Charlotte, North Carolina (April 8, 2010) Narain Karthikeyan was the recipient of one of Indian’s highest civilian honors, the Padma Shri, on Wednesday, April 7, 2010.

The Padma Awards are the country’s highest civilian honors and are conferred in three categories – Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The award is presented by the Government of India to Indian citizens to recognize their exceptional and distinguished contribution in various spheres of activity including the Arts, Education, Industry, Literature, Science, Sports, Medicine, Social Service and Public Life. The awards were announced on January 26, 2010, India Republic Day.

The ceremony took place at the Presidential Palace in New Delhi, Delhi, India. The honor was conferred on Karthikeyan by the President of India, Pratibha Patil (prounced PRUH'-tee-bah puh-TIHL). Karthikeyan was one of six in the field of Sports that was honored and the only one in motorsports. Others receiving the Padma Shri in Sports are Virender Sehwag and Ramakant Vithal Achrekar (cricket), Saina Nehwal (badminton), Ignace Tirkey (field hockey), and Vijender Singh (boxing). This is the first time that anyone in motorsports has been given the honor and was akin to the country recognizing motorsports as an organized sport, as recipients in the Sports category have always come from disciplines such as those of the other 2010 honorees.

Narain Karthikeyan is the first, and until recently only, F1 driver from India, and the first to make driving a race car a fulltime profession. He is not a pioneer, but the pioneer for motorsports in India.

Karthikeyan is currently racing a part time schedule in the NASCAR Camping World Truck series. His next race will be the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 on May 2 at Kansas Speedway. The race will be shown in India on NEO Sports and in the USA on Speed Channel.