Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis’ most-read news stories of 2024: From the court and courtroom to the cosmos
Totality welcomed at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to loud cheers
Watch as thousands of spectators bring in totality during the total solar eclipse viewing event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
IndyStar
As many as 7 million people a month visited the IndyStar online this year and it’s my job to help reporters and editors understand what they’re reading.
These journalists give me plenty of data to work with, too, because no one covers Indianapolis like IndyStar. Through mid-December, IndyStar published more than 10,000 articles, 1,000 photo galleries and nearly 2,000 videos. That’s nearly 30 articles, three photo galleries and five videos each day (you get a lot with a subscription) and that’s not even counting the statewide and national news produced by other USA TODAY Network newsrooms across Indiana.
As we prepare to put a very newsy 2024 behind us, let’s take a look back at some of the most widely followed storylines and coverage topics of the year, in no particular order:
Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever
By the time Clark made her Fever debut, she was already a household name for many college basketball fans. But her WNBA Rookie of the Year performance took her star power to another level with fans around the country.
Clark’s skills on the court drew a lot of attention (and fouls) from her opponents, too, and her work helped the Fever reach the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
IndyStar’s Chloe Peterson put on a rookie of the year campaign of her own in 2024, covering Clark at Iowa as student and landing in Indianapolis before the WNBA Draft, just in time to cover arguably the biggest story in women’s sports this year.
Clark put on an incredible show and Peterson and IndyStar were there for it all, publishing nearly 300 articles since April and making the Fever beat IndyStar’s most-read of the year.
While Clark isn’t playing overseas or in 3-on-3 leagues this summer, Fever fans will likely have good reason to read every word again during the 2025 season. And IndyStar makes it easy, too: subscribe to the Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter for updates sent directly to your inbox.
Richard Goodall on “America’s Got Talent”
Richard Goodall says community support was ‘immeasurable’ in AGT win
“I left it all on the stage,” Goodall told reporters Friday. “And not only did I try to pull through for you guys, you guys pulled through for me.”
If seeing someone live out a dream brings a smile to your face, you’ll remember Richard Goodall’s going from middle school janitor to Journey frontman for a day.
The Vigo County, Indiana, native won over judges and IndyStar readers while winning Season 19 of “America’s Got Talent” by performing Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger,” Michael Bolton’s “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You” and Journey’s “Faithfully,” among others.
The most memorable moment was seeing Goodall bring back his audition song, Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” this time with the legendary rock band on the season finale where he won the $1 million prize.
The Indianapolis 500
It would be hard to make this list any year and say the Indy 500 didn’t belong on it, even if the results looked familiar with Josef Newgarden repeating as champion and Team Penske earning its record-extending 20th Indy 500 victory.
The didn’t mean the race was completely predictable, though. Pato O’Ward gave a challenge that Newgarden held off by a mere 0.3417 seconds and an hours-long rain delay emptied out the grandstands and pushed the race back to nearly 5 p.m.
The race was also notable for anyone following the money. Newgarden’s repeat victory earned him more than $4 million in prize money as he became the first back-to-back winner since Helio Castroneves did so in 2001-02.
The Delphi murders trial
One of America’s most haunting cases finally saw some closure in November when Richard Allen was found guilty of all four counts against him in the deaths of Abigail “Abby” Williams and Liberty “Libby” German.
The coverage of this case also highlighted the importance of local journalists. IndyStar’s staff spent months preparing to cover this high-profile case fraught with misinformation and got assists from around the USA TODAY Network, including the expertise of Lafayette Journal & Courier reporter Ron Wilkins, who has been reporting on the case since it began.
The team of reporters and visual journalists worked through plenty of logistical hurdles to bring close-to-live updates to readers each day, detailing everything from the heartwrenching witness testimony to details about Allen’s prison confessions.
And while Allen was found guilty, he’s likely to appeal and you can count on IndyStar to follow any updates to the case.
The solar eclipse
IndyStar published plenty of words about this once-in-a-lifetime celestial event for many Hoosiers but the photo staff’s images told the story best. Bonus: This video of fans viewing totality at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Honorable mention
A few pieces of standalone coverage that resounded with readers in 2024:
INDIANAPOLIS — Almost nothing went according to prediction for the Colts in 2025.
Widely believed to be an also-ran without a quarterback, Indianapolis instead raced out to an 8-2 start behind the surprising emergence of Daniel Jones, prompting the Colts to take a big swing at the trade deadline for Sauce Gardner and sparking predictions of a home playoff game at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Then Jones got hurt, the pass rush wilted without a healthy DeForest Buckner and the Colts lost seven consecutive games, the freefall interrupted only by the inspirational return of a 44-year-old Philip Rivers, something nobody could have seen coming at the halfway point of the season, much less in May.
The NFL can be awfully difficult to predict.
But IndyStar is going to try again, making a way-too-early prediction on how the Colts’ 2026 season will play out on a game-by-game basis.
Buy 2026 Indianapolis Colts tickets!
The Ravens have Lamar Jackson at quarterback, and they added Trey Hendrickson to revamp the pass rush, but Baltimore also has a new head coach, Jesse Minter, and a roster in transition. Daniel Jones returns for the season opener, takes advantage of the Ravens secondary and the Colts get off to a good start for the second year in a row. Pick: Colts 27, Ravens 23
If Patrick Mahomes isn’t recovered from the torn ACL that ended his 2025 season, then all bets are off, but if Jones is back from an Achilles, expect Mahomes back as well. Even with a limited Mahomes, the lack of Indianapolis pass rush becomes a problem, and the Colts lose a shootout in prime time. Pick: Chiefs 34, Colts 27
Houston’s defense has only gotten better, and no matter how the offensive line shakes out, the Colts will have a young right tackle. Frustrated all day by the pass rush, Indianapolis drops a tough game to an AFC South rival. Pick: Texans 19, Colts 13
Washington’s run to the NFC title game in 2024 was followed up with a disastrous 2025, and the Colts have handled international games well under head coach Shane Steichen. Indianapolis defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo makes life difficult on Jayden Daniels, and Steichen’s offense takes advantage of Dan Quinn’s scheme. Pick: Colts 31, Commanders 20
Indianapolis broke one streak by winning the opener in 2025. Pittsburgh was a house of horrors for Jones a year ago, but with the Steelers still facing quarterback uncertainty in May and a changing of the guard at head coach, Pittsburgh feels more in flux than ever. Pick: Colts 21, Steelers 14
Expect Tennessee to make some strides in Cam Ward’s second season as the starting quarterback, but it’s still a young team in the early stages of a rebuild. With momentum on their side and Jonathan Taylor rolling, the Colts make it three straight. Pick: Colts 34, Titans 20
Minnesota is another team facing uncertainty at quarterback, but a coaching staff led by Kevin O’Connell and defensive coordinator Brian Flores is top-notch. Indianapolis struggles against all of Flores’ wrinkles, and Kyler Murray does just enough. Pick: Vikings 20, Colts 16
If there were any questions left about the curse the city of Jacksonville has placed on the Colts, they should have been erased when Jones suffered a season-ending injury there last season. Until the curse is broken – maybe by a stadium renovation – it’s hard to see a win here. Pick: Jaguars 28, Colts 24
Dallas has tried to revamp its defense since trading Micah Parsons, but the Cowboys still don’t have a difference-making edge rusher who can hound Jones all day. With time in the pocket, Jones attacks Dallas with Alec Pierce and Josh Downs for a big win. Pick: Colts 38, Cowboys 31
Miami’s a mess, a team in the process of laying a foundation after tearing everything down to the studs. The Colts know how to handle a team in that spot. Pick: Colts 35, Dolphins 17
A short week on the way to Houston is a difficult test, especially considering how good the Texans’ defense has become. The schedule-makers did the Colts no favors with this Thursday night game. Pick: Texans 23, Colts 21
New York already has injury concerns with wide receiver Malik Nabers, and young quarterback Jaxson Dart is the kind of target that Anarumo can exploit. New York’s pass rush gives Jones some problems against his old team, but Taylor takes advantage of the lack of Dexter Lawrence for big yardage. Pick: Colts 31, Giants 21
Philadelphia’s roster remains stacked, and even with the bye week, the Colts find themselves struggling at Lincoln Financial Field against a team that has been one of the NFC’s best since Nick Sirianni took over. Pick: Eagles 21, Colts 17
Tennessee’s receivers simply don’t have the experience to beat Sauce Gardner and Charvarius Ward’s man coverage consistently, and the Colts get back in the win column by riding Tyler Warren to a big day. Pick: Colts 33, Titans 22
If Joe Burrow is healthy, the Cincinnati offense is the kind of unit that could give the Indianapolis defense fits, and even though the Bengals’ defense is in its own rebuild, Burrow wins this one with a vintage performance. Pick: Bengals 41, Colts 38
With a snowstorm whipping in off the lake, the conditions are difficult, but Cleveland’s fatal flaw is a quarterback position that is somehow still begging for a savior. Indianapolis keeps itself in the playoff race with a hard-fought win. Pick: Colts 24, Browns 14.
With a playoff berth on the line, the Colts get moved into prime time for a game against the Jaguars, and Jones returns the favor for what happened in Jacksonville in 2025. A last-second field goal sends Indianapolis into the playoffs as a wild card. Pick: Colts 27, Jaguars 24
Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
Indianapolis, IN
Conor Daly, Alex Palou become 1st drivers to top 228 mph on 2nd day of Indianapolis 500 practice
INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis 500 drivers turned Wednesday’s practice into a possible race day preview.
They ran in packs, created long, snaking lines through the two long straightaways and mostly avoided trouble over the frantic final 75 minutes on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.5-mile oval.
Conor Daly and Alex Palou took advantage of the cool, overcast conditions to post the fastest laps on the second practice day. Daly posted the best lap of the day at 228.080 mph with Palou just a fraction slower at 228.026. They were the only drivers to top 228, while Palou had the fastest trap speed of the day at 237.220.
“We have, we think, found some speed in other areas,” said Jack Harvey, Daly’s teammate with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. “So, generally, they’re just all excited to try and I think, I mean I think we were good the last month of May, but I think we can be a lot better this year.”
Harvey has been fast all month, though he finished 14th on Wednesday at 225.100.
The weather created ideal conditions for speed and the drivers didn’t disappoint.
Daly, the stepson of speedway president Doug Boles, seems to be making the most of his first and possibly only IndyCar start of the season. He was one of five drivers to top 225 on Tuesday, then backed that up with an even better performance Wednesday.
David Malukas was the strongest of Team Penske’s drivers, finishing third at 227.139, just behind Palou, the Spaniard who has won four series crowns and is the defending 500 champ. Graham Rahal and France’s Romain Grosjean rounded out the top five.
Though most of the 33 drivers stayed on the track as long as they could over the final 75 minutes, crew members for three previous race winners — Ryan Hunter-Reay, Helio Castroneves and Alexander Rossi — were also busy trying to fix problems.
Hunter-Reay, of Arrow McLaren, had a radio issue. Castroneves, of Meyer Shank Racing, had an issue with the car’s balance, while Rossi’s Ed Carpenter Racing crew worked on the engine.
Drivers return to the track Thursday then will receive a turbocharge boost Friday before making four-lap qualification runs on Saturday and Sunday. The race is scheduled for May 24.
It hasn’t just been busy on the track.
One day after series officials announced their second rule change of the month, race organizers announced all reserved seats have been sold for the second straight year and the third time since 2016. That also means fans in central Indiana will be able to watch the telecast live.
And NASCAR team BRANDed Management announced it would give 45-year-old British driver Katherine Legge a chance to qualify for the Coca-Cola 600. If Legge qualifies for both races, she’ll become the first woman to attempt racing’s “double” — 1,100 miles of racing in one day — a half century after Janet Guthrie arrived at the Brickyard with the hope of qualifying for the 33-car starting grid. When that didn’t happen, Guthrie wound up starting NASCAR’s World 600, which is now known as the Coca-Cola 600.
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