IndyCar discussed changing its championship format similar to NASCAR
IndyCar discussed changing its championship format similar to NASCAR
The NTT IndyCar Series is nearing the start of its 2025 season, and the sport has never been in a better spot. FOX Sports will begin its deal as the sole provider of IndyCar coverage this year and has done an incredible job marketing the upcoming season. However, the new TV deal with FOX Sports reportedly wasn't the only significant change mulled for 2025.
According to IndyStar's Nathan Brown, IndyCar discussed changing its championship format to a similar system used in NASCAR. Scott Borchetta, the former promoter of IndyCar's season finale at Nashville Superspeedway, approached the sport about the idea to ensure the championship was decided in the last event.
IndyCar discussed the idea of a smaller playoff system similar to NASCAR, but Penske Entertainment and its stakeholders determined that change was unnecessary. Brown noted that none of the format changes were given more than an exploratory look. For now, IndyCar will continue with its current full-season format, which has worked for several years with excellent returns.
More: Jimmie Johnson, Tom Brady linked to shocking entry for 2025 Indy 500
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
21 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Luzardo returns to form with 10 strikeouts and Phillies bats come alive to end prolonged slumps
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Ricky Stenhouse Jr. admired Kyle Schwarber's shot deep into the right-field seats —'that's a bomb!' — and got a thrill when Nick Castellanos came inches away from his own solo homer. Castellanos settled for a triple, showing that in baseball — unlike in Stenhouse's day job in NASCAR — good things happen when a long drive ends with a smack off the wall. Alec Bohm also went deep and teamed with Schwarber and Castellanos to contribute three of the Phillies' five extra-base hits in a win the team can only hope revived an offense that's been punchless this month. Another encouraging sign? Jesús Luzardo put two disastrous starts behind him and struck out 10 in six innings to lead the Phillies past the Chicago Cubs 7-2 on Wednesday. The Phillies had lost nine of 10 games overall headed into the Cubs' series and suffered the double whammy of losing first baseman Bryce Harper to wrist soreness and starter Aaron Nola adding a stress reaction in one of his right ribs. They returned home and split the first two games of the three-game set against the Cubs in underwhelming fashion: Of their 26 hits in two games, 23 were singles. Schwarber hit his 21st homer a Monster Mile — Stenhouse attended to promote the July 20 NASCAR race at Dover Motor Speedway — and Bohm added four RBIs to help the Phillies win the series. Schwarber is averaging one home run for every 10.94 at-bats during June in his career, which ranks third in MLB history with at least 600 at-bats behind Babe Ruth (10.64 AB/HR) and Mark McGwire (10.80 AB/HR). Luzardo handled the rest. The left-hander was an early season success story in his first season since he was acquired from Miami in what looked like the heist of the winter. He struck out 11 in his Phillies' debut and followed in his second start with seven scoreless innings. Luzardo struck out a combined 20 batters in consecutive starts in late May as the Phillies surged to the lead in the NL. Luzardo's next two starts were somehow about as bad as it gets — he was rocked for 12 runs in 3 1/3 innings that skyrocketed his ERA from 2.15 to 3.58 and he gave up eight runs in 2 1/3 innings in his last outing in Toronto. Luzardo insisted he was healthy and still hit the high 90s with his fastball, forcing him to study game film with a bit of a detective's eye to find out why his season soured. He came to the conclusion that he must have been tipping his pitches. How about a tip of the cap from Phillies fans instead? 'There's a lot of things we tinkered with,' Luzardo said. 'The biggest thing was attention to detail, attention to where we want to go, pitch selection that comes from me.' Luzardo fanned two batters in the first inning to get the gem of a start going. He didn't walk a batter in six innings and allowed his only run with the Phillies up 4-0. Luzardo gave up consecutive singles to open the second inning before he struck out the side. 'He studies himself and he wants to address what he's doing wrong,' Schwarber said. 'That's the impressive thing about him. We were all excited to watch him get out there on the mound today and see what was going to happen. Never a third time.' Max Lazar worked two innings of relief and Michael Mercado tossed a scoreless ninth for the Phillies. Luzardo recorded his fourth double-digit strikeout game in his 15th start of the season, the first Phillies pitcher with four or more double-digit strikeout games in their first 15 starts with the team since Steve Carlton had five in 1972. Yes, the Hall of Famer with the 10-foot statue outside Citizens Bank Park. Not all stats, of course, are usually measured against Hall of Famers. Luzardo was the first Phillies left-hander with at least 10 strikeouts and no walks in a game since Drew Smyly struck out 10 in 2019 at Washington. Up next, an off day and a home weekend series against a Blue Jays team that outscored the Phillies 11-2 in consecutive losses last weekend. Schwarber was willing to bet the past two weeks were just a blip in a long season for a playoff-tested team rather than the start of a summer swoon. 'We know what we have,' Schwarber said. 'We've been in a little rut and we're finding our way out of it. We know that if we do what we need to do, we're know that we're not going to be losing many games overall.' ___
Fox Sports
21 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Luzardo returns to form with 10 strikeouts and Phillies bats come alive to end prolonged slumps
Associated Press PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Ricky Stenhouse Jr. admired Kyle Schwarber's shot deep into the right-field seats —'that's a bomb!' — and got a thrill when Nick Castellanos came inches away from his own solo homer. Castellanos settled for a triple, showing that in baseball — unlike in Stenhouse's day job in NASCAR — good things happen when a long drive ends with a smack off the wall. Alec Bohm also went deep and teamed with Schwarber and Castellanos to contribute three of the Phillies' five extra-base hits in a win the team can only hope revived an offense that's been punchless this month. Another encouraging sign? Jesus Luzardo put two disastrous starts behind him and struck out 10 in six innings to lead the Phillies past the Chicago Cubs 7-2 on Wednesday. The Phillies had lost nine of 10 games overall headed into the Cubs' series and suffered the double whammy of losing first baseman Bryce Harper to wrist soreness and starter Aaron Nola adding a stress reaction in one of his right ribs. They returned home and split the first two games of the three-game set against the Cubs in underwhelming fashion: Of their 26 hits in two games, 23 were singles. Schwarber hit his 21st homer a Monster Mile — Stenhouse attended to promote the July 20 NASCAR race at Dover Motor Speedway — and Bohm added four RBIs to help the Phillies win the series. Schwarber is averaging one home run for every 10.94 at-bats during June in his career, which ranks third in MLB history with at least 600 at-bats behind Babe Ruth (10.64 AB/HR) and Mark McGwire (10.80 AB/HR). Luzardo handled the rest. The left-hander was an early season success story in his first season since he was acquired from Miami in what looked like the heist of the winter. He struck out 11 in his Phillies' debut and followed in his second start with seven scoreless innings. Luzardo struck out a combined 20 batters in consecutive starts in late May as the Phillies surged to the lead in the NL. Luzardo's next two starts were somehow about as bad as it gets — he was rocked for 12 runs in 3 1/3 innings that skyrocketed his ERA from 2.15 to 3.58 and he gave up eight runs in 2 1/3 innings in his last outing in Toronto. Luzardo insisted he was healthy and still hit the high 90s with his fastball, forcing him to study game film with a bit of a detective's eye to find out why his season soured. He came to the conclusion that he must have been tipping his pitches. How about a tip of the cap from Phillies fans instead? 'There's a lot of things we tinkered with,' Luzardo said. 'The biggest thing was attention to detail, attention to where we want to go, pitch selection that comes from me.' Luzardo fanned two batters in the first inning to get the gem of a start going. He didn't walk a batter in six innings and allowed his only run with the Phillies up 4-0. Luzardo gave up consecutive singles to open the second inning before he struck out the side. 'He studies himself and he wants to address what he's doing wrong,' Schwarber said. 'That's the impressive thing about him. We were all excited to watch him get out there on the mound today and see what was going to happen. Never a third time.' Max Lazar worked two innings of relief and Michael Mercado tossed a scoreless ninth for the Phillies. Luzardo recorded his fourth double-digit strikeout game in his 15th start of the season, the first Phillies pitcher with four or more double-digit strikeout games in their first 15 starts with the team since Steve Carlton had five in 1972. Yes, the Hall of Famer with the 10-foot statue outside Citizens Bank Park. Not all stats, of course, are usually measured against Hall of Famers. Luzardo was the first Phillies left-hander with at least 10 strikeouts and no walks in a game since Drew Smyly struck out 10 in 2019 at Washington. Up next, an off day and a home weekend series against a Blue Jays team that outscored the Phillies 11-2 in consecutive losses last weekend. Schwarber was willing to bet the past two weeks were just a blip in a long season for a playoff-tested team rather than the start of a summer swoon. 'We know what we have,' Schwarber said. 'We've been in a little rut and we're finding our way out of it. We know that if we do what we need to do, we're know that we're not going to be losing many games overall.' ___ AP MLB: recommended
Fox Sports
25 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Inside Line: Intrigue About WWTR Race?
INDYCAR Today's question: The NTT INDYCAR SERIES returns to an oval this weekend for the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline. What intrigues you the most about this race Sunday night at World Wide Technology Raceway? Curt Cavin: I'm most intrigued by Team Penske, not only for this weekend but for the weeks ahead. Who leads the program moving forward and how does the change in leadership impact on-track performance in the months ahead? This weekend, the race strategists will be Luke Mason (for Josef Newgarden), Ben Bretzman (for Scott McLaughlin) and David Faustino (for Will Power). This has been a track where the team has dominated, with Newgarden winning four of the past five races, and Power and McLaughlin combining to win the past four poles. Team Penske still hasn't placed a driver in the first or second finishing positions this season, and there have been seven races – that's certainly not the norm. Could this be the weekend where Roger Penske's group gets back on track? Eric Smith: I'm intrigued by Alex Palou. Now that he's crossed off a victory on an oval via his win in the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, how many more circle-track victories are to come? He has improved his finishing position in his last four starts at World Wide Technology Raceway, climbing from 20th to ninth to seventh to fourth. At Iowa Speedway, he had two podium finishes in his last three tries, including a runner-up in Race 2 last year. Can he pick up a victory in the July 12-13 doubleheader? Last year at the Milwaukee Mile (Aug. 24) and Nashville Superspeedway (Aug. 31), he had the championship all but locked up, so it's hard to take away anything from those events. Hence why I'm interested to see his performance in the No. 10 Ridgeline Chip Ganassi Racing Honda and if more oval victories are ahead. Scott McLaughlin earned his first oval win at Iowa last year and won later in the season at Milwaukee. I think Palou follows suit, with at least one more oval win in 2025. Arni Sribhen: There's always a driver who has a surprisingly good race at World Wide Technology Raceway, and as competitive as the NTT INDYCAR SERIES' midfield has been, it could be anyone this year. From David Malukas taking a Dale Coyne car to the podium in 2022 and 2023 to first-ever top-10 finishes for Nolan Siegel and Sting Ray Robb in 2024, the tricky 1.25-mile oval has shown the ability to reward drivers who stay out of trouble and on the lead lap with a solid haul of points. So, I'll watch drivers such as Santino Ferrucci, Conor Daly and Rinus VeeKay just to see who could be the sleeper of the weekend. Paul Kelly: OK, I'm dancing around the guardrails of this question a bit by looking past the NTT INDYCAR SERIES this weekend at WWTR. The INDY NXT by Firestone race Sunday afternoon intrigues the hell out of me for one reason: What will Dennis Hauger do in the first oval race of his life? Hauger appears to be one of the strongest INDYCAR SERIES prospects in the INDYCAR development series in the last decade, as he has won four of the first five races this season. All those events have taken place on road and street courses, where Hauger learned his trade in European and global single-seater racing. But ovals are an entirely different animal, with necessary skills that can't be replicated in a simulator or by watching YouTube videos. Hauger was second-fastest in testing this week at Iowa during his first experience on a circle track, so he looks poised to perform in his first oval race this Sunday in the shadow of the Gateway Arch. If he dominates this race the way he has most of the season, Hauger's label as a can't-miss INDYCAR SERIES prospect will be all but secured. recommended
