Indianapolis, IN

Eyes on Xfinity: Indianapolis Underscores Why Series Identity Matters

Published

2 years ago

August 3, 2022

Eyes on Xfinity: Indianapolis Underscores Why Series Identity Matters

The Lombardi Trophy. The Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy. The Harley J. Earl Trophy. The Borg-Warner Trophy.

Sure, all are trophies, however extra importantly, the id of every one is unquestionable. Whenever you see them, what their connection is.

The NASCAR Cup Collection is the world’s high echelon of inventory automobile racing. The NASCAR Tenting World Truck Collection is the pickup model of the Cup Collection with up-and-coming drivers sprinkled in with some truck lifers and the occasional twilight-years driver. However what’s the id of the NASCAR Xfinity Collection?

1 / 4 of a century in the past, NASCAR’s high three divisions’ identities had been reduce and dry. The Cup Collection picture hasn’t modified, because it was and stays the very best type of inventory automobile racing. Vans had been a sequence that raced nearly all of its schedule on oval tracks lower than one mile in size, with a couple of bigger speedways and highway programs.

The Xfinity Collection within the late Nineteen Nineties, then the NASCAR Busch Collection, was a mix of the 2 divisions. Quick tracks, speedways, superspeedways and highway programs crammed out the schedule. Moreover, standalone races had been frequent. These standalone races might be at tracks the Cup and even Vans visited at totally different instances of the season. In addition they might have been tracks unique to the Xfinity Collection.

However in 2022, 32 of the 33 races the Xfinity subject races at are help races for the Cup Collection — racing on the identical observe on the identical weekend. The race at Portland Worldwide Raceway in June was the lone standalone race.

A part of the id of the Xfinity Collection 25 years in the past and at the same time as latest as 11 years in the past was that it traveled to tracks and markets the Cup Collection didn’t. It raced on tracks like Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, Myrtle Seaside Speedway, Pikes Peak Worldwide Raceway, World Huge Know-how Raceway (Gateway), Kentucky Speedway and Memphis Worldwide Raceway. The one means the largest stars in NASCAR would race there was in the event that they raced within the Xfinity Collection.

For a lot of causes, not restricted to monetary and economical, these tracks had been dropped or changed, and slowly NASCAR’s second-tier sequence started to look increasingly more like Cup 2.0. This alteration wasn’t restricted to the Xfinity Collection, however the Vans nonetheless went to Canada and raced on dust. And this, on high of being pickup vans and never a automobile, made the Truck Collection have extra of a standout id with distinctive races in comparison with Xfinity.

A small shot within the arm for Xfinity Collection uniqueness got here in 2011 when the then-Nationwide Collection Automobile of Tomorrow automobile was launched, and Ford launched the Mustang and Dodge the Challenger to NASCAR. Later in 2013, Chevrolet introduced the Camaro. The muscle or pony vehicles made the Xfinity Collection have a special id, however now the Mustang and Camaro are each within the Cup Collection, and Dodge is at the moment out of the game.

The Indianapolis race weekend closed out a month that included an announcement of the Cup Collection’ first avenue course race (not less than within the trendy period), heightened discuss of electrical autos and which configuration of Indianapolis Motor Speedway is true for NASCAR.

One week in the past, the Subsequent Gen automobile carried out excellent on the flat, 2.5-mile triangular oval at Pocono Raceway. This led to many sparking the dialogue of a Cup return to the Indianapolis oval as a result of Pocono and Indianapolis are comparable.

Whether or not you agree with me or not, when the Xfinity Collection left Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park after 2011 and was changed by IMS on the schedule, it devalued the Brickyard 400 for the Cup Collection. From 1994 to 2011, should you wished to race a inventory automobile on the world-renowned Indianapolis Motor Speedway, you needed to be among the many 43 greatest drivers on the planet. However the Xfinity transitioned to racing within the wake of the Brickyard 400.

Quick-forward 9 years, and earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic struck the world, Roger Penske introduced that the Xfinity race at Indianapolis would transfer to the highway course. The transfer to take the Xfinity race to the highway course not solely restored a number of the worth of the Brickyard 400, however it restored some id for the sequence in Indianapolis and added its distinctive spin at IMS. However the id was stripped away when Cup moved to the highway course in 2021.

With the Cup race at Pocono being so successful and the Vans returning to IRP, NASCAR and IMS have a golden alternative to make NASCAR’s annual journey to Indianapolis probably the most numerous on the calendar. If the Cup Collection returns to the oval, the Vans proceed racing at IRP and the Xfinity Collection stays on the IMS highway course, every sequence brings one thing distinctive to race followers visiting Indy. The Cup races on the historic Indy oval, the Vans race on a brief observe and Xfinity drivers compete on a highway course.

I’ll exit on a really skinny limb and say I’m not the one one who thinks that isn’t a implausible group of tickets. And I problem you to discover a extra numerous weekend in NASCAR — in a single metropolis.

This is only one id repair for NASCAR’s second tier sequence — going to distinctive or totally different racetracks simply because it did for the higher a part of its first 30 years of existence.

What’s one other strategy to make the Xfinity Collection distinctive once more: going electrical.

I received’t conceal my opinion that the considered NASCAR, not to mention all racing and industrial autos, going fully electrical … I don’t prefer it. However it seems to be like that’s the path racing goes. I’d implore the very best ranges of racing to stay utilizing flamable engines. As a result of, in any case, the roar of the engines is a part of the draw.

What the FIA has executed with Method E is a superb instance of what NASCAR might do to the Xfinity Collection. If the Xfinity Collection goes all-electric, that alone offers the sequence a brand-new id that may be distinctive in inventory automobile racing. Then, while you add avenue programs, you’ve an ideal combination of branding.

In Method E’s quick historical past, most races have been on momentary avenue programs. It brings a excessive stage of racing to the plenty with out the loud flamable engine noise whereas showcasing an OEM’s electrical expertise. A reimagined Xfinity Collection might race strictly at avenue programs, momentary programs (i.e., St. Petersburg) and quick tracks. Why not have some quarter- and third-mile exhibition races throughout NASCAR Cup Collection weekends, like at Charlotte Motor Speedway or Atlanta Motor Speedway?

Disclaimer: The writer is an worker of Speedway Motorsports.

Suppose the Cup Collection continues to race on the large, high-speed and high-banked ovals. That continues the prevailing id for Cup, and the Vans proceed to be vans — having the Xfinity Collection go electrical and avenue racing offers them a novel spot in inventory automobile racing, not to mention the world auto racing stage.

Regardless of the way you slice it up, the Xfinity Collection is in an id disaster. Sure, it has wonderful racing, however what separates it from Cup and Vans? A “Names Are Made Right here” slogan? In 2022, that isn’t sufficient, particularly when NASCAR is advertising and marketing every by itself and never strictly a feeder sequence, just like what Method 2 is to Method One.

The short-term resolution to the id disaster that the Xfinity Collection is struggling goes to tracks and markets the Cup Collection doesn’t or discovering methods to copy the 2020 Brickyard weekend at racetracks throughout the calendar. The long-term resolution is a drastic rebrand, corresponding to electrification and SUV/crossover our bodies. And since there isn’t any use denying that electrical energy models, on the very least hybrid expertise, will play a task in auto racing’s future, the Xfinity Collection is the plain alternative for this alteration.

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Indianapolis, IN

A disaster turns 79. USS Indianapolis sinking leads to world’s worst shark attack

Published

26 mins ago

July 29, 2024

Press Room

A disaster turns 79. USS Indianapolis sinking leads to world’s worst shark attack

It was 79 years ago when a Japanese submarine torpedoed the USS Indianapolis, a heavy cruiser carrying nearly 1,200 sailors and Marines. The ship was sailing back to the Philippines after delivering components for “Little Boy,” the atomic bomb that helped end World War II. It sank in 12 minutes.

What followed next resulted in the greatest single loss of life at sea, on a single ship, in the history of the U.S. Navy.

Read IndyStar’s prior coverage about the doomed heavy cruiser and the men who survived its tragedy.

When did the USS Indianapolis sink?

The USS Indianapolis sank shortly after midnight on July 30, 1945. The heavy cruiser was struck by two Japanese torpedoes. The first torpedo blew the bow off the ship, according to the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. A second torpedo blasted into its midsection near the powder magazine, creating an explosion that literally split the ship in two.

How big was the USS Indianapolis?

The USS Indianapolis was 610 feet 3 inches (186 meters) long, according to Britannica. Roughly 900 men survived the ship sinking, of which only a little more than a third would be pulled from the water.

USS Indianapolis survivor: ‘That first morning, we had sharks’

In a story published July 24, 2014, IndyStar reporter Diana Penner interviewed Corporal Edgar Harrell, just 20 years old on July 29, 1945. Harrell had finished his watch on the USS Indianapolis at midnight. It was, he said, unbearably hot and stifling where his berth was, so he got permission to make a pallet on deck, right under the barrels of the No. 1 forward turret.

Harrell had just dozed off. And then, a few minutes into July 30, the world exploded.

USS Indianapolis survivor: ‘That first morning, we had sharks’

What kind of sharks attacked the crew of the USS Indianapolis?

It’s believed oceanic whitetip sharks attacked the surviving members of the USS Indianapolis in what became known as the “worst shark attack in history.” These grayish brown sharks, which can reach up to 11 feet in length, are considered a top predator in the tropical and subtropical waters they hunt, according NOAA Fisheries.

They are opportunistic predators, feeding on bony fish and squid but have been known to eat large tuna, marlin, sea birds, other sharks, rays, marine mammals and even garbage.

How long before the USS Indianapolis crew was rescued?

The ship sank on July 30, 1945. After four days, the survivors were discovered by accident on Aug. 2, 1945.

How many people died on the USS Indianapolis?

Accounts of how many people died in the sinking of the USS Indianapolis have long varied by one. Were there 1,195 sailors and Marines aboard the ill-fated ship — or 1,196? Did 879 men perish in the attack, in the water, or after rescue — or 880?

Two historians collaborated on a paper that helps explain the discrepancy, which boiled down to a record-keeping error.

USS Indianapolis death toll: Historians resolve mystery of how many men died in 1945 attack

The famous Indianapolis speech from the movie ‘Jaws’

Actor Robert Shaw delivered perhaps one of the most haunting movie monologues in cinema history during the 1975 film, “Jaws,” which itself heralded the age of the summer blockbuster. In the scene, Shaw’s character, “Quint,” reveals he was one of the doomed sailors serving aboard the USS Indianapolis when it sank into the Pacific. The moment is fraught with tension as he describes what happened when the sharks arrived.

“Sometimes that shark looks right at ya. Right into your eyes. And the thing about a shark is he’s got lifeless eyes. Black eyes. Like a doll’s eyes. When he comes at ya, he doesn’t even seem to be livin’… ’til he bites ya, and those black eyes roll over white and then… ah then you hear that terrible high-pitched screamin’. The ocean turns red, and despite all your poundin’ and your hollerin’ those sharks come in and… they rip you to pieces.
Actor Robert Shaw in the film “Jaws”

Shaw’s speech is quietly horrifying, underscored to perfection with music by composer John Williams. Ironically, while most of what Shaw says is factual, his monologue contains one glaring error — the date.

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Quint says the disaster occurred on June 29, 1945, when in reality the sinking didn’t happen until a month later.
Putting that aside, the scene remains iconic, offering a rare glimpse into what survivors of the USS Indianapolis endured.
James Briggs: ‘My grandfather survived the USS Indianapolis sinking. I never asked how he did it.’

Long before his work appeared in IndyStar, James Briggs’ grandfather was in this newspaper. In 2020, the 75th anniversary of the USS Indianapolis sinking filled Briggs with regret over questions he never asked.
“He was one of 316 men, out of a crew of 1,195, who lived to tell his story. He survived sliding down his ship into the water, he survived being covered in ship fuel and he survived spending five days in the shark-ridden Pacific Ocean with no drinkable water or food,” Briggs wrote in his column.
James Briggs: My grandfather survived the USS Indianapolis sinking. I never asked how he did it.
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Wreckage of USS Indianapolis found in Philippine Sea

In 2017, researchers discovered the wreckage of the USS Indianapolis at 18,000 feet below the Philippine Sea. News of the discovery came from Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who led a 13-person team to find the lost ship.
Wreckage of USS Indianapolis: How researchers found the doomed ship at the bottom of the Philippine Sea
Learn more about the heroes of the USS Indianapolis:

▶ Rest in peace: Closure, finally, for USS Indianapolis survivor
▶ Retro Indy: The sinking of the USS Indianapolis
▶ The ones they left behind: Remembering their lost ‘sailor boys’
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former IndyStar reporters Dawn Mitchell, Leigh A. Hedger contributed to this article.
John Tufts covers trending news for IndyStar and Midwest Connect. Send him a news tip at JTufts@Gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at JTuftsReports.

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Indianapolis, IN

Colts owner Jim Irsay says Ryan Kelly is a priority. Kelly said team told him he wasn’t

Published

7 hours ago

July 29, 2024

Press Room

Colts owner Jim Irsay says Ryan Kelly is a priority. Kelly said team told him he wasn’t

WESTFIELD — Colts owner Jim Irsay sounded hopeful that center Ryan Kelly will ultimately remain in Indianapolis after this season.

Kelly, who is the team’s longest-tenured player and headed into the final year of the four-year, $50 million extension he signed in 2020, opened training camp by saying the franchise did not see an extension as a priority before the end of this season.

Irsay struck a different tone in his meeting with local media at training camp Sunday.

“We love Ryan,” Irsay said. “A guy like Ryan’s always a priority. You just love him as a person, and he’s a talented player, he’s been to Pro Bowls. … No question, a Pro Bowl center is a priority.”

Kelly, 31, has made four Pro Bowls in the past five seasons, bouncing back after the offensive line’s struggles in 2022 by making the Pro Bowl a year ago.

“We made it known that we wanted to stay, and that we wanted to have an extension,” Kelly said at the opening of camp. “They didn’t see it as part of their priority.”

Faced with a similar decision on defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, the Colts extended the team’s defensive leader with a two-year, $46 million extension this summer that keeps Buckner in Indianapolis through the 2026 season.

But Kelly has dealt with at least three concussions in his career, and Indianapolis drafted Wisconsin center Tanor Bortolini in the fourth round of April’s draft.

“Every case is different,” Colts general manager Chris Ballard said after Kelly made his comments. “I think one thing we’ve proven since we’ve been here is we’re really to players that have been good players. I think that will work itself out over time.”

The Colts did bring back nearly all of the players who reached free agency last season, signing 11 of its 15 free agents to come back to Indianapolis, including stars in Kelly’s position, heading into their third NFL contract like nose tackle Grover Stewart, cornerback Kenny Moore II and middle linebacker Zaire Franklin.

Even if Kelly makes it to free agency, he could end up reaching his ultimate goal, to continue playing in Indianapolis.

“I hope that things work out well, and I know Chris is talking with the agent,” Irsay said. “We’re hopeful.”

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Indianapolis, IN

IMPD seeking public's assistance in locating a 64-year-old man with dementia

Published

15 hours ago

July 28, 2024

Press Room

IMPD seeking public's assistance in locating a 64-year-old man with dementia

INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Missing Persons detectives are seeking the public’s assistance in locating a missing 64-year-old man with dementia.

Jeffrey Miller, 64, is described as a black male, 5 feet 8 inches tall, 164 pounds, with brown eyes and bald hair.

Miller was last seen when he left his residence in 2600 block of Adams St. on July 28 at approximately 1 a.m. Police said Miller walked off his front porch in an unknown direction.

He was wearing stone washed jeans, a multiple color shirt, and a blue jean jacket.

Miller’s family says he has been diagnosed with dementia. He may be in need of immediate medical assistance.

If located, contact IMPD or Missing Persons at 317-327-6160 or 317-327-3811.

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