CINCINNATI — Lou Anarumo added a Bengals coach to his staff in Indianapolis. According to Tom Pelissero, former linebackers coach James Bettcher is joining Anarumo down the highway.

Bettcher was the Bengals LBs coach for the past three seasons, taking over for now-defensive coordinator Al Golden. He coached with Anarumo during the 2018 season in New York as well.

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We’re still four months away from the Greatest Spectacle in racing. The 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, but it’s never too early to start dreaming of the Indianapolis 500. Josef Newgarden has won the last two runnings of the race, and to no surprise, he’s the favorite for the 2025 edition. Let’s dive in and take a look at the way too early 2025 Indianapolis 500 odds and some of the best bets to make today.

As mentioned in the open, Newgarden has won back-to-back Indianapolis 500s for The Captain Roger Penske. Marcus Ericsson, Hélio Castroneves, and Takuma Sato round out the winners of the last five races. NASCAR’s Kyle Larson will once again attempt “the double” racing in the Indianapolis 500 then fly to Charlotte, North Carolina to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. His attempt last year was thwarted by rain affecting both races. He was running in the top five late in the race before a speeding penalty on pit road put him out of contention.

Way Too Early 2025 Indianapolis 500 Odds

Josef Newgarden +650
Pato O’Ward +700
Kyle Larson +850
Scott McLaughlin +950
Alex Palou +1000
Scott Dixon +1000
Will Power +1200
Alexander Rossi +1200
Colton Herta +1400
Santonio Ferrucci +1400
David Malukas +1800
Hélio Castroneves +2000
Kyle Kirkwood +2000
Marcus Ericsson +2000
Takuma Sato +2200
Connor Daly +2500
Felix Rosenqvist +3000
Ed Carpenter +3500
Rinus Veekay +3500
Christian Lunngaard +4000
Graham Rahal +4500
Ryan Hunter-Reay +5000
Marcus Armstrong +6500
Marco Andretti +6500
Jack Harvey +7500
Christian Rasmussen +7500
Callum Ilott +7500
Kyffin Simpson +15000
Nolan Siegel +15000
Robert Shwartzman +15000
Devlin DeFrancesco +17500
Sting Ray Robb +20000
Louis Foster +25000
Jacob Abel +25000

Way Too Early 2025 Indianapolis 500 Odds and Best Bets

The Favorites

It’s no surprise that Newgarden is the favorite after winning back-to-back 500s in addition to being known as the “oval king” in IndyCar. Pato O’Ward has finished second in two of the last three runnings of the race and top six in four of his five starts in the race. Kyle Larson is widely considered one of the best race car drivers in the world and stood up to the test last year until the late penalty. He checks in third on the list and will no doubt be in contention.

Scott McLaughlin was last year’s pole-sitter. His sixth-place finish was the best of his career in four starts. 14th was his previous best finish. Alex Palou, the champion of the NTT Data IndyCar Series in back-to-back seasons checks in at 10/1. Palou finished fifth in 2024, his third top-five in the last four stars. Scott Dixon is a perennial contender in the race, 2025 will be his 23rd attempt at the Indy 500. Dixon won in 2008 and has nine top-five finishes in the race.

Notable Drivers

Will Power is the 2018 winner of the race, he makes his 18th career start in 2025. He hasn’t finished better than 14th in the last five races. Alexander Rossi has three straight top five finishes in the race and is the 2016 winner. Colton Herta only has two top 10 finishes in six starts. Santonio Ferrucci has never finished outside of the top 10 in all six career starts.

Hélio Castroneves is one of four drivers to win the race four times. He’ll make his first start in NASCAR’s Daytona 500 in February and returns to Indy for his 25th start in 2025. Marcus Ericsson wrecked out early in last year’s race but won the 2022 running, and finished second in 2023 despite leading with just a lap to go. Takuma Sato is a two-time winner of the race. Ryan Hunter-Reay won the 2014 running.

Best Bets

Scott Dixon (+1000)

You can make a plenty strong enough case for anyone at the top of the board, but Dixon is the first one who I’d want to bet on today. As the race gets close, that’ll be the time to look at the drivers who are atop the odds board more. The “Iceman” has 22 starts in this race. He’s sat on the pole five times. Has nine top-five finishes, 14 top 10 finishes, and won it all in 2008.

The Chip Ganassi driver has three top-three finishes in the last seven years and let one slip away in 2022 after winning the pole and leading 95 laps he was well on his way to a second Borg-Warner Trophy before a 1-mph speeding penalty cost him the victory. At 44 years old, Dixon still has plenty of winning ability, having won twice in the 2024 NTT Data IndyCar Series. He’s back with Chip Ganassi for another full-time season, and Dixon will be a player in the race. I don’t see his odds getting any better before May.

Marcus Ericsson (+2000)

Ericsson had a 2024 to forget, in just about every conceivable way. His transition from Ganassi over to Andretti Global was disastrous. He hardly even qualified for the Indy 500, starting in 32nd. He didn’t even complete a single lap in the race, being involved in a lap one wreck. There’s no doubt the 34-year-old Swede wants to just delete the season from memory.

Coming into 2025 Ericsson is “pissed off” and that’s what you want to see in a driver you are betting on. If they can get things figured out and going in the right direction to start 2025. He was a decision for a 1-lap shootout away from winning the race back-to-back in 2022 and 2023. Give me a driver like that, still in a good car at 20/1.

More Racing Content

Be sure to tune into the NASCAR GAMBLING PODCAST for more bets for the NASCAR Cup, Xfinity, and Truck Series, along with F1 and IndyCar bets, Underdog picks, DFS, and more! Join the Discord here.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — It’s the final weekend of the 103rd Indianapolis Home Show at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.  

The show features decorating, landscaping, construction and remodeling ideas.  

Today, HGTV Stars of the show “100 Day Dream Home” Mika and Brian Kleinschmidt joined News 8. 

“We love connecting with the fans, we love meeting everybody who loves our show, it’s just so great,” Brian said.

While many Hoosiers are visiting the home show, many wonder how it’s possible to finish renovations in 100 days.

“I feel like 100 is that magical number. You always want to get 100 percent on your test, right? When we first started we were actually doing spec houses a little bit quicker than 100 days,” Mika said. 

She goes on to say they love visiting home shows as they will even use products from vendors on their shows. 

“This is work, it’s a little bit of fun, you integrate with the fans. I like to shop with the vendors too, because I always like to see the new trends that are happening in design,” Mika said. 

Some of those newest trends she’s seeing?

“I feel things come back that were out of style. A lot of natural wood tones, a lot of more rich colors, actually ceiling detail, making sure that we’re not forgetting about the fifth wall,” Mika said. 

The Kleinschmidts will be speaking Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. in the Indianapolis Home Show. You’ll have the opportunity for pictures, autographs, and a Q&A session.