Memorial Day Weekend is already pretty special in Indianapolis, Indiana. For more than a century the phrase “Gentlemen, Start Your Engines” has signaled the signature race of modified cars bearing the nickname of the city. It’s a major event on any sports calendar, regularly drawing nearly 200,000 fans to the fabled Brickyard and almost always significant TV ratings. This year, the beneficiary of those ratings is changing, and just in time for them to take advantage of the kind of story that the parent company seems to revel in.
SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL’s Adam Stern documented on Friday how the race’s new media partner has been in a race of its own:
IndyCar decided last June to switch from licensing its media rights from NBC to Fox starting in ’25, but the timing of the decision meant that Fox wasn’t able to pitch the open-wheel racing series to advertisers during last year’s upfront presentations. That left the network in the unenviable position of having to sell a new property entirely through the “scatter” market, according to Drew Panaro, VP/Sports Brand Partnerships for Fox Sports.
However, Panaro said despite some initial nerves over that, Fox’s ad sales team was able to get it done and then some thanks in part to the enthusiasm that advertisers saw for the property from Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks, an Indiana native who has been passionate about the IndyCar deal. Fox promoted IndyCar heavily during the offseason with things like giving the series multiple coveted Super Bowl spots, and “I think advertisers saw our commitment to it,” Panaro said.
Also helping matters: Getting to air the Super Bowl this year and a Dodgers-Yankees World Series last fall, as well as Penske Entertainment, the owner of IndyCar, helping introduce Fox to several endemic sponsors of the series like Shell, which the network didn’t have a deep relationship with previously. Fox also promised advertisers that it would be bringing out its big-name talent to the 500, which it delivered on with the likes of Tom Brady and Derek Jeter set to attend the 109th running on Sunday.
But as anyone named Costanza or covering media can attest, as the name Penske giveth, it also taketh away. THE ATHLETIC’s Jeff Gluck described how a dose of controversy has added even more intrigue–and, obviously, ratings potential–to this year’s race:
The Indianapolis 500 is in the headlines this week for all the wrong reasons, overshadowing what had been an incredible upset for the pole position earlier this week.
Team Penske, the powerhouse racing organization and 20-time Indy 500 winner, is facing cheating allegations after it was found to have two illegal cars before last Sunday’s qualifying session.
Though they were penalized, the controversy was made worse by who owns the cars: Roger Penske, who also owns both the IndyCar Series itself and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Drivers Will Power and Josef Newgarden — the two-time defending Indy 500 champion who is trying to become the first driver to win three straight — were relegated to the last row of the 33-car field. And on Wednesday, Penske announced he had fired his top three IndyCar team executives.
Were this merely a typical Memorial Day weekend, that would be reason enough to fixate on this city. But perhaps the only thing that matters more in Indianapolis than auto racing these days is basketball, and as luck would have it sellout crowds are filling up Gainbridge Fieldhouse to see how Hoosier Pride cantake those big city invaders from New York to school.
It all started yesterday with one of the marquee events of the young WNBA season, with Caitlin Clark and her Fever hosting the defending league champion Liberty, with a nationwide CBS audience watching. And, once again, controversy followed, as the Associated Press chronicled:
Jonquel Jones had 26 points and 12 rebounds and Sabrina Ionescu added 23 points, including the winning free throws with 2.9 seconds left, to lead the New York Liberty over the Indiana Fever 90-88 on Saturday.
Clark, who ended a stretch of 12 missed 3-pointers with a four-point play followed by a 33-foot buzzer-beater to end the third quarter, had the ball stripped away by Natasha Cloud on the final play of the game.
(T)he Liberty’s experience showed up when it mattered. Jones, Stewart and Ionescu brought them quickly back into the game. They went on a 14-2 run for an 84-82 lead after Jones drained consecutive 3-pointers.
Clark said after the game she’d have to look at the tape to tell whether she was fouled on the final play. Coach Stephanie White, however, wasn’t as neutral. “I think it’s pretty egregious what’s been happening to us the last four games, you know, a minus-31 free throw discrepancy,” White said. “And I might be able to understand it if we were just chucking 3s. But we’re not. We’re attacking the rim and the disrespect right now for our team has been pretty unbelievable.”
Still, that’s an appetizer compared to the main course that’s being served up tonight with a New York-Indiana tilt with far higher stakes. Game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference finals tips off a few hours after the final car crosses the finish line, and if it’s anything like how the series or, for that matter, the Pacers’ post-season has gone so far, it’s gonna be historic. YAHOO! Sports’ Dan Devine put in all in almost incredulous perspective:
If there’s one thing we’ve learned about the Indiana Pacers in these 2025 NBA playoffs, it’s this: They’ve always got time.
Down seven with 40 seconds to go in overtime of an elimination game against the Bucks in Round 1? No problem. Down seven with 47 seconds to go in Game 2 in Cleveland? No problem.
And now: Down 14 at Madison Square Garden with 2:51 to go in the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals?
Another night, another unprecedented comeback — or unprecedented collapse, depending on how full your glass is — for Indiana, which once again engineered a hostile takeover of a road arena.
And that was followed up with a more pedestrian win where a Knicks comeback was thwarted, putting the Pacers in the–ahem–drivers’ seat with a 2-0 advantage that has GNYGNYGNYG scrambling to save both face and their season, as TOTAL PRO SPORTS’ Shabiha Akter reported late last night:
The New York Knicks remain winless in their Eastern Conference Finals matchup against the Indiana Pacers. Despite keeping both games close, they were unable to secure a victory. Game 1 ended in a tight 138-135 loss, and Game 2 followed with another close defeat, 114-109.
Game 3 is scheduled for Sunday. Ahead of the game, the Knicks are making strategic adjustments in hopes of turning the tide. With their backs against the wall, the team has decided to make a notable change to their starting lineup in an effort to shift momentum.
According to a report by Ian Begley, the Knicks are expected to replace Josh Hart with Mitchell Robinson in the starting five for Game 3 against the Pacers.
Both Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson have struggled to make a major impact in the series so far. In Game 2, Hart registered just six points, six rebounds, and one assist, while Robinson contributed six points and nine rebounds. In the opening game, Hart added eight points, and Robinson had only two. Despite neither player producing standout performances, the Knicks appear willing to try this shake-up to see if it can bring a spark in Game 3.
So much for that Pope Leo-Villanova connection. Based upon what we’ve seen from the Pacers so far this spring, it looks like they’ve got a direct pipeline to his Boss.
So make sure you’re fueled up with whatever iteration of Shapiro’s Deli or St. Elmo’s Steakhouse you may have access to. It’s a big, big weekend in Indiana and for the sports world in general.
Courage…