Indianapolis, IN
NASCAR returns to the Brickyard: History of Cup Series at Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval
Ryan Blaney NASCAR Cup Series win at Pocono Raceway
Blaney earns his second career victory at Pocono Raceway after a messy ending takes out 10 cars.
The NASCAR Cup Series is back on the oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Sunday’s Brickyard 400 after a three-season hiatus.
There has been good and bad throughout the 27 Cup Series races at the IMS oval, and those experiences have helped tell the story of why oval-reliant NASCAR shifted to the road course at the world’s most recognizable oval in 2021 and back again.
Here’s a quick run through the history of NASCAR at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway:
NASCAR debut at Indianapolis in 1994
NASCAR first approached the idea of running a race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1992 with a tire test. A year later, IMS and NASCAR announced the race date for the first weekend in August 1994.
Think of IMS and the Indianapolis 500 at that time as the motorsports version of Augusta National and the Masters in terms of exclusivity and exposure. The Masters takes place in early April, and that was the lone major golf tournament at Augusta National year-round. The Indianapolis 500 took place throughout a few weeks in May, and that’s all race fans around the country saw of IMS until the next year’s race.
The inaugural Brickyard 400 was a true spectacle in the modern history of NASCAR. Eighty-six cars entered the race for 43 spots. Among other drivers, 59-year-old A.J. Foyt made the field while Charlie Glotzbach failed to qualify in his final career Cup Series race attempt.
Jeff Gordon, who moved from California to Indiana as a kid to jumpstart his young racing career, won the inaugural race after a late-race duel with Ernie Irvan. The Charlotte Observer’s Tom Higgins wrote in the next day’s edition that “there are predictions (the Brickyard 400) will widen the popularity of Winston Cup racing.”
The 400 almost instantly became one of the crown jewel events on Cup schedule, and the popularity of NASCAR did increase through the 1990s and 2000s. Until it stopped.
Kissing the bricks is Indy tradition, born from the Brickyard 400 and Dale Jarrett in 1996
The Brickyard 400 has had a long-term impact on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy 500 in at least one aspect.
After wining the 400 in 1996, Dale Jarrett and crew chief Todd Parrott led their Robert Yates Racing team to the brick-laid start-finish line to kiss the bricks at the Brickyard.
The late Scott Brayton did kiss the bricks after winning the pole for the 1995 Indy 500, but Jarrett, Parrott and the entire No. 88 Robert Yates Racing team sealed the tradition with a postrace kiss of the bricks.
Kissing the bricks is now synonymous with winning at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, much like drinking milk in victory lane.
Tire issues in 2008 was lowpoint of the Brickyard 400
NASCAR and Goodyear have never missed the mark so badly as they did with the tire they brought to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2008.
The track failed to take on rubber throughout the weekend, leading to major tire degradation during the 400. Several cars suffered cut tires and major damage because of it during the race, forcing NASCAR to stagger competition cautions and use extra tire sets to get through the full 160 laps. NASCAR president Mike Helton even joined the ESPN broadcast booth to assuage concerns.
The race, won by Jimmie Johnson, contained six competition cautions for tire wear, with the longest green-flag run at 13 laps. By the end, race pace had notably slowed as drivers shifted into survival mode.
“You don’t need me to tell you what happened on Sunday was a joke,” The Charlotte Observer’s David Poole said to lead off his race-day observations in the July 28, 2008, edition of the paper.
“The lamest spectacle in racing,” read one headline in the July 28, 2008, edition of the Indianapolis Star.
Race shifts to IMS road course in 2021
Attendance at Indianapolis Motor Speedway sagged significantly in the 2010s, and the quality of racing waned.
Still, it was notable in the fall of 2020 when NASCAR announced the IMS race date would take place on the road course in 2021. The Cup and Xfinity Series ran races on the IMS road course from 2021-2023, and both the track and the racing wasn’t a clear step up. For one, the inaugural Cup road course race featured an issue with curbing through turns 5 and 6, which caused multiple issues and many wrecked race cars for simply trying to race through the corners.
But it also was the preeminent oval-racing series in the world running a road course at the preeminent oval track in the world.
That has changed in 2024, and the Brickyard 400 is back.
NASCAR Indianapolis: Brickyard 400 previous winners
- 2020: Kevin Harvick
- 2019: Kevin Harvick
- 2018: Brad Keselowski
- 2017: Kasey Kahne
- 2016: Kyle Busch
- 2015: Kyle Busch
- 2014: Jeff Gordon
- 2013: Ryan Newman
- 2012: Jimmie Johnson
- 2011: Paul Menard
- 2010: Jamie McMurray
- 2009: Jimmie Johnson
- 2008: Jimmie Johnson
- 2007: Tony Stewart
- 2006: Jimmie Johnson
- 2005: Tony Stewart
- 2004: Jeff Gordon
- 2003: Kevin Harvick
- 2002: Bill Elliott
- 2001: Jeff Gordon
- 2000: Bobby Labonte
- 1999: Dale Jarrett
- 1998: Jeff Gordon
- 1997: Ricky Rudd
- 1996: Dale Jarrett
- 1995: Dale Earnhardt
- 1994: Jeff Gordon
NASCAR Cup Series Indianapolis race TV schedule, start time
- Green Flag Time: Approx. 1:30 p.m. CT on Sunday, July 21
- TV coverage: NBC (watch FREE on Fubo)
- Radio: IMS Radio Network (102.5 FM in Nashville)
- Streaming: FUBO (free trial available); NBC Sports app (subscription required); NASCAR.com and SiriusXM for audio (subscription required).
The Brickyard 400 will be broadcast nationally on NBC. Streaming options for the race include the NBC Sports app and FUBO, which offers a free trial to potential subscribers.
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
Indianapolis, IN
Businesses await next steps after Braun ends diversity program
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A business owner on Thursday said programs like Indiana’s now-discontinued Supplier Diversity Program get minority-owned businesses into the room.
Pierre Dunn owns DC One Connect, a construction contractor already certified as a minority-owned business by the city of Indianapolis.
Dunn says that certification helped him get a $3.5 million contract for the new IU Health patient care tower, among other projects. He said he was scheduled for an interview with the Indiana Department of Administration on Wednesday afternoon to get a state-level minority business certification. He learned early Wednesday morning that the interview was canceled.
“I gave him a call, and he said at this point, I was told to cancel all interviews,” Dunn said of his conversation with the person he was supposed to interview with. “And it was pretty quiet, and he said that’s all he could say at this point. It was shocking.”
An order from Gov. Mike Braun, issued Tuesday, backed up by an opinion from Attorney General Todd Rokita released the following day, ended Indiana’s Supplier Diversity Program in favor of a new Indiana Small Business Program, which is directed “to promote and facilitate the use of qualified Indiana small businesses in state procurement.”
Under the old program, the state had a goal of awarding 8% of state contracts to minority-owned businesses, 10% to women-owned businesses, and 3% to veteran-owned businesses.
The Indiana Department of Administration told “News 8” Indiana that it had 1,136 certified minority business enterprises and 1,509 certified women business enterprises. Certified businesses held more than $12.2 billion in state contracts. The Mid-States Minority Supplier Development Council said businesses it has certified generate nearly $9.5 billion in revenue each year and support more than 32,000 jobs.
Dunn says the value of programs like the Supplier Diversity Program is that they get people like him into the conversation when it comes time to bid on projects.
“They want to walk in a room with confidence that this is where I belong, I have a shot,” Dunn said. “It speaks more to the confidence of putting your name in the hat. And that changes communities. It encourages communities.”
Braun administration officials have said most minority-owned businesses will likely be eligible for the new small business program and, unlike the previous program, will have the opportunity to serve as prime contractors on state projects rather than subcontractors. The governor on Wednesday said his order aligns the state with recent Supreme Court rulings.
“I think this gives more freedom for anyone at the end of the scale, where you’re a small business, to be able to now be in a place to benefit from it,” he said. “It’s just getting us into a place where we won’t be handicapped by something that got confusing and no longer, probably, has currency.”
Dunn said the governor’s order reflects someone who has not had the same lived experiences as a minority business owner. He said he thinks the new small business program sounds good in theory and probably will still lead to state contracts for minority-owned businesses, but the governor will have to market the new program to minority-owned businesses.
“He could always come to my office, and we can go to those outreaches together and see how that participation, that campaign works out,” he said. “Let’s roll it out and see. It sounds great in theory, but practically, does it work? What he needs to understand is that it’s effective. When minority businesses are given the opportunities with a local, other local businesses, it changes our community.”
The governor’s order suspends all active and pending certifications but leaves state contracts in effect. Agencies are directed to continue to follow the terms of those contracts.
Indianapolis, IN
See ‘The Odyssey’ as Nolan intended at one Indiana IMAX theater
‘The Odyssey’ Anne Hathaway recalls sleep-deprived moment on set
“The Odyssey” star Anne Hathaway recalls a sleep-deprived moment on the set she blanked on her lines and how Christopher Nolan handled it perfectly.
“The Odyssey” director Christopher Nolan has long been an advocate for IMAX 70mm film, advising movie buffs to get the best viewing experience possible in special IMAX theaters.
Very few locations around the world are capable of projecting the film, however, with just 25 U.S. theaters airing Nolan’s newest movie in the special format.
Luckily, Indianapolis is among the locations where fans can see “The Odyssey” in 70mm at one IMAX location.
What is ‘The Odyssey’ about?
Based on Homer’s epic poem, the three-hour saga (in theaters July 17) follows Greek king Odysseus (Matt Damon) on his 10-year journey back to Ithaca to reunite with his wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), and son, Telemachus (Tom Holland). Throughout his journey Odysseus faces off against sirens, giants and sea gods.
What is a 70mm film projection?
70mm film projection is a wide high-resolution film gauge for motion picture photography, according to Indiewire. It is a process of projecting movies onto a big screen using a film print that is 70mm wide, which is about twice the size of regular 35mm film.
Nolan’s “The Odyssey” is the first major studio movie to ever be filmed completely with IMAX cameras, as they are notoriously costly, loud and bulky to operate, according to USA TODAY.
Why does Christopher Nolan prefer 70 mm film projection?
Nolan previously told the Associated Press he is a longtime fan of the filming method, creating other films like “Dunkirk” and “Tenet” with the large format film stock as well.
He explained that viewers are getting the feeling of 3D without the glasses, adding that the sharpness and clarity of the cameras immerse them in the world of the film.
“You rarely get the chance to really talk to moviegoers directly about why you love a particular format and why if they can find an IMAX screen to see the film on that’s great,” Nolan said. “We put a lot of effort into shooting the film in a way that we can get it out on these large format screens. It really is just a great way of giving people an experience that they can’t possibly get in the home.”
Where can you see ‘The Odyssey’ on 70mm film in Indiana?
Moviegoers can see “The Odyssey” in 15 perf/70mm film in the IMAX Theatre at the Indiana State Museum. As of Wednesday, July 15, some showings for opening weekend already were sold out.
Where are all 25 IMAX 70mm theaters showing ‘The Odyssey?’
Here’s where to see it in IMAX:
- Harkins Arizona Mills 25 & IMAX – Tempe, Arizona
- Regal LA Live & IMAX – Los Angeles, CA
- AMC Metreon 16 & IMAX – San Francisco, California
- Universal Cinema AMC at CityWalk Hollywood & IMAX – Universal City, California
- TCL Chinese Theater IMAX – Hollywood, California
- Regal Edwards Ontario Palace & IMAX – Ontario, Canada
- Regal Irvine Spectrum 21 + IMAX – Irvine, California
- Esquire IMAX – Sacramento, California
- Regal Hacienda Crossings & IMAX – Dublin, California
- Cinemark Carefree Circle & IMAX – Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Regal Colorado Center 9 & IMAX – Denver, Colorado
- AutoNation IMAX, Museum of Discovery & Science – Fort Lauderdale
- Regal Mall of Georgia & IMAX – Buford, Georgia
- Cinemark Seven Bridges & IMAX – Woodridge, Illinois
- IMAX Theatre at Indiana State Museum – Indianapolis, Indiana
- Celebration! Cinema Grand Rapids North & IMAX – Grand Rapids, Michigan
- Brenden Palms 14 & IMAX – Las Vegas, Nevada
- AMC Lincoln Square 13 & IMAX – New York, New York
- Cinemark Tinseltown Rochester & IMAX – Rochester, New York
- Regal UA King of Prussia & IMAX – King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
- Apple Cinemas Providence Place & IMAX – Providence, Rhode Island
- IMAX at the Tennessee Aquarium – Chattanooga, Tennessee
- Regal Opry Mills & IMAX – Nashville, Tennessee
- AMC Rivercenter 11 & IMAX – San Antonio, Texas
- Cinemark Dallas & IMAX – Dallas, Texas
CONTRIBUTING: Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY
Indianapolis, IN
NFL Trade Rumor: Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers emerge as top landing spots for $4M Cleveland Browns’ QB
The Cleveland Browns’ rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders has found his name regularly among trade speculations as the team reportedly received calls from rivals about him. Though the Cleveland Browns are seemingly not looking to trade him soon, the Indianapolis Colts and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have emerged as potential landing spots.
Which teams are interested in Shedeur Sanders?
Over the last three weeks, as ESPN insiders confirmed that the Cleveland Browns have been speaking to team about Shedeur Sanders, the New York Jets, the Indianapolis Colts and the Tampa Bay Buccanners have been linked to him.
What are insiders saying about the rumors?
Recently, NFL insider Michael Moraitis of the Big Lead noted in a recent report, “The Cardinals figured to go into the 2026 season with Jacoby Brissett as their starter, but the veteran is holding out and now his future is uncertain. General manager Monti Ossenfort is on the hot seat and cannot afford to turn the ball over to Gardner Minshew, and there’s no telling when Carson Beck will be ready. Sanders is no sure thing, but he at least offers the upside Minshew doesn’t, and the starting experience Beck doesn’t have.” NFL insider Michael Moraitis of the Big Lead added, “The Bucs and Baker Mayfield are in a contract standoff, and while the veteran is not going to hold out, he will be a free agent in 2027 if nothing changes. If Mayfield isn’t re-signed, the Bucs would be in the market for a new starting quarterback without any semblance of a potential long-term solution on the roster behind Mayfield.”
Contract details and salary cap implications
The rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders is currently on a 4-year, $4.647 million rookie contract with the team.For the team that trades for him, Shedeur Sanders would have a $1.005 million base salary in 2026.As per reports, trading Shedeur Sanders would instantly clear $781,310 in immediate 2026 cap space for the Cleveland Browns as the team takes a $335,535 dead cap hit from his accelerated signing bonus.
How will the trade affect the teams?
For the Indianapolis Colts, trading for Shedeur Sanders remains very affordable as he could be a $1.005 million insurance policy to push or backup Anthony Richardson.For the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, trading for Shedeur Sanders makes him a low cost backup quarterback ready to become the starter if Baker Mayfield leaves.
-
Mississippi25 seconds agoMississippi Lottery Mississippi Match 5, Cash 3 results for July 16, 2026
-
Missouri6 minutes ago
Missouri Lottery Pick 3, Pick 4 winning numbers for July 16, 2026
-
Montana12 minutes agoMissoula and Western Montana neighbors: Obituaries for July 17
-
Nebraska18 minutes agoObituary | Stephen C. Mason
-
Nevada24 minutes agoNevada Attorney Gen. Aaron Ford responds to what he calls President Trump’s ‘misleading speech on elections’
-
New Hampshire30 minutes agoWoman Taken To Concord Hospital On A Trauma Alert After A Rollover Crash On South Main Street
-
New Jersey36 minutes agoNY-NJ World Cup host group failed to register with state | Exclusive
-
New Mexico42 minutes agoExpectations Have Changed: UNM enters 2026 as a Mountain West title contender