Jim Nabors will miss Indianapolis 500 after surgery

UPDATE A video crew will film Indianapolis 500 favorite Jim Nabors singing "Back Home Again in Indiana" at this year's race. The 81-year-old will undergo a heart surgery later this month and will miss the pre-race celebration where he has sang for years. An IMS Productions video crew is scheduled to fly to Hawaii next week to film Nabors singing the song, IMS spokesman Doug Boles said today.

"He offered that," Boles said of Nabors. "You've got to remember that (the 500) is as much a highlight of his year as it is for the hundreds of thousands of fans who hear him sing."

05/02/12 A famous face will not be at the Indianapolis 500 this year.

Eyewitness News sports director Dave Calabro confirmed Tuesday night that Jim Nabors will miss the Indy 500 pre-race celebration for the second time in the last six years. Nabors, whose rendition of "Back Home Again In Indiana" became a Speedway tradition in 1972, will undergo heart valve surgery later this month.

"It's a very, I don't know, to me, it's just magical," Nabors said in a 2009 interview. "To be here all of those years, it's part of my life, part of my history now. It's been great to see all the kids grow up."

Doctors expect the 81-year-old to make a complete recovery.

Nabors also missed the 2007 race for health reasons. 13 WTHR