Indianapolis, IN
Graham Rahal savors Indianapolis GP celebration after winning 1st IndyCar pole in six years
INDIANAPOLIS — Graham Rahal left Indianapolis 500 qualifying in tears.
Three months later, he savored every precious moment of an unforgettable celebration.
The Ohioan ended a six-year pole drought Friday by outdueling teammate Christian Lundgaard for the No. 1 starting spot in the Indianapolis Grand Prix.
Rahal’s completed his final qualifying lap on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course in 1 minute, 10.1102 seconds. Lundgaard was second in 1:10.2208 while 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner Alexander Rossi of Arrow McLaren qualified third in 1:10.2932.
Afterward, Rahal pumped his fists and traded fist bumps — a stark contrast to the seemingly inconsolable scene after teammate Jack Harvey knocked him off the 500 starting grid earlier this season. Rahal eventually started the race, replacing the injured Stefan Wilson in a different car.
“You move on it from it as best you can,” Rahal said. “There’s a lot of frequent reminders of what happened not only in qualifyng but the car not starting the race and things like that. When I got back home after May, the very first voice mail I had was form Al Unser Jr. You see somebody like him, who — he’s won here, been here — but he’s also seen the lowest of lows. And seeing his name on my phone lifted my spirits.”
If Rahal wins Saturday, it would be a storybook ending.
The pole is the first for Rahal since June 2017 when he dominated the weekend in Detroit by winning both races. That was also the last time Rahal drove into victory lane.
Indy’s road course has been good to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing this season.
Lundgaard got his first career pole at the Indianapolis GP in May. The Dane earned his second pole at Toronto last month and then drove to his first career victory.
With Jack Harvey starting eighth, Lundgaard thinks the team could be celebrating again Saturday.
“I just got outqualified by Graham, technically everyone did,” Lundgaard said. “I think there was some small mistakes I could have prevented to jump ahead. But I think we’ve put ourselves in a good position. We’ll see tomorrow.”
There was plenty of intrigue even before Rahal’s final run.
Six-time series champion Scott Dixon and Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden both failed to advance out of the first round. Newgarden, a two-time series champ, enters the weekend second in points — 84 behind leader Alex Palou.
But the chasers caught a break when Palou, the 2021 IndyCar champ, was eliminated in the second round. The Spaniard will start ninth.
In fact the two strongest teams in the series, Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske, were shut out of the final round.
Four-time 500 winner Helio Castroneves also didn’t make the fast six, shortly after announcing the only IndyCar race he intends to run next season will be the 500 — this time as a minority owner with Meyer Shank Racing.
Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis City Market redevelopment to showcase historic catacombs
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The redevelopment of the City Market campus in downtown Indianapolis will start on the west side of the block this year, leaders say.
One of the most notable parts will be to take the historic catacombs and expose them for people to see from the street. The West Plaza will be sunken in to expose the catacombs, all while providing recreational green space.
Megan Vukusich, the director of the Department of Metropolitan Development, said Wednesday during a news conference, “We’re working with Indiana Landmarks, which really is helping provide that technical expertise from a historic preservation standpoint, but we are going to be daylighting the catacombs that sit below the West Plaza today, still retaining a portion of them.”
The City Market, located at 222 E. Market St. just south of the City-County Building, was closed March 1. Both the east and west wings of the building will be demolished as a part of this year’s project. They are not historic buildings, although the center Market House is.
Bill Taft, the senior vice president for economic development at the Local Initiatives Support Corp. in Indianapolis, said Thursday, “We were really happy to see this get used for 13 years or at least 12 years as a place where the community came together, and it has become a place that has a lot of great memories for me, and I am a little sad to see it going.”
The redevelopment of West Plaza will be part of the first phase of the project, which will also see a vacant office space known as the Gold Building transformed into 354 apartment units. About 10% of those apartments will be available as affordable housing. The cost will be $185 million, according to a Department of Metropolitan Development news release issued Thursday.
Vukusich said, “We’re excited to bring that building back online as residential units which addresses the need for housing in our community.”
Leaders says the West Plaza green space will serve as an amenity for the community and the people in the new apartments living directly above this area.
Redevelopment of the Market House will start in Phase Two.
A date to start redevelopment of the east side of the block has not yet been determined.
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Indianapolis, IN
Walmart altercation led to Castleton Square Mall shooting, court records reveal
3 things to know if you share information with Crime Stoppers
Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana allows Indianapolis residents to share anonymous tips with law enforcement.
Indianapolis police announced on Wednesday that they had re-arrested the 18-year-old man who was allegedly involved with the Dec. 23 shooting at Castleton Square Mall.
Police re-arrested the 18-year-old Tuesday after discovering that an altercation in a Walmart chip aisle a few months prior led to the shooting inside of the mall, according to court documents.
Police preliminarily charged the man with intimidation. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department also said officers arrested a 17-year-old for his alleged role in the shooting and preliminarily charged them with dangerous possession of a firearm.
IndyStar is not naming the two people because they have not been formally charged with the alleged crimes.
The interview that led to the teen’s arrest
Chaos broke out at Castleton Square after gunfire could be heard inside the mall’s hall late Dec. 23, prompting people to run outside.
After evacuating and closing the mall early, police learned that a person may have been hurt in the shooting.
Security footage captured an 18-year-old man chasing someone with his right hand on a handgun tucked in his pocket. He left the mall’s camera view, and when he returned in the footage a short time later, police said he was seen with a noticeable limp and looked down at his left leg.
At the time, it was unclear what had specifically led up to the shooting, but a new preliminary arrest affidavit has answered several of those questions.
On Jan. 1, police interviewed the man seen on mall security footage running away from the teens before the shooting on Dec. 23, according to court documents.
The man explained that while he was shopping with a friend and his sibling, he noticed the teens staring at him, which made him feel “uncomfortable.”
While the man was walking toward a clothing store, the teens attempted to get his attention and confronted him outside of the store, according to court documents.
The man told police that he recognized the 18-year-old from a confrontation that happened at a Walmart in Avon earlier in the year, after the two had bumped hands in the chip aisle.
The 18-year-old told the man that he had “been waiting to catch up with you,” according to a record of the interview.
The man believed that the 18-year-old was one of his dead brother’s former “enemies” and assumed that’s why he was threatening the man. The man’s brother was an artist but after his death, the man had adopted his brother’s artist moniker and began publishing music using it, he told police.
When police asked the 18-year-old what led to the shooting, he explained that the man was threatening to fight him because of an altercation at Walmart. When asked if he had filed a police report about the matter, he told police that he had not, according to court documents.
Before the situation escalated, the man told police he asked the 18-year-old, “Y’all tryin to do this here in the mall? They got cameras everywhere.”
That’s when the 18-year-old allegedly threatened the man with his gun, prompting the man to run away.
Security camera footage captured the teens chasing after the man. The 18-year-old could be seen with a handgun with an extended magazine protruding from his pocket before the teens and the man ran out of the camera’s view, according to court documents.
At some point during the chase, the man ran into something and fell to the ground. When he turned around he saw the 18-year-old pointing a gun at him. Believing that he was about to be shot, the man pulled out his 9mm handgun and fired at the 18-year-old three times, according to court documents.
The man escaped into a store, ultimately exiting the mall through a storage room.
The 18-year-old could then be seen on security footage leaving with a noticeable limp to his left leg, according to court documents.
Police later interviewed the 18-year-old about the shooting while he was receiving care for the gunshot wound at an area hospital.
The 18-year-old’s re-arrest
The 18-year-old was initially arrested and charged by police immediately after the shooting, but the teen was released from police custody on Dec. 27, 2024, after the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office decided not to file criminal charges against him.
At the time, the prosecutor’s office noted that it did not file charges against the teen, instead opting to allow police to finish their investigation and determine what led to the shooting.
After interviewing the man, police investigated the matter further and determined that the 17-year-old was an acquaintance of the 18-year-old based on photos they found of the teens together on social media.
On Jan. 7, police obtained a search warrant of the 18-year-old’s home, and inside his room found pieces of clothing and accessories that the two had been wearing on the day of the shooting. Police then arrested the two teens.
Contact IndyStar reporter Noe Padilla at npadilla@indystar.com or follow him on X @1NoePadilla.
Indianapolis, IN
Jim Irsay addresses Colts locker room after season finale
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Colts season came to a close on Sunday after a victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars in overtime.
After the victory, the Colts finished the season with an 8-9 record and missed the playoffs for the fourth straight season.
Colts owner Jim Irsay addressed the team in the locker room after the win.
“This year’s been a disappointment, but I’m proud of you guys that you fought back and won in overtime to get us to 8-9,” Irsay said in a video posted to the Colts team website. “Very proud.”
“I wish we could have a couple different plays, could’ve been a different year, but we will work hard and we certainly appreciate you guys,” Irsay said.
The Colts finished two games behind the Texans in the AFC South and two games behind the Broncos for the final wild card spot in the AFC.
All eight of the Colts wins in the 2024 season were by one score or less.
“Obviously, we’re disappointed but we are 1-0 in 2025, and we have a lot to work to do, but we’re still proud of the effort you guys put forward” Irsay said.
“Let’s find a way back to our greatness,” Irsay said. “That’s what my goal is.”
Irsay started his speech by awarding two game balls to Colts staffers who were retiring. One was for John Starliper, known as “Fuzzy,” an assistant video director. The other was for Dave Hammer, the senior head athletic trainer.
The Colts are bringing back general manager Chris Ballard and head coach Shane Steichen for the 2025 season.
They parted ways with defensive coordinator Gus Bradley on Monday.
More Colts coverage
Shane Steichen sends strong message to Colts fans
Colts Insider: ‘Should be surprising’ Ballard is returning
Colts’ WR Pittman Jr. played through back fracture in 2024 season
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