Sid Collins made it famous, but a female copywriter in her early 20s named Alice Greene coined the phrase. It was first heard on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network’s broadcast of the 1955 Indy 500.
The network was created in 1952 and the Indy 500 was covered in its entirety for the first time in 1953. Prior to that rundowns were given periodically.
Engineers running the boards at subscribing stations wanted an easy, standard way to be alerted to impending commercial breaks. Their request was conveyed to the sales staff of Indianapolis radio station WIBC, the network’s flagship station, and Greene came up with, “Stay tuned to the greatest spectacle in racing.”
Collins, who was the IMS radio network’s chief announcer from 1952 through 1976 and also worked for WIBC, embraced her phrase and made it famous on the IMS Radio Network broadcasts.
The race is now referred to as the Greatest Spectacle in Racing around the globe.