Indianapolis, IN
Despite misleading letter, Indy 500 fans won’t lose race day parking placards
Watch ‘More Than a Race,’ our mini-documentary on the Indy 500
Indianapolis is the 500.
A.J. Foyt once said, “If it wasn’t for the Indianapolis 500, none of you would’ve ever heard of me.” The same might be said of Indianapolis.
Despite a brief scare this week, Indianapolis 500 fans who’ve grown used to obtaining placards to park in private businesses typically blocked off due to race day traffic patterns have no reason to worry about their parking plans for next year’s edition of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
Wednesday evening, fans who had already purchased a parking spot for the sizable lot at the southwest corner of 16th Street and Olin Avenue, owned and operated by private company Turn 2 Indy and not the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, began receiving letters, refunds, or both regarding their reserved parking spots for the 2025 Indy 500. In the letter, a copy of which X user Bryan Friedrich posted to the social media platform, Turn 2 Indy told its customers that the “Indy 500 traffic committee” had decided not to issue traffic placards that had been necessary to gain access to areas otherwise cordoned off by roadblocks on race day morning.
After 35 years of parking dozens of cars and RVs in its lot, Turn 2 Indy thought it would not be able to host fans — some of whom had made parking there part of their longtime race day morning plans.
It appears, however, the owners and operators of the lot had a miscommunication with Speedway city officials and members of the police department, according to IMS president Doug Boles.
One to remember: Relive the rainy — and rad — 108th running
After the issue was brought to Boles’ attention Thursday evening, he says he spoke with the Speedway Police chief — the city’s police force issues the placards each year that allowed holders to drive past barriers that otherwise blocked certain streets and access to some private businesses — and was told there had been no such decision and there is no Indy 500 traffic committee. There is a ‘law enforcement committee’ made up of local, city and state law enforcement officials that IMS works with to form traffic plans and patterns for race day.
Boles also said he spoke with the parking lot owners, Friday, who said they would be reaching back out to customers to communicate that parking abilities had been reinstated so those who’d grown used to parking there could ensure their spots would be secured and paid for for next May after refunds had been issued.
According to Boles, two-thirds of the nearly 350,000 Indy 500 race day fans park on property somewhere that IMS doesn’t own — whether it’s a side street, private business, private lot or a homeowner’s front lawn. Despite this week’s confusion, there’s no plans to hinder or scale back those capabilities, he said.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — It was another busy week in high school sports in central Indiana and ‘The Zone Extra’ has it all covered.
Athlete of the week and Guerin Catholic senior outfielder Ian Taylor is off to a scorching hot start to the young season. Check out his interview as well as Guerin Catholic head coach Dave Schrage talk about Taylor’s success.
The Johnson County baseball tournament came to a close. See highlights from Center Grove’s tournament victory.
The 4A baseball coaches poll was released as well as the 3A softball coaches poll.
The former Columbus North gymnastics coach, John Hinds, passed away at 88 years old.
Center Grove head softball coach Alyssa Coleman joins the show for a coaches corner conversation.
See highlights from the Colts Local Pro Day, featuring several former Hoosiers and Purdue’s Devin Mockobee.
Girls lacrosse is in the first season as an IHSAA emerging sport.
All of that, and more, can be found in the full The Zone Extra show above.
(WISH) — A tornado watch was issued until 3 a.m. EDT Saturday for counties northwest and west of Indianapolis, and into Illinois.
Indiana counties in the watch area are Boone, Carroll, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Elkhart, Fountain, Fulton, Howard, Kosciusko, La Porte, Marshall, Miami, Montgomery, Parke, Pulaski, Putnam, St. Joseph, Starke, Tippecanoe, Vermillion, Vigo, Wabash, Warren and White. The watch area includes the cities of Crawfordsville, Elkhart, Lafayette, Lebanon, South Bend, Terre Haute, and West Lafayette.
The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center has issued two watches in Indiana. The other one until midnight EDT Friday includes the Indiana counties of Benton, Jasper, Lake, Newton and Porter. That includes the city of Gary. That watch also extends into Illinois.
Storms on Friday night in central Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Minnesota led to dozens of confirmed tornado warnings. The storms in central Illinois has gusts up to 80 mph, and tornadoes embedded in heavy rain.
An alert issued after 10:30 p.m. Friday from the National Weather Service at Indianapolis said, “A line of strong thunderstorms is nearing the state line with a history of widespread damaging winds and tornadoes. The line is expected to continue to produce damaging winds as it moves into Indiana with the potential for additional tornadoes. The line is then expected to gradually weaken as it moves further into the state.”
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Athenaeum in downtown Indianapolis is getting ready to welcome spring with its annual St. Benno Festival this Saturday.
Organizers say it’s one of the longest-running cultural festivals in Indianapolis.
St. Benno Festival is based on the German tradition of “Frühlingsfest,” the springtime version of Oktoberfest, Athenaeum Foundation President Craig Mince says.
“It would always be the festival that would open up the beer garden,” Mince said. “So that was kind of their kickoff of the spring and that warmer season. “
The Athenaeum’s celebration focuses on St. Benno, the patron saint of anglers and the city of Munich, Germany.
There’s a lot of folklore surrounding St. Benno. He’s said to have created Bach beer. He also had a sidekick, “Einbeck,” which means “billy goat” in German.
Legend has it that when the invaders were coming to Munich, he threw the key to a church into a body of water. Years later, he caught a fish that had eaten the key and retrieved it.
“When the German immigrants came here to central Indiana, Indianapolis in particular, they started to organize,” Mince said. “They celebrated Benno. They celebrated Bach beer. So that was kind of the beginning of this institution.”
St. Benno Fest will include lots of beer, pretzels, and Gomez BBQ’s doner kebab.
Francene Thomas, the Athenaeum’s event and festivals manager, says there’s a lot of thought that goes into the menu.
“We want to definitely bring the tradition of this festival and continue that, but also, just bring some fresh flavor to it, too.”
The celebration serves as a fundraiser for the Athenaeum. Money raised will go back into maintenance and other events that promote German culture.
Tickets are $25 and can be bought in advance on the Athenaeum website. St. Benno Fest is a 21+ event and runs from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
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