Indianapolis, IN

Kyle Busch declares SVG favourite for Indianapolis NASCAR race – Speedcafe.com

Published

1 year ago

July 22, 2023

Kyle Busch declares SVG favourite for Indianapolis NASCAR race – Speedcafe.com

Shane van Gisbergen celebrates his Chicago NASCAR win. Image: Supplied

Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch has declared Shane van Gisbergen the favourite for the Indianapolis road course race, but expects team-mate Brodie Kostecki to be “strong” as well.

There will be two Supercars Championship drivers in the field at The Brickyard next month when Kostecki makes his Cup Series debut in a third Richard Childress Racing (RCR) entry, six weeks after van Gisbergen won on his own debut on the streets of Chicago.

“I would say he is the favourite going in, for sure,” remarked Busch of the two-time Bathurst 1000 winner.

“I would say that the gap will be closer from Chicago to the rest of the field that he had.

“He had us all beat by six to eight tenths of a second a lap; I would say going into Indy we should all be within two to three tenths, but he will still be the best guy.”

Kostecki’s deal was facilitated in part by a link between his Erebus Motorsport Supercars team and RCR through Andrew Dickinson, who is nowadays an engineer on Busch’s #8 Chevrolet Camaro.

Dickinson formerly worked for the Image Racing Super2 team which is closely aligned to Erebus, and RCR recently bought an ex-Image VF Commodore.

Now, ‘Bush’ (Kostecki) and Busch have both driven that Supercar in the United States, which the latter found to be an eye-opening experience.

“We tested together our V8 Supercar that we have at RCR earlier this year,” recounted Busch.

“So, he was there when we first went out and I think he had me covered by about two seconds a lap and then as the day kind of progressed, and by the end of the day, we actually ran times that were real comparable and right on top of his.

Brodie Kostecki will make his NASCAR Cup Series debut at Indianapolis. Image: Supplied

“It just took me a while to get used to those cars and what they are and how you can really attack corners; just various driving techniques that those cars take.

“But, I think those guys are all very good at what they do, and they really understand the heavy stock car feel and basis for these road courses, so I would assume that he will be strong as well.

“Hopefully I can lean on him and learn a lot from him and have some time in the sim and stuff like that with him that will allow us to be better off when we get there as well and better prepared.”

Busch did not go into intricate detail about what he learned from Kostecki, but it would not be surprising if one of the things he took notice of was the heel-and-toe braking technique which is employed by most Supercars drivers.

NASCAR drivers typically do not use the clutch when they downshift, instead left-foot braking, but developed a “foot fetish” over how van Gisbergen went about his craft in Chicago, quipped the man himself.

While a handful of Supercars drivers left-foot brake, a number which is dwindling due to the traits of Gen3, the technique requires precision to prevent a rough downchange.

Van Gisbergen seemingly created an advantage for himself by being smoother than his rivals, noting “We use it a bit to control the rear locking,” and thus may also have prolonged his tyre life.

NASCAR is on the ‘Tricky Triangle’ of Pocono this weekend while the Supercars Championship continues next weekend with the Sydney SuperNight.

Van Gisbergen and Kostecki will race at Indianapolis on the weekend of August 11-13 as part of a NASCAR-IndyCar double-header.

@BoziTatarevic sometimes you see cool things at race shops pic.twitter.com/M0ZADyffFu
— NrB (@nascarnrb) April 6, 2023

Kyle Busch. Image: James Gilbert/Getty Images

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Indianapolis, IN

Indiana Grown: 8th Day Distillery

Published

3 hours ago

August 3, 2024

Press Room

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Each and every Saturday, WISH-TV highlights a local company together with our partners at Indiana Grown.

This week, Jaime and Matt Lamping with 8th Day Distillery in Indianapolis joined News 8 at Daybreak.

The Lampings share with News 8 what started their passion for the distillery, and elaborate on how Indiana’s state laws at the time impacted their plans.

They also share more about their Bottle Shop & Cocktail Bar, which recently celebrated its sixth anniversary. They discuss their various workshops and show off new releases ready to hit your shelves this year.

Watch the full interview above to learn more.

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Indianapolis, IN

Report: Pirates Promote Top Pitching Prospect to Indianapolis

Published

10 hours ago

August 3, 2024

Press Room

Report: Pirates Promote Top Pitching Prospect to Indianapolis

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates are reportedly promoting one of their top pitching prospects in their minor league system, getting him closer to the MLB.

Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reported that the Pirates will promote right-handed pitcher Bubba Chandler from Double-A Altoona Curve to Triple-A Indianapolis Indians.

Sources: Top Pirates prospect Bubba Chandler is being promoted to Triple-A Indianapolis.
Chandler tossed seven innings of one run ball tonight for Altoona. He has pitched to a 2.61 ERA with 10.6 K/9 since the start of June.
Chandler is ranked as @MLBPipeline‘s No. 49 prospect.
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— Alex Stumpf (@AlexJStumpf) August 3, 2024

Chandler played for North Oconee High School in Bogart, Ga., 60 miles east of Atlanta. He starred in multiple sports, including basketball, golf, football and baseball. He originally committed to Georgia to play baseball, but then decommitted and committed to Clemson to play both football and baseball.

He had a fantastic senior season for North Oconee, going 8-1 with just a 1.25 ERA, plus 96 strikeouts in 44.2 innings pitched, while hitting .411 with eight home runs, 12 doubles and 35 RBI.

The Pirates would select Chandler with the No, 72 overall pick in the Third Round of the 2021 MLB Draft and signed him for $3 millon signing bonus, an over slot signing.

He pitched and also played shortstop for the Rookie-Level Florida Complex Pirates in 2021 and 2022 and then earned promotion to the Bradenton Marauders in the Single-A Florida State League.

Chandler chose to focus on pitching heading into the 2023 season, which would show his best talents. He started 24 games for the Greensboro Grasshoppers in High-A, with a 9-4 record, 4.75 ERA in 106.0 innings pitched, making 120 strikeouts to 51 walks and holding hitters to a .265 batting average.

He made it up to Altoona for just one game in 2023, allowing just one hit in five innings of work and getting the win.

Chandler has played all of 2024 in Double-A, starting 16 of 19 games, a 6-7 record, one save, one shutout. He also had a 3.70 ERA in 80.1 innings pitched, allowing 55 hits, 33 earned runs and 26 walks, while making 94 strikeouts and holding hitters to a .192 batting average, along with having a 1.01 WHIP.

His last start came Friday night against the Richmond Flying Squirrels, allowing just two hits and one run in 6.0 innings pitched, while making six strikeouts on 80 pitches.

Chandler has also pitched great since the start of June, with a 2.61 ERA and 10.6 K/9.

MLB Pipeline ranks Chandler as the No. 49 prospect in their top 100 across baseball, the No. 9 right-handed pitcher and No. 12 pitcher. They also rate him as the highest Pirates prospect.

Make sure to visit Pirates OnSI for the latest news, updates, interviews and insight on the Pittsburgh Pirates.

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Indianapolis, IN

National discount retailer to make it's way to downtown Indianapolis

Published

17 hours ago

August 2, 2024

Press Room

National discount retailer to make it's way to downtown Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS — The downtown Indy building Claypool Court is getting a new retailer.

Officials hope major names like Burlington will bring more Hoosiers and visitors to Mile Square.

WRTV

“There’s definitely a lot of higher-end restaurants right around this area, so I think bringing in some retail stores isn’t a bad idea,” Wesley Slaughter, who lives downtown, said.

The store will sit at Washington and Illinois Streets, an area Slaughter says will be a good fit because it’s a heavily trafficked intersection.

“I could see it being beneficial to get more people in the area because otherwise you have to drive outside of 465 just to hit one of those stores,” Slaughter said.

TJ Maxx has been a big part of the downtown retail scene for many years, but now there is some competition with the Burlington that’s going to be a couple of doors down.

WATCH RELATED COVERAGE | Downtown Indy’s Future Plans announced

Downtown Indy’s future plans announced

“We’re excited anytime that there’s a new addition to the retail landscape here in downtown Indianapolis,” Taylor Schaffer, with Downtown Indy Inc., said.

Schaffer says this is just part of a pipeline of new projects and development coming to the area.