A 1923 graduate of then-Saint Mary-of-the-Woods Academy, Mari Fendrich Hulman was the wife of Anton “Tony” Hulman, Jr., who purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from Eddie Rickenbacker in November 1945. Born into the prominent LaFendrich cigar family in Evansville, Ind., she married Tony Hulman in 1926.
Twenty years later, the couple bought the Speedway, where Mari played an active role in the track’s immediate post-war years, serving as the consummate hostess at race time. In addition to being a supporter of art galleries, museums, and education, she was both an avid golfer and a proficient, competitive skeet shooter.
Mari was elected chairman of the boards of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Hulman & Co. following the death of her husband in October of 1977. She also assumed his duty to start the race. She died April 10, 1998.