Alex Palou Wins the Indianapolis 500 Alex Palou’s historic start to the 2025 IndyCar season got even sweeter on Sunday. The 28-year-old Spaniard scored his maiden Indianapolis 500 victory after holding off 2022 race winner Marcus Ericsson in the final laps. Ericsson made his final pit stop at Lap 175, just a few laps later than Palou, and was able to come out of the pit lane ahead of Palou with his sights set on a second Borg-Warner Trophy. However, Palou didn’t let Ericsson get away. Trapped behind the lapped cars of Rahal Letterman Lanigan teammates Devlin DeFrancesco and Louis Foster, Palou bided his time and eventually went for the lead on Lap 187 with a daring pass on the inside heading into Turn 1. From there, Palou stayed behind the lapped RLL teammates and started to slowly gap Ericsson as the laps ticked down.
David Malukas and Pato O’Ward were not far behind in third and fourth. But it was Palou who was able to keep the lead during the waning laps. Rounding the final turns on the final lap, the yellow flag flew for a crash involving Nolan Siegel, sealing Palou’s fate as an Indianapolis 500 champion. The win continues an insane start for the Spaniard. Palou has now won five out of the first six IndyCar races this season as he now sets his eyes on a third consecutive series championship and fourth overall.
The Indiana Pacers Blow a Big Lead and Lose Game 3 to the New York Knicks The Indiana Pacers were up by as many as 20 points, but were not able to hold on, losing Game 3 to the Knicks, 106-100. The Pacers were outscored by 16 points in the fourth quarter. They still lead the Eastern Conference Finals, 2-1. “We’re not going to make excuses,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. “We’ve come back from big leads. We lost a lead today. Regardless of who’s out there, we got to be able to attack better and do the things to maintain it and finish the game. We simply did not execute as good as we needed to.”
“I don’t think our execution was great,” Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton said. “I didn’t do a good job of getting downhill and just making plays. I got to do a better job there. I think I’m relied on to do a lot down the stretch of games, get guys in the right positions. I feel like I didn’t do, personally, a great job of that.”
“It’s one game at the end of the day,” Pacers forward Pascal Siakam said. “For almost half of the game, you know, we played really, really good defense. We played really, really good basketball. The other half we didn’t. So, we just got to go back to that and just figure out what went wrong and just go right back at it.” The Pacers shot just 5-25 (20%) from three-point range in the loss. Haliburton led the Pacers with 20 points. Karl-Anthony Towns led the Knicks with 24 points. The Pacers led 58-45 at halftime. Game 4 is scheduled for Tomorrow night at 8 PM at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Kyle Larson Crashes in Both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca Cola 600 Kyle Larson’s day went from bad to worse Sunday night at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, leaving the talented young driver unsure if he will attempt to run “The Double” again. Larson was caught up in a wreck on Lap 246 of the Coca-Cola 600, ending a disappointing day in which he also crashed out at the Indianapolis 500 on Lap 91. Larson was bidding to become the second driver to finish both races and run the combined 1,100 miles. It didn’t go well. “I hate the way the day went,” Larson said. “I wish I could hit the reset button. I feel terrible for everybody, especially for (car owner) Rick Hendrick.” Larson tried to run The Double last year, but weather issues intervened. This year this issue was wrecks. “I guess it just wasn’t meant to be, I guess,” Larson said.
After getting checked out at the medical center at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Larson said he hadn’t determined if he will try to run The Double again next year, saying it’s too fresh. “The double is a tough undertaking,” Larson said. “The window of time is just too tight.” Larson started well Sunday night after beginning on the front row. He led early in the race but hit the wall on lap 38 and his car was never the same. He spun out a few laps later, sending him across the front stretch and forcing him into the pit’s multiple times for adjustments. He wound up near the back of the field, hoping for a top 10 finish. Then came the wreck involving Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe and Daniel Suarez as they ran three wide ahead of Larson off turn four. They got tangled up. Suarez spun across the track and clipped the right rear of Larson. Larson drove the wrecked No. 5 Chevrolet to the garage, ending his day.
He finished 37th. Larson arrived at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in plenty of the time for the race — unlike a year ago when he didn’t reach the track until 249 laps had been completed due to rain in Indianapolis that delayed the start of the Indy 500. Larson never turned a lap at last year’s Coca-Cola 600 as the race was called. Rain again delayed the start of the Indy 500 on Sunday, but Larson crashed out near the midway point Sunday, ending the NASCAR superstar’s second shot at finishing both “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” and the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte in the same day. In Indy, Larson had been mired deep in traffic throughout the first half of the race, which was delayed about 35 minutes because of a rain shower that passed over the speedway. He was going through Turns 1 and 2 when his car wiggled on a downshift, sending him into a spin and into the outside wall, ending his race after 91 laps.
“Just a bit crazy there on the restart,” he said. “I got like, tight behind Takuma (Sato). I was really close in. I got loose and kind of got all over the place, and yeah, so it spun. Just hate that I got a little too eager on the restarter. Hate it for everybody else.” Kyffin Simpson and Sting Ray Robb also were caught up in the crash. “When Kyle started losing it and checking up, I tried to go around the outside and there was just no grip out there,” Robb said. If he had made it to the finish in Indianapolis, he would have faced a tight window to make the 550-mile trip because of the rain delay, which soaked up most of the 45-minute buffer that his NASCAR team Hendrick Motorsports and IndyCar team Arrow McLaren projected for him. It was a rough day for Larson even before the crash. He also stalled the car on pit lane, costing him valuable track positions.
Larson took his first shot on one of the toughest challenges in motorsports last season, when even more rain wreaked havoc with his finely laid plans. That Indy 500 was delayed by 4 hours because of heavy rain that saturated Indianapolis Motor Speedway and caused him to be late to Charlotte, where the Cup Series race was underway by the time he landed. Then, more rain there caused the NASCAR race to be called complete before Larson ever took a lap in his car. John Andretti was the first driver to try the Indy 500-Coca-Cola 600 double in 1994, and Robby Gordon, Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch also have given it a shot. Stewart is the only one to complete all 1,100 laps, finishing sixth in the 2001 Indy 500 before the helicopter-jet-helicopter jaunt to Charlotte, where he finished third in the Cup Series race. “Just bummed out,” Larson said. “Try to get over this quickly and get on to Charlotte. Try to forget about it and win tonight.”
Sectional Softball Tournament Kicks off Today The IHSAA Softball State Tournament starts today all around the State of Indiana as teams are looking for that State Championship that will be decided in Mid-June as four state champions will be crowned at Bittinger Stadium on the Purdue University Campus. In Class 4A at Terre Haute South Bloomington South will face Terre Haute North at 1 PM with the winner taking on Terre Haute South tomorrow night in the second semifinal at 7:30 PM. Bloomington North will face Martinsville in the first semifinal tomorrow night at 5:30 PM with the Championship Game scheduled for Wednesday Night at 7 PM. Bloomington South finished 10-7 overall and 4-1 in Conference Indiana sharing the title with Columbus North and Terre Haute North. Bloomington North finished 5-15 overall and 1-4 in Conference Indiana. Terre Haute North is 22-6 overall while Terre Haute South is 5-17 and Martinsville 13-16. The last time a Bloomington school won the Sectional was Bloomington North in 2016. Bloomington South last won a Sectional title in 2015. Bloomington South has won eight sectional championships and Bloomington North has won six Sectional Titles.
In Class 3A Edgewood is looking for a three peat and there 14th overall sectional title as the 19-5 Mustangs face 0-6 Indianapolis Washington at 1 PM at Edgewood. Owen Valley 9-13 faces Cascade 18-5 in the first game at 11 AM. The Owen Valley/Cascade winner will face 5-9 Speedway tomorrow night at 6 PM in the first semifinal. 11-12 Northview will face the Edgewood-Indianapolis Washington Winner at 7:30 PM with the Championship Game scheduled for Wednesday Night at 7 PM. Edgewood shared the Western Indiana Conference title with Indian Creek who both finished with a 9-1 record as the Mustangs won four games in three days in the final week of the regular season. Edgewood beat Indian Creek 6-3 in 8 INN, West Vigo 5-2, Owen Valley 8-6 and North Putnam 3-2 as they enter the sectional red hot winning 11 of their last 12 and having a major advantage hosting this sectional with the home crowd behind them.
Bloomington North Wins Its First Unified Track and Field Sectional Championship The Bloomington North Cougars scored 121 points to win the IHSAA Unified Track and Field Sectional Championship Saturday afternoon at Jasper High School. It’s the first sectional championship for the Cougars and the Fourth in the Last Five Years for the Bloomington Schools. Bloomington South who finished third with 105 points won three Sectional Championships in 2021, 2023 and 2024. The Panthers will advance the Regional with second place Evansville North who scored 111 points as the Top Three Teams advance to Saturday’s Regional at Franklin High School this Saturday at 11 AM and top three teams will advance to State Finals. Edgewood finished ninth with 69 points. Unified Track and Field combines athletes with and without intellectual disabilities on the same sports team, promoting inclusion, friendship and social interaction. It’s partnership between Special Olympics Indiana and the IHSAA that dates back to 2014 when the first Unified Track and Field State Finals were held on the Indiana University Campus.
Indy Eleven takes down Knoxville SC in the USL Jägermeister Cup Indy Eleven forward Elvis Amoh scored his eighth goal in the last seven matches to propel the Boys in Blue to a 1-0 USL Jägermeister Cup Round 2 victory at One Knoxville SC on Saturday night. In the 47th minute, Amoh stole a back pass off a free kick at midfield, took one dribble, and fired a laser from 45 yards out into the top of the net for his third Jägermeister Cup goal in two games. The Ghana native scored in five consecutive matches from April 19-May 10, recording the second-longest scoring streak in franchise history. Amoh almost scored in the 14th minute after a quick throw-in by Bruno Rendon to forward Maalique Foster, who centered to Amoh, but Elvis’ shot hit the crossbar. In 62 minutes, Amoh led the Boys in Blue in shots (5) and shots on target (2). Midfielder James Murphy helped his team to a season-high 17 shots with team bests of five chances created, 14 crosses, and 40 completed passes.
With the victory, Indy Eleven stays on top of the Jägermeister Cup Group 3 standings with six points (2-0 record) and a +5-goal differential after its second match of four in the group stage. The Boys in Blue have not allowed a goal in Jägermeister Cup play in their two matches, with goalkeeper Reice Charles-Cook earning his second clean sheet in Cup action this season. The Lewisham, England, native made a quality save in the 38th minute on Gio Calixtro’s shot from the left side. In the 49th, Charles-Cook punched a shot by Jordan Skelton over the top. One Knoxville had another scoring chance in the 77th from substitute Nicola Rosamilia, but his shot missed over the top.
Charles-Cook made six saves in 119 minutes in Indy Eleven’s 1-0 overtime victory vs. Miami FC in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Third Round on April 16. His last action was a 10-save performance (tied for second-most in franchise history) in the Open Cup Round of 32 match at Philadelphia Union on May 7, a 1-1 draw with Union advancing in penalty kicks. Jägermeister Cup play continues for Indy Eleven on June 28 vs. Birmingham Legion FC.