SUBMITTED PHOTO Wendy Barth Servies (right) as queen, with her mom Diane Barth.
Southsider voice photo by kelly sawyers Wendy Barth Servies holds a framed picture of herself and her mother (right) as 500 Festival queens. They are the only mother-daughter duo to reign. The late Diane Hunt Barth and her daughter, Wendy Barth Servies, are the only mother-daughter queen duo in the history of the 500 Festival.
Barth was crowned queen in 1961, the year that A.J. Foyt won his first race; Servies was queen in 1986, when Bobby Rahal drove into victory lane.
Servies recalls not telling her mom that she had entered the contest until three days before the judging. “We had never talked about me doing it, but I knew I had always wanted to try.
“We didn’t have cellphones back then, so my parents had to wait for me to get home to see if I had made the 33. They were a nervous wreck as they were waiting to see if I would come in smiling or crying.
A big difference in their reigns was how the Borg-Warner Trophy was handled. “Mom used to carry around the trophy in her pace car to make appearances. That wasn’t the case when I was queen,” Servies said.
“When I was queen the race had to be postponed until the following weekend because of rain.
“My mom and I agreed that being a part of the Biggest Spectacle in Racing was an honor. Some of our favorites were the 500 Festival Parade and riding around in the pace car on race day. Hearing everyone cheering and seeing the sea of people who attend was amazing,” she said.
“My mom passed away in 2000, and the 500 Festival had a special place in her heart. The festival still holds a special place in my heart and will forever. Mom continued to be a huge part of the festival after her reign as queen, as I have been.
“The mother-daughter queen bond is something I will treasure forever ... all of the fun we had doing TV interviews together, commercials, photo shoots for magazines, etc. I have pictures and videos to pass down for generations.”
Barth was crowned queen in 1961, the year that A.J. Foyt won his first race; Servies was queen in 1986, when Bobby Rahal drove into victory lane.
Servies recalls not telling her mom that she had entered the contest until three days before the judging. “We had never talked about me doing it, but I knew I had always wanted to try.
“We didn’t have cellphones back then, so my parents had to wait for me to get home to see if I had made the 33. They were a nervous wreck as they were waiting to see if I would come in smiling or crying.
A big difference in their reigns was how the Borg-Warner Trophy was handled. “Mom used to carry around the trophy in her pace car to make appearances. That wasn’t the case when I was queen,” Servies said.
“When I was queen the race had to be postponed until the following weekend because of rain.
“My mom and I agreed that being a part of the Biggest Spectacle in Racing was an honor. Some of our favorites were the 500 Festival Parade and riding around in the pace car on race day. Hearing everyone cheering and seeing the sea of people who attend was amazing,” she said.
“My mom passed away in 2000, and the 500 Festival had a special place in her heart. The festival still holds a special place in my heart and will forever. Mom continued to be a huge part of the festival after her reign as queen, as I have been.
“The mother-daughter queen bond is something I will treasure forever ... all of the fun we had doing TV interviews together, commercials, photo shoots for magazines, etc. I have pictures and videos to pass down for generations.”
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