(May 20, 2011) INDIANAPOLIS (PRNewswire-USNewswire) — Ray Harroun, winner of the first Indianapolis 500, begins racing his Marmon "Wasp" through the nation's mail stream today in the form of 50 million First-Class Mail Forever stamps to celebrate 100 years of racing at the iconic brickyard.

The first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony took place at the Speedway as a prelude to Fast Friday, the qualification runs for the 100th Indianapolis 500.

"At the Postal Service, we understand the power of our stamps in celebrating American history and culture — in this case, the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500," said Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe in dedicating the stamp.

"I won't be so bold as to predict the winner of the race, but I will predict that 50 or 100 years from now the U.S. Postal Service will issue another stamp to commemorate the next milestone anniversary of this great event."

"We've eagerly been awaiting this day since the United States Postal Service announced the commemorative stamp honoring the 100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500 last December," said Jeff Belskus, Indianapolis Motor Speedway president. "It's a great honor and an important part of our Centennial celebration that the iconic image of the Marmon 'Wasp' will be seen on mail sent from coast to coast."