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Newgarden begins another quest to win elusive Indianapolis 500

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Newgarden begins another quest to win elusive Indianapolis 500


INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Josef Newgarden walks into an interview at Indianapolis Motor Speedway waiting for the question. Again.

The two-time IndyCar champion realizes his annual May tradition is about to begin and he knows it’s going to remain this way until he finally joins the Indianapolis 500 winner’s club.

Until then, the most successful driver among the series’ 30-something generation will cope with it in his own laid-back manner.

“You tune it out,” Newgarden said Tuesday, just feet away from the rain-drenched yard of bricks he yearns to kiss. “It’s about the process. I’m more interested in doing the things I like being here for; everything else is more just noise.”

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Make no mistake — Newgarden desperately wants to be called a 500 champion. And at age 32, it’s the only significant line missing from what appears to be a Hall of Fame resume.

His 26 career wins are tied for 15th all-time and rank fourth among active competitors. Twenty-six drivers in series history own multiple series crowns and only 12 own more titles than Newgarden, who has been the runner-up each of the past three seasons.

The most recent win, last month at Texas, extended Newgarden’s streak of consecutive seasons with at least one win to nine, and he’s reached victory lane at 10 of this season’s 14 venues including Indy’s 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course.

Only Detroit, which will use a new street course this year; Portland, Laguna Seca and his hometown of Nashville, where he’s posted four top-six finishes in nine career starts; and Indy’s oval are missing.

And despite being 0 for 11 on the world’s most famous oval, Newgarden has been in the annual mix.

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He was among the top qualifiers in six of his first eight Indy starts, posted six top-10 finishes here with three different teams from 2014-20 and is one of two drivers to have completed every lap of the last five 500s. The other is six-time series champ and 2008 Indy winner Scott Dixon and both have completed every lap in seven of the last eight 500s.

“That’s good, you’ve got to do that,” Newgarden said. “That’s part of giving yourself an opportunity, you’ve got to be on the track, you’ve got to be up front when it matters.”

But Newgarden is hardly alone when it comes to being shut out at Indy.

Michael Andretti led more 500 laps than any other non-winner and his father, 1978 world champion Mario, and son, Marco, have started 57 races without celebrating a win since Mario’s lone win in 1969. Marco Andretti hopes to end that streak May 28.

In 2013, fan-favorite Tony Kanaan ended his 0-for-11 streak with a popular post-race milk bath. Helio Castroneves, Newgarden’s former teammate, won three times in his first nine Indy starts then needed 11 more to become the fourth four-time winner in 2021. Newgarden was there, too, when his teammate Will Power finally ended a 10-year Indy drought in 2018.

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“I’ve always said it’s a team sport and that’s something people don’t realize,” Castroneves said. “You need a lot of things to go right. You need to be in the right place, you need a little bit of luck and in the end, the track needs to pick you.”

The good news is Newgarden is with the right team.

Since Roger Penske returned to the IndyCar Series in 2001, only two full-time drivers have failed to win a 500 — Newgarden and Ryan Briscoe, who hasn’t competed in the series since 2015.

Still, the waiting is the hardest part especially for someone as successful as Newgarden.

“I know how I would feel if I was him,” said 2019 Indy winner Simon Pagenaud, also a former teammate. “I would definitely be anxious about getting it done before my career ends. It’s the biggest race you want on your hunting board so it’s the one you want the most. If you can’t get it, it’s very frustrating.”

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But Newgarden hasn’t shown it.

He’s finished in the top five in points seven straight seasons and heads into this weekend’s two qualifying days sixth in points after winding up seventh in Saturday’s Indianapolis Grand Prix.

Newgarden had the fastest car on the oval during last month’s testing, has been unflappably consistent since joining Team Penske and shows no indication of being distracted this month. He just wants to put a stop to the seemingly endless questions the best way he knows how — winning.

“I couldn’t imagine what it’s like winning the Indianapolis 500,” he said as rain washed out the first scheduled day of Indy practice. “For me, it’s as simple as what’s going to be, is going to be. I just work on what I can control and if it works out that would be beautiful.”

___

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports





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Indianapolis, IN

A Yard Of One’s Own – Indianapolis Monthly

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A Yard Of One’s Own – Indianapolis Monthly


Credit: Angela Jackson/Indianapolis Monthly

REALTOR Summer Hudson was always waiting for the perfect midcentury modern home to hit the market and lure her away from her beloved Irvington. On Hudson’s popular TikTok channel, Find a Lot to Love, she cooed over original 1960s woodwork and intact bathrooms for the 207,000 followers who enjoyed watching her walk through houses for sale in Central Indiana. But the eXp Realty agent’s own family needed a yard for their 5-year-old daughter more than she needed a pristine Avriel Shull A-frame, so she gave her husband, Ryan Sloan, one criterion: Find a house with the exact same layout as their 3,000-square-foot Irvington ranch, plus a yard, and she’d move.

Lo and behold, he did, in Crows Nest. The three-bed, two-bath house has a circular layout with semi–open concept living, dining, and kitchen spaces and, as a bonus, a pool on the half-acre lot. “I always said I’d never turn down a pool,” Hudson says. The home had been sitting on the market for a while because, in Hudson’s opinion, the listing for 1,800 square feet was misleading; the homeowners couldn’t include the 1,200-square-foot finished attic because the ceiling was too low. Additionally, the photos didn’t do the home justice. “From the outside, it looks tiny and bungalow-ish, but you don’t realize how deep it goes,” she says, adding that the images didn’t showcase the layout’s attractive flow, either. The couple got it under list price for $410,000, and Hudson, who uses the attic as her office, has no regrets—her dream midcentury home can wait. Downsizing forced the couple to purge, and they discovered the joys of a simplified lifestyle. “I’m actually spending more time with my kid out- side. That has been the most amazing part of all of this,” Hudson says.

FAVORITE FEATURE
The nature-filled backyard

PURCHASE DATE
March 2024

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NEIGHBORHOOD
Crows Nest

SQUARE FOOTAGE
1,800





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Indianapolis man sentenced to 110 years for 2021 double homicide

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Indianapolis man sentenced to 110 years for 2021 double homicide


INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An Indianapolis man has been sentenced to 110 years in prison for his role in a north side shooting that resulted in the death of two men during a $20 marijuana deal in 2021.

The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office announced the sentencing of 21-year-old Camran Perry on Thursday, following a jury’s verdict after a two-day trial. In July, Perry was found guilty of two counts of murder and carrying a handgun without a license, a release said.

Andrew Jones, 21, and Blake Coffman, 20, died in a shooting about 6:45 p.m. Dec. 1, 2021, in the 8800 block of Westfield Way at the 9000 Westfield apartments. That’s just southeast of the intersection of East 91st Street and Westfield Boulevard.

Investigators interviewed a witness who reported hearing “three loud thumps” and seeing a man in a gray sweatsuit standing behind the victims’ vehicle before fleeing the scene. The witness, along with others, then approached the vehicle and called the police.

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Two cellphones were recovered at the scene. Investigators obtained warrants for the phones, one of which belonged to Coffman.

According to a release, on Coffman’s phone, which was logged into his personal Instagram account, investigators found video chats and private messages indicating his intention to meet someone at the location of the shooting. The other user of this account deleted their account just hours after the incident. Digital forensics teams traced this account back to Perry.

Perry was taken into custody on Jan. 10. Initially, he denied knowing either of the victims, but later confessed to meeting up with them to make a purchase. Perry later admitted to engaging in a verbal altercation with Coffman and Jones, before shooting both men, police say.

Prosecutor Ryan Mears issued the following statement after the conviction:

“Young people having easy access to firearms leads to them making poor, split-second decisions that result in senseless deaths and tragedy,” stated Prosecutor Mears. “It is incumbent upon us to continue to empower young people with the tools to be mindful of the long-term consequences of gun violence in order to avoid tragedies like this.”

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Indy promoter hopes education leads to a safer Indianapolis

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Indy promoter hopes education leads to a safer Indianapolis


INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis event promoter Teddrick Hardy is disappointed that violence has become prevalent in the Circle City.

“It’s very frustrating because I’m going to like my eleventh year in promoting and myself, alongside other promoters, put a lot of work in having successful, safe and joyful events,” Hardy said.

WRTV

Over the past couple of months, WRTV has reported on numerous parties and gatherings that have been held illegally or without proper permits.

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In some cases, these events have ended in violence.

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WRTV

“Our goal is to gather groups of people to come and see these establishments to spend money, to bring their friends out to celebrate,” Hardy explained.

Now, promoters like Hardy are learning from various Indianapolis government agencies to ensure events can continue in a safe manner.

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WRTV

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On Wednesday, these agencies hosted an ask the officials event aimed at answering promoters questions on how to properly organize and operate events.

“We all want safe events,” IMPD Deputy Chief Kendale Adams said. “We all want people to come and have a good time. It’s a part of what I did when I was young, and it’s important that we educate promoters on what that looks like.”

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Hardy is hopeful the event will lead to safer events being held in Indianapolis.

“I want to see Indianapolis become a better place,” he said.

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The full Ask the Officials meeting can be viewed here.





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