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Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Indianapolis 500 fans double up with split loyalties to Pacers, race day traditions
Fireworks are set off behind the Pagoda as the public gates open ahead of the Indianapolis 500 IndyCar auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy) Artist William Patterson paints in Gasoline Alley before the start of the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/AJ Mast) Fans congregate before the start of the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/AJ Mast) Fans make their way into the track before the start of the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy) Fans waive during parade laps before the start of the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/AJ Mast) Fans waive during parade laps before the start of the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/AJ Mast) Fireworks are set off behind the Pagoda as the public gates open ahead of the Indianapolis 500 IndyCar auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy) Artist William Patterson paints in Gasoline Alley before the start of the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/AJ Mast) Fans congregate before the start of the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/AJ Mast) Fans make their way into the track before the start of the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy) Fans waive during parade laps before the start of the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/AJ Mast) INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Before coming to Sunday's Indianapolis 500, Austin Pettijohn dressed appropriately — checkered flag shorts and an Indiana Pacers jersey. For the 32-year-old from nearby Franklin, Indiana, it just meshed as it did with so many others in this colorful race-day crowd. Advertisement As more than a dozen planes carrying advertising banners flew above Indianapolis Motor Speedway while the sounds and smells of the track wafted through the infield, blue-and-gold jerseys and other Pacers regalia seemed every bit as popular as the driver T-shirts that typically dot Pagoda Plaza. 'It's so ingrained in this town, this state since 1909, 1911,' Pettijohn said rattling off the dates the 2.5-mile oval Brickyard was completed and the first IndyCar race was held here. 'I was born into the month of May and racing, and it holds a very near and dear place in my heart with me and my family. Basketball, too. It's just an emotional, special time.' Sports fans in Indiana understand because race day is a kind of pilgrimage that binds the generations together. Many families spend dozens of years sitting or standing in the same spot and dress for the occasion in racing garb, a vastly scaled down version of the colorful hats and fancy dresses and suits found at the Kentucky Derby each May. Those who can't attend often listen to the radio broadcast because the network telecast usually is blacked out and re-aired in full on race night allowing fans who were part of the estimated 350,000 inside the track to go home and watch it all over again. Advertisement It's a tradition so revered that when fans weren't allowed to attend in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, speedway president Doug Boles gave viewers and listeners a special dispensation to keep their streaks of consecutive races intact. This time is different. The 109th Indianapolis 500 marked only the fourth time the Pacers and racers competed on the same day in Indy, and it was the first time both aired live in Central Indiana. Race organizers announced earlier this week they were lifting the blackout because the grandstand was sold out for the first time since 2016. The fact some viewers may be more prone to see if the Pacers could take a 3-0 lead over the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals instead of a tape-delayed race may have played a part, too. Advertisement Regardless, the fans in this Midwestern town were thrilled with the decision since most couldn't do their version of the Memorial Day weekend double. Not only was the cost of two tickets to the race and to the Pacers game nearly $4,000 on the secondary market entering, but staying to watch the victory lane celebration combined with traffic leaving the track made it almost impossible to make downtown in time for the opening tip. 'The good news is (the Pacers game) is at 8 p.m. so the 500 will be done by then, and you don't have to worry about going home and watching the race,' said Indy resident Nick Bustamante, who was decked out in a jersey of two-time NBA All-Star Tyrese Haliburton. 'I'll watch it here and then I'll watch the game at home.' Haliburton might be the best-known Pacers player after making two game-winning shots during this playoff run and a buzzer-beater to force overtime in Game 1 against the Knicks on Wednesday. The jerseys of Pacers forwards Pascal Siakam and Obi Toppin, who attended college at the University of Dayton, also found their way to the track as did those of Reggie Miller and Caitlin Clark — both with the WNBA's Indiana Fever and Iowa. Advertisement The Fever lost 90-88 on Saturday to defending league champ New York when Clark had the ball stripped on the game's final possession. By Sunday, that loss seemed a distant memory on one of the city's biggest weekends. After all, this is May — Indianapolis style. 'It's just a great time of year,' Pettijohn said. 'It's just great when you can kind of intermingle the two in the same month. It's such a fun team this year with the Pacers. And it's just such a fast-paced team. So it's very fitting with the theme of Pacers and racers.' ___ AP auto racing:
The Independent
24-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Independent
Indianapolis celebrates an epic sports weekend with Pacers, Fever and the Indy 500
Drive through the neighborhoods surrounding Indianapolis Motor Speedway and it looks like Christmas in May. Checkered flags and 'Welcome race fans' signs on every block. Neatly trimmed lawns decorated with cutout Indy cars, a mock Borg-Warner Trophy, even an inflatable version of the track's familiar golden, winged logo. Yet the 'Racing Capital of the World' is eagerly and happily sharing the Memorial Day weekend stage with the Indiana Pacers and the Indiana Fever, two teams straight from the Hoosier State's lifeblood of basketball. The Pacers flags and Caitlin Clark jerseys are easy to see all over town, including Gasoline Alley a few steps from the speedway's famous Brickyard. Pacers & Racers weekend is in high gear. 'This is an epic weekend, an incredible opportunity to put Indianapolis on the minds of virtually every major sports fan on the planet," said Chris Gahl, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Visit Indy. 'Our initial research shows no other city in the U.S. has hosted this diverse level of major sporting events in such a short amount of time." It may be an anomaly nationally, but Indianapolis is built to thrive in this sort of spotlight. The city has hosted the Super Bowl, two NBA All-Star Games, multiple international and national championships and, of course, now the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500. And through every virtually twist — even an NCAA men's basketball tournament held entirely in and around Indy — the reviews have come back with races. The lineup On Saturday afternoon, Clark and the Fever host the defending WNBA champion New York Liberty in front of a sellout crowd early in a season with title hopes for a team boasting perhaps the biggest star in the league. An estimated 350,000 race fans are expected for Sunday's midday Indy 500 race, including the first sold-out grandstands since 2016. The weekend will be capped Sunday night when the Pacers host the New York Knicks for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals. It's the fourth time an NBA game has converged with race day, and the Pacers lost each of the first three — to the Knicks in 1999, to the Pistons in 2004 and to the Heat in 2013. They went on to lose all three series, too. The off-court, off-track stories such as the Team Penske cheating scandal, the WNBA investigation into alleged racial comments directed at Angel Reese after a Fever game and the call for international peace from Israeli-born, Russian-raised pole winner Robert Schwarzman have played into the buildup. Even the Oscar Mayer Wienermobiles came to town Friday. In a state where the greatest athletic feats often have been defined by auto racing or basketball, this weekend seems like a fitting marriage even to locals. Just ask IndyCar team owner-driver Ed Carpenter, a longtime Pacers fan and the stepson of former speedway president and CEO Tony George. "I think it celebrates the city, the people that live here and the fans that make the pilgrimage to the race,' he said. '(Having the other events) just makes it that much more special.' Carpenter hopes to attend Sunday night's game — even if he wins the 500 — and now finds himself surrounded in Gasoline Alley by a growing legion of crossover fans Six-time IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon and three-time 500 winner Dario Franchitti attended Game 3 of the Indiana-Cleveland series. Former IndyCar driver and broadcaster James Hinchcliffe was there for Game 2 and the triumvirate of Kyle Kirkwood, Colton Herta and Marcus Ericsson went to Game 2 of the Indiana-Milwaukee series. Scott McLaughlin, a Knicks fans, has a wager on the series with Carpenter and may attend Sunday's game if he's not drinking the milk in victory lane. 'How'd that go?' fellow driver Alexander Rossi asked after the Pacers' thrilling Game 1 victory on Wednesday. 'Real bad, we lost the unloseable,' McLaughlin said. 'We had a good wager. I have to buy the equivalent -- if the Pacers win in six games -- if they win in seven, the bet is off, or I win -- I have to buy the equivalent up to 2500 bucks of his (coffee/java).' Red carpet treatment The red carpet isn't just being rolled out for the Pacers and the racers. Film director Spike Lee is expected to be in his familiar spot inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse while his old foil, Reggie Miller, calls the game for TNT. It's unclear how many big wigs from the race will make the 15-minute drive (in good traffic) to the arena for the game. Two tickets to each event would cost you nearly $4,000. Kyle Larson, who is making his second attempt at a different kind of race day double — completing 500 miles at Indianapolis and 600 more in Charlotte's NASCAR nightcap — already has made that trip. He went to the Fever game Tuesday night. 'Outside the car, it's been crazier this year logistics-wise,' Larson said. 'Going to New York and having a full day of media there and then flying back here. Going to the Fever game was fun.' The interest and intrigue goes the other way, too. Three years ago, Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton made his IndyCar debut in a two-seater with Mario Andretti. Last weekend, Fever coach Stephanie White, an Indiana native, returned to the track while Fever center Aliyah Boston, the 2023 WNBA Rookie of the Year, got her first glimpse at the historic and vast 2.5-mile oval. 'Being on the track and kind of seeing how fast all the cars go, and to meet Colton was pretty dope,' Boston said. 'The track is huge. Colton told us how many things could fit in the track and that's insane. You don't understand how big it is till you're there.' Bottom line Gahl said hotels are virtually sold out in Central Indiana and everywhere from Lafayette to Bloomington, roughly one-hour drives from Indy; downtown, the average cost is about $550 per night with a three-night minimum and restaurant reservations are scarce. Local merchandisers are capitalizing, too, selling blue-and-gold shirts that read 'Zoom Baby," a play off the late Bob 'Slick' Leonard's radio calls of 'Boom Baby' for Pacers' 3-pointers. In the midst of so much going on in a 36-hour window, the Pacers, racers and the Fever are all following the same playbook: Ignore the distractions and celebrate this incredible weekend. 'You've got to enjoy the moment, let the excitement and pressure go, focus on the task at hand right in front of you,' Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard said. 'It should be exciting and fun.' ___
Indianapolis Star
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indianapolis Star
The town of Speedway is about more than just racing
INDY 500 A mural by JD Bills features The Speedway Diner on the side of Charlie Brown's Pancake and Steak House on Friday, May 16, 2025, in Speedway, Indiana. Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar Beverly Katterhenry, vice president of Speedway Trails, is photographed in Leonard Park in Laneia's Garden on Friday, May 16, 2025, in Speedway, Indiana. Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar Laneia's Garden in Leonard Park on Friday, May 16, 2025, in Speedway, Indiana. Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar Fred Mann, from Barbecue and Bourbon, prepares wood chips for cooking on Friday, May 16, 2025, in Speedway, Indiana. Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar 'Seeds of Light" by Arlon Bayliss on Friday, May 16, 2025, in Speedway, Indiana. The project celebrates Speedway student exchange programs with Japan and Italy. Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar 'Seeds of Light" by Arlon Bayliss on Friday, May 16, 2025, in Speedway, Indiana. The project celebrates Speedway student exchange programs with Japan and Italy. Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar "The Spirit of Community: Mural on Main' designed by Andrea Townsend on Friday, May 16, 2025, in Speedway, Indiana. The mural features an IndyCar from 1926, the year the town of Speedway was incorporated. Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar The parking lot behind the Barbecue and Bourbon restaurant features a Gasoline Alley, Indy 500 theme on Friday, May 16, 2025, in Speedway, Indiana. Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar Barbecue and Bourbon restaurant on Friday, May 16, 2025, in Speedway, Indiana. Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar The Spark Coffee on Friday, May 16, 2025, in Speedway, Indiana. Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar Charlie Brown's Pancake and Steak House on Friday, May 16, 2025, in Speedway, Indiana. Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar A mural features the town of Speedway landmarks on the side of Charlie Brown's Pancake and Steak House on Friday, May 16, 2025, in Speedway, Indiana. Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar
Associated Press
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- Associated Press
NASCAR star Kyle Larson crashes for the second time in the lead-up to the Indy 500
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — NASCAR star Kyle Larson crashed for the second time in the lead-up to the Indianapolis 500 on Friday when he lost control of his Arrow McLaren entry and hit the wall in the final practice session before this weekend's qualifying runs. Larson, who also crashed on April 24 during an open test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, is taking his second shot at trying to complete 'the Double' by running the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. Larson finished 18th in the rain-delayed 500 last year, but he never ran a lap in the NASCAR race in Charlotte when rain there ended the race early. 'Obviously it's tricky. I spun,' Larson said after leaving the care center. 'I don't know. Kind of caught off guard a little bit there, but I think we'll be fine. I tend to get over things pretty quickly. I know I spun but my balance felt pretty close to being good.' Larson had waited until there were about 90 minutes left in Friday's 6-hour session, which was marked by high temperatures and gusty winds that made for treacherous conditions, before trying a qualifying simulation. He wasn't far into the run when his No. 17 car went skittering up the track, bumped nose-first into the wall and then spun around and hit it again. The crash came several hours after Kyffin Simpson hit the wall hard and nearly flipped his car. Larson's damaged car was put on a hoist and taken back to Gasoline Alley, where Arrow McLaren went to work fixing it. There is an hourlong practice session that begins at 8:30 a.m. EDT on Saturday before qualifying runs begin at 11 a.m. 'I'm sure at this point, we'll want to get out there and shake it down,' Larson said. 'If not, you still get time to make a few runs tomorrow. The track conditions will be better and I'm sure we'll pack a little extra downforce to be safe that first run, and get a run in. Not too worried about it.' ___ AP auto racing:
Washington Post
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- Washington Post
Pato O'Ward has turned the Indy 500 into his personal party, and everyone seems to be invited
INDIANAPOLIS — Pato O'Ward was about to head through the tunnel leading from Gasoline Alley to pit road at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday when he made an abrupt right-hand turn and headed down a very different sort of alleyway. One made up of screaming kids, all wearing papaya-colored caps and forming a human tunnel with outstretched hands.
