Indianapolis, IN

Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden promotes IndyCar weekend at Grimes Hy-Vee

Published

2 years ago

June 10, 2024

Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden promotes IndyCar weekend at Grimes Hy-Vee

Two-time reigning Indianapolis 500 winner Josef “Ovals” Newgarden stopped in Iowa on Monday to promote the IndyCar Doubleheader weekend at Iowa Speedway in Newton on July 13-14.

Newgarden finished second at Road America on Sunday, behind teammate Will Power. Newgarden has not seriously considered changing his middle name to “Ovals,” but it would suit him. He has won five of the seven IndyCar races at Iowa Speedway since 2019 and six of the 10 IndyCar races there since 2016. Since 2020 Newgarden has won 11 of the last 20 oval races in the NTT IndyCar Series.

Newgarden held an autograph session Monday for hundreds of fans at the Grimes Hy-Vee store to promote the Hy-Vee sponsored IndyCar weekend at Iowa. He won both races at Iowa last year.

“I’ve always liked this track. I like this style of racing,” said Newgarden, a Nashville resident. “Short-oval racing in IndyCar is very exhilarating. To me it’s like a high-speed corner on a road course over and over again.”

Newgarden later stopped by the MidAmerican Rec Plex in West Des Moines to compete against drivers ages 10-18 in simulated races.

Newgarden won his second straight Indianapolis 500 on May 26 when he passed Pato O’Ward in turn three of the last lap. There have been four last-lap passes in Indianapolis 500 history. Newgarden has two of those. He is only the sixth driver to win the Indianapolis 500 back-to-back, and the first since Helio Castroneves in 2001 and 2002.

“It’s very gratifying to get a win at that track. I had kind of given up on the thought of winning that race, or the reality of winning it,” Newgarden said. “Then it finally turned our way last year. To think that it’s going to happen again, it’s a thought that you let go of also. So I’m very thankful we’ve been able to win two of them.”

For the third straight year, Hy-Vee will promote and sponsor the IndyCar doubleheader at Iowa Speedway in Newton. Races are scheduled for 7 p.m. on July 13 and 11 a.m. on July 14.

All four turns at Iowa Speedway were partially repaved in May. Two lanes of the entrances and exits of turns two and four were repaved, leaving only a small section of the original track near the wall in each turn. The front stretch and back stretch have not been repaved.

The repaves left only a racing groove on the inside lane. Thankfully they repaved two lanes of the track, Newgarden said.

“The risk of repaves is that you lose a second lane,” Newgarden said. “I hope that doesn’t happen on our weekend where the bottom lane becomes the dominant layer. What made Iowa so fun is that you could run two solid lanes and sometimes even a third lane.”

But the new pavement starts about halfway into the corner, Newgarden said.

“So you’re going to be entering at low grip and then have high grip in the middle. So I think it’s also going to be challenging from that standpoint.”

Much of the IndyCar season has been overshadowed by the fallout from a decision that stripped Newgarden of his season-opening win at the St. Petersburg Grand Prix in Florida. During that race Newgarden and teammates Power and Scott McLaughlin had cars that contained an illegal line of code in the car’s software that gave them access to push-to-pass — a 50-horsepower boost that can be used to pass opponents during certain situations on road and street courses — at any time. Newgarden and McLaughlin “gained a competitive advantage by using push-to-pass on restarts,” in violation of the rules, IndyCar said in an April news release when penalties were announced.

Team Penske and Newgarden blamed the error on testing last year for the series’ hybrid system. Some fans and members of the paddock still have questions about the situation, but the sport has largely moved on after Newgarden won his second Indianapolis 500.

Newgarden crashed during qualifying for Saturday’s race at Road America in Wisconsin. The crash had the force of 95 gravitational equivalents, and Newgarden was subjected to 80 gravitational equivalents, according to NBC Sports.

“I’m OK. I’m OK surprisingly. It was a pretty big hit, but I’m good,” Newgarden said.

This weekend Iowa Speedway will host its first NASCAR Cup Series race, about two-years after Hy-Vee partnered with IndyCar to re-open the mostly dormant track. Hy-Vee will sponsor Saturday Xfinity Series race, one level below the top-level Cup Series, which races Sunday in Newton.

Iowa is an important track for IndyCar, which has few ovals on its schedule. NBC’s Kevin Lee warned in October on his Indianapolis radio show “Trackside” that when NASCAR moves a Cup Series date to an existing IndyCar track it often foreshadows bad things for the IndyCar race.

“Generally speaking when NASCAR has come in for a first race or a second race, it has not gone well for IndyCar, and in many cases it has spelled doom,” Lee said on his show. “There is a limited amount of budget that people have to come to the racetrack twice within a month.”

But when Hy-Vee revived the track in 2022, the goal was always to bring a Cup Series date there, Hy-Vee executive vice president Anna Stoermer said last month.

Hy-Vee expects IndyCar partnership during Indy 500 to fuel growth

“That’s been one of the cooler things about our IndyCar sponsorship, is that it’s opened the door for the Iowa Speedway to get a huge event there,” Stoermer said at the time.

Like Stoermer, Newgarden said he is encouraged by the ticket sales and attendance projections he’s seen so far for the IndyCar weekend. Several times during a 17-minute conversation Monday, Newgarden said that Hy-Vee elevated the IndyCar weekend and racing in general in Iowa.

“We’ve got a lot of great destinations in Iowa. I think Iowa firmly has its position. Knoxville is a great stake in the ground, but Iowa Speedway is too,” Newgarden said. “What Hy-Vee has done to bolster the sport, mostly IndyCar, but that includes NASCAR, I think is really positive. We like coming here. I like Des Moines a lot. Newton isn’t too far away. So it rallies everyone around it. So I think Iowa firmly has its place in motorsports.”

Philip Joens covers retail and real estate for the Des Moines Register. He can be reached at 515-284-8184, pjoens@registermedia.com or on Twitter @Philip_Joens.

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Indianapolis, IN

ALERT DAY: Tornado threat north this evening; severe threat sinks south overnight

Published

12 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

ALERT DAY: Tornado threat north this evening; severe threat sinks south overnight

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TORNADO & HAIL THREAT NORTH THIS EVENING
STORMS SINK SOUTH OVERNIGHT
STORMY FOR THE WEDNESDAY MORNING COMMUTE

Severe weather will be possible for some this evening in northern locations. Most of central Indiana will remain storm-free until after midnight. The rare (for Indiana) Moderate Risk has been issued for far northwestern parts of the state this evening. Super-cell storms are expected to develop and move northeast along a cold front. Strong tornadoes will be possible, as well as very large hail, up to baseball size, in the most intense storms. The Moderate Risk is a threat level 4 out of 5.

WRTV

The best chance for the most severe storms this evening will be north of a line from Lafayette to Hartford City. If you live in this area, be very weather aware this evening and have a plan in place with your family. South of that line, we likely won’t see much storm activity until after midnight. This is when the line will start to sink south. It will weaken as it does so, but severe weather will still be possible, as well as flooding from very heavy rain.

Plan ahead for your Wednesday morning commute. Whether or not the storms are still severe, heavy rain is expected, and localized flooding will also be possible. The ground is very saturated from all the recent rain. Strong wind, hail, and even an isolated tornado will still be possible. The severe threat is just lower given the timing and how this will unfold in the weather setup.

Once the rain ends and we start to clear out, temperatures will tumble.

Indianapolis Weather Forecast:
This Evening: Severe storms north. Mostly cloudy elsewhere.
Overnight: Storms sink south. Low: 64°
Tomorrow: Stormy morning. Then drying out. Temps fall. High: 69°
Thursday: Mostly sunny. High: 49°

Indianapolis 7-Day Weather Forecast

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Indianapolis, IN

Indianapolis isn’t known for skyscrapers, but these are the 10 tallest buildings

Published

24 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Indianapolis isn’t known for skyscrapers, but these are the 10 tallest buildings

Salesforce Tower is the tallest building in Indianapolis, standing at 701 feet with 49 floors.
The top three tallest buildings were all completed between 1969 and 1990.
One of the top ten, the Signia by Hilton, is currently under construction and expected to be finished in 2026.
Many of the city’s tallest buildings have been known by several different names over the years.

While Indianapolis isn’t exactly known for it’s tall buildings, we do have quite a few that tower above the city. The tallest, is visible nearly 10.5 miles outside the city.

These are the 10 tallest buildings in Indianapolis, according to Skyscraper Center.

1. Salesforce Tower

Salesforce Tower is the tallest building in Indianapolis. It’s located at 111 Monument Circle.

Construction on this building was completed in 1990. The office building boasts 49 floors and towers over the city at 701 feet tall.

It has also been known as the Chase Tower, the Bank One Tower and the American Fletcher Bank Tower.

2. One America Tower

The second tallest building in Indianapolis is the One America Tower. It is located at 200 N Illinois St., has 38 floors and is 533 feet tall.

The building was completed in 1982 and was previously known as the American United Life Insurance Tower.

3. One Indiana Square

The One Indiana Square building is the third tallest building in Indianapolis at 504 feet tall.

The building was completed in 1969 and has 37 floors. It has also been previously known as Union Planters Bank, Indiana National Bank Tower, INB Tower and NBD Bank Tower.

4. Signia by Hilton Indianapolis

Signia by Hilton, previously known as the Indianapolis Convention Center Hotel, is currently under construction, but is the fourth largest building in Indy.

The building is set to have 37 floors and be 441 feet tall once construction is complete, which is expected to happen in 2026.

5. Market Tower

Market Tower, located at 10 West Market Street, is the fifth tallest building in Indianapolis at 421 feet.

The building was completed in 1988 and has 32 floors. It has also been known as the Mansur Center.

6. 300 North Meridian

300 North Meridian, which shares a name with its address, is 408 feet tall and has 28 floors.

The building was completed in 1989 and is the sixth tallest building in Indianapolis.

7. BMO Plaza

BMO Plaza, located at 135 North Pennsylvania St. is 401 feet tall.

The building has 31 floors and was completed in 1988. It has also been known as M&I Plaza, First Indiana Plaza and Marshall & Isley Plaza.

8. JW Marriott Indianapolis Downtown

Perhaps one of the most visually recognizable on this list, the JW Mariott Indianapolis, located at 10 South West St. is the eighth tallest building in Indy.

The large blue hotel was completed in 2011, stands at 376 feet and has 34 floors. Over the years, the hotel has put giant images on the side of the building to celebrate current events in both sports and pop culture.

9. City-County Building

The City-County Building, located at 200 East Washington St. is the the ninth tallest building in Indianapolis.

The building was completed in 1962 and is 372 feet tall with 28 floors.

10. 101 West Ohio

The tenth and final building on this list is 101 West Ohio. The building, which shares a name with its address, is 360 feet tall and has 22 floors.

The office building was completed in 1987 and was previously known as Old National Financial Center.

Katie Wiseman is a trending news reporter for IndyStar and Midwest Connect. Contact her at klwiseman@usatodayco.com. Follow her on Bluesky @katiewiseman and X, formerly Twitter, at @itskatiewiseman.

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Indianapolis, IN

IMPD reinforces downtown safety as crowds grow with warmer weather

Published

1 day ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

IMPD reinforces downtown safety as crowds grow with warmer weather

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indiana Metropolitan Police Department is reinforcing downtown safety as crowds grow with warmer weather.

This comes after a violent weekend that included an early Monday morning shooting, and in a separate incident, an officer and a security guard were hit by an impaired driver.

Police say the shooting that happened Monday near Maryland and Meridian Streets was caused by a fight that broke out at bar in the area and escalated into a shooting at a nearby parking lot. IMPD says a woman has been arrested in connection with the shooting.

IMPD Downtown District Commander Shane Foley says officers were able to take control of the situation quickly.

“Officers were there when the shooting occured, and then because of their presence, they were able to make a very quick arrest, and arrest another individual for possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon,” Foley said. He says the response from the officers is exactly what he expects to see as the temperatures continue to get warmer.

People who like to spend their time downtown on the weekends say they enjoy that there are things to do, but think the violence is getting out of hand.

“It just gets crazy at night for real, and then, everybody just drinking and stuff and they can’t control their liquor,” Indianapolis resident Schuyler Landrum said.

“Chill out man, you gotta know your limits when you’re drinking because stuff like that can happen. People who don’t go to clubs and stuff, we’re trying to have fun downtown but you guys are getting wild and drunk and stuff, so lets just help each other man,” resident Peyton Bush said.

Officers say they hear the public’s concerns and are doing what they can to prevent incidents before they escalate. Last week, IMPD announced the installation of new public cameras downtown to help assist with monitoring and crime prevention.

“If you come downtown and you engage in illegal activity, because we have people all over the place, the likelihood of you being arrested is increased. We’re being very proactive with our policing, and if we need to be reactive in making arrests, we’re doing that as well,” Foley said.

People who are frequently downtown say that they hope things get better, but one man says he believes he’s noticed an increase in crime downtown, especially among the youth. “Start thinking before you act, you know? It’s just the way it is,” he said.

“Our officers are working diligently to keep everybody safe. As we have more events, we’re going to have more officers downtown. We want people to not only be safe, but feel safe, visiting, living, working in Downtown Indianapolis,” Foley said.

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