Indianapolis, IN
PPG Extends Sponsorship With Indianapolis Motor Speedway & Team Penske
The new logo for the Brickyard 400 Presented by PPG
One of the longest-running “Business-to-business” relationships in professional sports will continue well into the future as PPG has extended its business relationship with the Penske Corporation.
This relationship dates to the early 1980s and its involvement is far reaching into the automotive industry with Penske’s vast number of car dealerships, as well as sponsorship of Team Penske in auto racing and its growing partnership with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The announcement was made Sunday at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
PPG is a global leader in paints, coatings and specialty materials. It announced a multiyear agreement to extend its presenting sponsorship of the Brickyard 400, a crown jewel of the NASCAR Cup Series schedule held annually at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
PPG also will continue as the Official Paint and Finishing Supplier of IMS as part of the long-term agreement.
The presenting sponsorship, which began in 2024 with the Brickyard’s 30th anniversary and return to the oval, adds to PPG’s historic legacy with the Brickyard 400. The first seven winners of the Brickyard 400 had their names inscribed on the coveted PPG Trophy.
As part of the extended sponsorship announcement, the logo for the 2025 Brickyard 400 presented by PPG also was unveiled. The logo incorporates the colors synonymous with PPG and its motorsports involvement, which signify the company’s focus to protect and beautify the world.
“For more than four decades, PPG has been one of the most trusted, innovative and dedicated partners in motorsports,” said Roger Penske. “We look forward to building on our long-term relationship with PPG and the opportunities that lie ahead as we continue to feature PPG and their commitment to enhancing our communities across IndyCar and NASCAR and at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.”
For more than 40 years, PPG also has maintained a partnership across Team Penske’s NASCAR and IndyCar programs.
As part of Sunday’s news, it was announced PPG also returns as a Team Penske partner in the NASCAR Cup Series, serving as an associate sponsor of the No. 2 Ford Mustang driven by 2022 Daytona 500 champion Austin Cindric, the No. 12 Ford Mustang driven by reigning Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney and the No. 22 Ford Mustang driven by two-time Cup Series champion Joey Logano.
“We are excited to build upon our extensive history with Team Penske, IndyCar and IMS,” said PPG Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tim Knavish. “To be able to expand and strengthen these relationships speaks to the commitment and success we’ve had together. I look forward to seeing the PPG name on Team Penske cars and at the Brickyard 400 for years to come.”
Team Penske’s most recent NASCAR victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway came with Cindric at the inaugural race on the road course during Brickyard Weekend 2021 in the No. 22 PPG Ford Mustang.
PPG works to develop and deliver the paints, coatings and specialty materials that our customers have trusted for more than 140 years.
Through dedication and creativity, PPG solves customers’ biggest challenges, collaborating closely to find the right path forward. With headquarters in Pittsburgh, PPG operates and innovates in more than 70 countries and reported net sales of $18.2 billion in 2023. PPG serves customers in construction, consumer products, industrial and transportation markets and aftermarkets.
On the team side, PPG will continue to play a major role in IndyCar and NASCAR.
The 40-plus year partnership between Team Penske and PPG – one of the longest-running business relationships in motorsports history – will continue in 2024 and beyond.
The distinctive blue-and-white PPG paint scheme will continue to be featured in NTT IndyCar Series competition as two-time series champion and back-to-back Indianapolis 500 winner, Josef Newgarden, will race the No. 2 PPG Chevrolet in 2024 and into the future.
Under the partnership extension, PPG will continue to serve as an associate partner on the No. 12 Chevrolet driven by two-time IndyCar champion Will Power, and the No. 3 Chevrolet driven by six-time IndyCar Series race winner Scott McLaughlin.
“Our relationship with PPG was really one of the first business-to-business partnerships of its kind in motorsports,” said Team Penske President Tim Cindric. “It began over 40 years ago, and we are really proud of everything we have accomplished together on and off the race track. Their commitment to motorsports has been far-reaching. We are looking forward to continuing to wear their colors in the winner’s circle for years to come.”
The Team Penske and PPG partnership began with the 1984 IndyCar Series season. Over the last 40-plus years, Team Penske and PPG have amassed unparalleled successes together.
Notable accomplishments include, 17 Indianapolis 500 victories, 11 IndyCar titles, four NASCAR Cup Series championships, three Daytona 500 wins, seven NASCAR Xfinity Series titles, four Australian SuperCars Championship triumphs and a Bathurst 1000 victory.
“I am honored and excited to continue representing PPG in the NTT IndyCar Series,” said Newgarden. “They are a legacy partner not only of Team Penske, but of the series as well. A company with terrific products deserves a beautiful paint scheme and the No. 2 PPG Chevrolet certainly has that. Fans love it as much as we do. I have a lot of wins with PPG, and I am looking forward to plenty more in the future.”
Team Penske’s most recent NASCAR victory at IMS came with Cindric in 2021 on the famed facility’s road course behind the wheel of the No. 22 PPG Ford Mustang. Team Penske and PPG have visited victory lane together 13 times across INDYCAR and NASCAR competition as a primary partner.
Indianapolis, IN
Mt. Vernon boys basketball wins program’s first state title
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Mt. Vernon High School boys basketball team has accomplished something it hasn’t done before – win a state championship.
The Marauders beat Crown Point 52-50 on Saturday night in the IHSAA 4A State Championship Game inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse. It’s the program’s first-ever state title.
Mt. Vernon senior guard Luke Ertel, the favorite to win Indiana Mr. Basketball, finished with a game-high 26 points. He also finished with 10 rebounds.
Indianapolis, IN
Love & fouls: How Ex-Pacers Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson were greeted in Indy
Bennedict Mathurin discusses the Clippers’ win over the Pacers
Bennedict Mathurin scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds to help the Clippers beat the Pacers 114-113 on Friday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
INDIANAPOLIS — Before they were traded together to the Clippers in February along with draft picks for Ivica Zubac and Kobe Brown, Bennedict Mathurin and Isaiah Jackson had both spent their entire NBA careers in Indiana.
The Pacers took Jackson in the first round of the 2021 draft and Mathurin in 2022. Jackson, who spent just one year at Kentucky before entering the draft, made his NBA debut at 19. Mathurin, who spent two years at Arizona was 20. Both of them viewed Indianapolis as the place where they became men and professionals.
So it meant a lot to them that they were warmly received in their first game back after the trade. The Pacers put together a tribute video combining their highlights and played it during the first timeout of Friday’s game, which the Clippers eventually won 114-113. Mathurin and Jackson got a big ovation then each got one again when they checked in the game off the bench.
“It meant the world,” Mathurin said. “It meant the world. Indy is my first home. I was able to get drafted over here and just being loved by the fans and most of the organization was great. I love the fans.”
There was clearly love from his teammates too, though it looked a lot different than the appreciation he got from the fanbase.
Mathurin was famous during his time at Indiana for his competitive nature and trash talk. He’s supremely confident in his game and driven by a desire to beat everyone at every competitive endeavor all the time. He talked trash with teammates who were guarding him in practice, telling anyone who tried that they couldn’t guard him, so naturally he did the same when they were taking him on in an actual game. It wasn’t clear exactly what words were being exchanged between Mathurin and his former teammates, but it was clear there were a lot of them.
“Always talk trash with Benn,” Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith said with a smile. “There was nothing that we hadn’t done before.”
The back-and-forth was particularly fiery between Mathurin and Pacers point guard Andrew Nembhard, Mathurin’s classmate from the 2022 NBA draft. Nembhard took on the assignment of guarding Mathurin whenever the two were in the game and he made a point to be physical with Mathurin, so much so that he seemed more willing to foul Mathurin than allow him to shoot. Nembhard picked up five fouls in 32 minutes — most of them on Mathurin — while Mathurin made 0 of 3 field goals in the first half and 2 of 8 for the game but also made 12 of 15 free throws for 17 points.
“It was fun, man,” Mathurin said. “He was talking a lot of crap. I did pretty well for an off night. He called it an off night. I don’t know. He couldn’t guard me. How many fouls did he have? Stop fouling me, you know what I’m saying? That’s the only way to stop me. But that’s my guy, man. That guy has a really, really bright future ahead of him. I consider him my brother. He’s got a lot of great things coming to his way. I’m super-blessed to compete against him. … He’s one of the best defenders in the league.”
The Pacers drafted Mathurin because they believed he could be one of the league’s best young scorers and he was during his time in Indiana. In 2022-23, he scored the third-most points of any rookie in Pacers history and became the first Pacers player since Rik Smits in 1989 to be named first-team All-Rookie. He averaged 16.1 points per game in his 3 1/2 seasons and is the third-leading scorer in the 2022 draft class behind only Orlando’s Paolo Banchero and Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams.
Mathurin was averaging 17.8 points per game for the Pacers when he was traded and he’s averaging 19.9 points per game since he was acquired by the Clippers on 14.4 field goal attempts per game, a career high. He’s had some issues with efficiency and is shooting just 19.7% from 3-point range (13 of 66), but he’s given the Clippers a potent scoring wing off the bench and he’s averaging 2.4 assists per game. That’s more than he ever averaged in a season for the Pacers.
“He’s been great at getting to the free-throw line and drawing fouls,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “But also, last game I think he had a career high in assists. Making the right play when guys are open. Making the right play, hitting the first open guy. I think last game he had seven assists, so just understanding what we need from him every single night.”
Jackson has also filled a needed role for the Clippers. He wasn’t getting much action as of the Pacers’ meeting with the Clippers in Los Angeles on March 4. At that point, he’d played in just three of 10 games with the Clippers and hadn’t played more than six minutes in any of them.
However in that game, promising young center Yanic Konan Niederhauser suffered a Lisfranc injury in his right foot which will keep him out for the rest of the season. Jackson stepped in and scored 10 points on 4 of 6 shooting and ever since he’s been starter Brook Lopez’s backup at center. Jackson scored in double figures in five of the last seven games. With four points on 2 of 2 shooting in Friday’s game, he’s made 15 consecutive field goal attempts over the last four games. He’s averaging 7.5 points and 4.6 rebounds on a remarkable 76.4% shooting in 17 games with the Clippers.
“He’s been very helpful,” Lue said. “I think his athleticism, being able to run the floor, get behind the defense on pick-and-rolls. And then, what’s huge for us is defensively, being able to switch 1 through 5 and being able to give teams different looks outside of Brook who is always in a deep drop. You come in with Isaiah who can switch 1 through 5 at times. And what’s surprised me the most is I didn’t know he could post up smaller guys. If you throw him the ball around the basket, he’s been finishing really well.”
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle has been pleased to see both find success in Los Angeles. They were ultimately willing to part with them, he said, because they believe in Zubac as their answer at center and because Mathurin was headed toward restricted free agency in the offseason and the Pacers weren’t sure they’d be able to keep him and a reasonable luxury tax figure. However, they did realize they were giving up good players.
“They’re guys we loved,” Carlisle said. “But it’s good players to get good players and then there’s economic issues involved too. We just weren’t going to be able to make it work with Benn contractually. The Clippers have found a guy that is a terrific young scorer.”
Dustin Dopirak covers the Pacers all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Pacers Insider newsletter.
Indianapolis, IN
Saints open with road victory in Indianapolis
A three-run first inning propelled the St. Paul Saints to a 4-2 opening night victory in Indianapolis Friday night.
An Alan Roden single drove home Gabriel Gonzalez and Kaelen Culpepper before Eric Wagaman’s base knock plated Emmanuel Rodriguez to stake the visitors to a quick 3-0 edge three outs into the game.
The Indians scored a lone run in the bottom of the first, and St. Paul’s 3-1 advantage held until the fifth, when a Culpepper single scored Walker Jenkins with the Saints’ final tally of the night.
Indianapolis logged one more run in the bottom of the sixth. However, starting pitcher Connor Prielipp and five relievers held the hosts to four total hits. Raul Brito claimed the win with 2 2/3 innings of relief of Prielipp, who tossed four innings of one-hit, one-run ball with five strikeouts and two walks. Brito struck out four, while allowing three hits, one run and one walk. Matt Bowman tossed a clean ninth with one strikeout to earn the save.
The Saints and Indians face one another twice more this weekend: at 3:05 p.m. Saturday and 12:35 p.m. Sunday.
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