. His daughter, Karma, was born, adding even more perspective for Brack, the driver and neophyte songwriter.
“All of that is a pretty good recipe for songwriting, I guess,” he said.
The song “Today Forever” is Brack’s ode to fatherhood and is the CD’s third track.
Fatherhood also played a major role in Brack’s decision not to return to racing after filling in with Rahal Letterman Racing during the 2005 IRL season.
“The truth is, with the birth of my daughter — even though I think I had another couple of good years driving — I just couldn’t justify forsaking her upbringing,” said Brack.
Brack just turned 41, but looks and feels younger. Even so, he said he has no regrets about leaving the track.
“Personally, I didn’t want to hang on to the sport and be uncompetitive and not be the best that I could be,” he said. “A lot of people do, and I understand that. It is hard to do something else. It is hard to find a new position for yourself.”
But Brack has managed to find two. He is working with young Swedish driver Marcus Eriksson, who is competing in the British Formula BMW Series.
“I want to help drivers with what I know from my career,” Brack said. “Hopefully, (Marcus) can take that knowledge and do better than I did. I’ve found a new role in racing that way.”
Eriksson is leading the Formula BMW point race, a fact that makes Brack beam.
Brack admitted he just doesn’t know what will be next for Brack the band, the CD and “Legend of the Speedway.”
If the CD appears to have a chance as even a minor hit, live shows could follow, but nothing is set in stone.
“The plan right now is to release the record in the proper way. The Speedway has been behind this project, and they will help market the CD in the month of May,” he said.
“In terms of live shows, we’ll do several things in May. After that, nothing’s really set. We’ll see how things go.”
For more information about Brack and to see the “Legend of the Speedway” video, visit www.brackmusic.com.

Kenny Brack File
Born: March 21, 1966, in Sweden.
Family: Wife, Anita, and daughter, Karma, live with Brack in Belgium.
Racing career highlights:  Won the 1999 Indianapolis 500 and the 1998 IRL  championship while driving for car-owner A.J. Foyt. In 2000, switched to CART and Team Rahal Letterman and was named Rookie of the Year. Won six poles and four races in 2001, finishing second in CART series championship. Returned to IRL in 2003, surviving a  horrific crash at Texas Motor Speedway. After months of recovery and rehabilitation,  returned to Indy in 2005, setting the fastest qualifying time. Retired from competition in 2006.
Musical highlights: Began collaborating with Ohio-based Franc Aledia in 2005 and later formed the band Brack.  In May, the band released its first CD, “Brack: Greatest Hits Volume I,” to coincide with appearances at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Related Web sites: www.brackmusic.com; www.myspace.com/bracklive; www.kennybrack.com.