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Updated Schedule: 2018 Brickyard 400 Sunday, Xfinity 250 Monday

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INDIANAPOLIS, Saturday, Sept. 8, 2018 – The Indianapolis Motor Speedway regrets to announce that persistent rain has forced the postponement of all NASCAR track activity Saturday, Sept. 8 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard Powered by Florida Georgia Line for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will start at 1 p.m. (ET) Sunday, one hour earlier than previously scheduled. The Lilly Diabetes 250 for the NASCAR Xfinity Series is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday. The starting lineup for both races was set by the NASCAR Rule Book since qualifying for both races was rained out Saturday.

All tickets for the Lilly Diabetes 250 originally scheduled for today will be honored at the gate Monday.

“We’re sorry for any inconvenience that this inclement weather is creating for our fans,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said. “We appreciate their loyalty and hope we have a great day of on-track action for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series on Sunday and the NASCAR Xfinity Series on Monday. We are hopeful the forecast improves tomorrow and Monday so we can see the exciting racing that everyone has looked forward to all year.”

Originally scheduled for Saturday were practice and qualifying for the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard Powered by Florida Georgia Line (Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) and qualifying and the race for the Lilly Diabetes 250 (NASCAR Xfinity Series).

Via Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Canceled: FGL Fest at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

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INDIANAPOLIS, Saturday, Sept. 8, 2018 – We deeply regret to announce that today’s FGL Fest at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been canceled. This decision was made after a comprehensive review of current and forecasted weather conditions, and with the safety of event attendees as our top priority.

All concert tickets purchased online through Ticketmaster.com, IMS.com, FGLFest.com or LiveNation.com or at the IMS Ticket Office will be refunded. If tickets were bought with a credit card, a credit will be issued to the account used for the purchase. Credits will be issued from the point-of-sale vendor tickets were purchased from.

Via Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Questions: Franklin Central High School Shooting Threat on Snapchat

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Monday night we were made aware of a Snapchat threat made towards Franklin Central High School in Indianapolis, which from what we can gather, stemmed from a fight at the school earlier in the day.

We’ll preface this with most of the updates we saw were from individuals on Facebook, so take it with a grain of salt until it can be verified.

The Snapchat screenshot we saw stated, “If you go to franklin central high school don’t go tomorrow someone is shooting up the school”.

Statement From Franklin Central High School Principal

Here is the statement made on Facebook from Franklin Central High School principle Chase Huotari.

This evening we were made aware of a post made on social media directed at Franklin Central High School. The safety and security of our students is of the utmost importance. In conjunction with our school police department, we have investigated every lead and determined that this is not a credible threat.

It is unfortunate that someone has used social media to try and disrupt the educational process at Franklin Central. Our police department and administration will continue to investigate to determine who may be responsible for the post.

Again, the safety and security of our students is of the utmost importance. As a precautionary measure, there will be an increased police presence tomorrow.

Thanks,

Chase Huotari, Principal
Franklin Central High School

Questions and the Rumor Mill

Upon reading this it left us with an uneasy feeling and questions.

How was it determined that this wasn’t a credible threat?  You state that you’re trying to “determine who may be responsible for the post”, which insinuates that the sender is indeed unknown.

Do you know where it may have come from? Was it real? We don’t need names or details, just general information to put everyone’s minds at ease. Not offering this gets the rumor mill turning fast, which isn’t helpful for anyone. The amount of conflicting information and outright speculation that we saw was/is beyond absurd. Just the facts, please.

At first glance, it did seem like the investigation was completed quickly, which we saw many comments on, but the truth of the matter is that they said it was an ongoing investigation and that they didn’t deem it a credible threat. Fair enough, but that’s still enough uncertainty to not put one’s mind at ease. As the leader, you need to assure everyone that everything is fine, but people are going to question a vague response, especially given the fact that there was a school shooting in central Indiana a mere three months ago.

And finally, did the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) get involved in this investigation? Every mention specifies the school police, not the local police department.

School police are nice for normal situations, but you really need someone with more authority in this sort of situation. One would assume that school police are limited in what they can actually do on a legal level, however, we are unable to find any information on the Franklin Township Community School Corp. website regarding their police department to verify what level of authority that they do have.

Bottom line, keep the children as safe as possible and don’t make it appear that potential threats are just being dismissed, even when we all know better than that. The mind is a funny thing and will question every move you make and every word you use in such a situation detrimental to our survival and our children’s survival when the “fight or flight” responses kick in.

IMPD on the Scene

Circling back to IMPD, yes, we heard that they were indeed aware of the situation and that they were indeed at Franklin Central High School patrolling this morning along with the school police department.

However, we have not yet seen a public statement as to the extent of either department’s involvement.  But we would assume that if anything substantial is revealed, we will hear about it.

UPDATE: August 21, 2018 @ 1:24pm

https://www.facebook.com/fchsflashes/photos/a.445622982199073/1883925745035449/

Social Media

For those wanting to keep updated, be sure to follow along with the school & IMPD on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/fchsflashes/

https://www.facebook.com/IMPDNews

https://www.facebook.com/fchsflashes/posts/1882669818494375

Video: Geoffrey Esper Beats Joey Chestnut at 2018 Ice Cream Eating Championship

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Geoffrey Esper, currently ranked fourth in Major League Eating, won the second Prairie Farms World Ice Cream Eating Championship on Sunday, August 5, 2018, at the Indiana State Fair by eating 15.5 pints of ice cream in 6 minutes. Joey Chestnut came in second with 14.5 pints of ice cream.

Miki Sudo still holds the world record by eating 16.5 pints of ice cream in six minutes, which was set last year.

2018 Ice Cream Eating Championship Results

1 Geoffrey Esper 15.5 pints in 6 min
2 Joey Chestnut 14.5
3 Juan Rodriguez 12
4 Dud Lite Dudzinski and Derek Jacobs 11.5
6 Adrian Morgan 11.25
7 Gideon Oji and Matt Hazzard 11
9 Matthews Raible and Cohen 7.25
11 Meliss Klabel 5.5

Bachelor Host Slams Indy ABC Network, Gets Roasted By Indy 500 Fans

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Chris Harrison, host of the “reality” show The Bachelor, sent out a tweet on Monday night whining about The Bachelorette getting preempted by the Indy 500 Victory Banquet.

Harrison tweeted, “Very sorry to hear #ABC Indianapolis fans are getting screwed over tonight and not getting #TheBachelorette Call your local affiliate and let them know how you feel.”

https://twitter.com/chrisbharrison/status/1001255887393116161

The response that ensued certainly isn’t what he was after. Grab a beverage and we’ll let the Indy 500 fans take it from here.

https://twitter.com/Denise_Hayden/status/1001289935629045760

https://twitter.com/wbrfan21/status/1001291633563000833

https://twitter.com/Emilyvsays/status/1001277344445861888

https://twitter.com/unstableracefan/status/1001289284052275200

https://twitter.com/naptownbri/status/1001295001329061888

https://twitter.com/Jacob_Sampson/status/1001289419935039488

https://twitter.com/kedie14/status/1001302256359178241

https://twitter.com/Vanasdalan/status/1001309482994061314

https://twitter.com/jeffreysxton/status/1001286758359760898

https://twitter.com/FishTaco_SC/status/1001261647284011009

https://twitter.com/WeatherRant/status/1001303892125274113

https://twitter.com/RonaldWinegar/status/1001394323122991104

https://twitter.com/Constan85970325/status/1001311121872109568

https://twitter.com/pudgeyale92/status/1001309498169012226

And there’s more where that came from. But I think that gives you the general idea.

Will Power Earns His First Indy 500 Win

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As Will Power was about to finish off the biggest win of his racing career at the 102nd Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil, he couldn’t resist letting his emotions flow.

“On the white flag lap, I started screaming because I just knew I was going to win it,” Power said of the final 2.5-mile trip around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. “Unbelievable! Never been so excited.”

Power won “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” by 3.1589 seconds to etch his name into Indianapolis 500 history. It made him the first Australian winner of the race and the first driver to sweep both Verizon IndyCar Series races at IMS in the same year. He also piloted the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet to victory lane in the INDYCAR Grand Prix on the IMS road course on May 12.

“This month was one of the best months I’ve had,” said Power, the 2014 series champion. “Very relaxed, in tune with my engineer, just working really well. It just came together.”

Power led 59 of the 200 laps Sunday and outlasted a trio of competitors – Oriol Servia, Stefan Wilson and Jack Harvey – who unsuccessfully tried to stretch fuel loads to the finish. Running fourth on the final restart from a caution period with seven laps to go, Power quickly passed Servia and then delighted in watching as Wilson and Harvey both had to stop for splashes of ethanol with four laps remaining.

“They both pit; it’s like the gates opened,” Power said. “It was amazing.”

Power’s first Indy 500 win was also the 34th victory of his 14-year Indy car career, tying the 37-year-old with Al Unser Jr. for eighth place on the all-time list. It also marked the 17th Indy 500 win for Team Penske and 201st Indy car triumph for the storied team – both records.

“He won this race today because he was the best,” team owner Roger Penske said.

“This closes the book for what he wanted to accomplish in INDYCAR: win a championship (2014), now is tied for winning the most races as an Indy driver for the team (31) and the Indy 500 is something that he wanted to do from the very beginning. … He’s in a different world right now, which is important.”

Ed Carpenter Earns Best Indy 500 Finish

Pole-sitter Ed Carpenter led a race-high 65 laps before finishing second in the No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet. It’s Carpenter’s best Indy 500 result in 15 starts.

“I’ll feel pretty good about this in a couple days, I think,” said Carpenter, the only current owner/driver in the series.

“It’s been a few years since I had a top-10 finish, so this feels good. All in all, I thought Will won the race and we ended up second, and we’ll be happy with that. Come back stronger next year.”

Scott Dixon, Alexander Rossi & Ryan Hunter-Reay Round Out The Top 5

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon led a trio of past Indy 500 winners who finished third through fifth, followed by Andretti Autosport teammates Alexander Rossi (fourth place) and Ryan Hunter-Reay (fifth place). The race tied the record established a year ago for most drivers to lead the event: 15.

Seven cautions slowed the pace for 41 laps. All but the first resulted from single-car incidents.

2018 Indy 500 Accidents Claim 3 Former Champions

Defending Indy 500 champion Takuma Sato ran into the back of a slower James Davison to bring out the first yellow on Lap 48. Several veterans found conditions treacherous in a race that was nearly the hottest Indy 500 on record. The official high temperature at nearby Indianapolis International Airport, 91 degrees Fahrenheit, was a single degree shy of the record set in 1937.

Ed Jones crashed into the Turn 2 SAFER Barrier on Lap 58 in the No. 10 NTT DATA Honda. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver, complaining of head and neck pain, was transported to IU Health Methodist Hospital, where he was examined and released. Jones will be re-examined by INDYCAR medical officials before being cleared to race.

Danica Patrick, in the last race of her groundbreaking career, spun and crashed in the No. 13 GoDaddy Chevrolet exiting Turn 2 on Lap 68.

“The car was a little bit positive today and turning more than I wanted it to,” said Patrick, 36. “I was just having to chase it a lot. Turn 2 did seem a little bit more edgy than the other corners, but I can’t say that in that point in time that I was on edge or felt like I was. It just swung around as soon as I recommitted back to the throttle again.

“I’ve had a lot of good fortune here and still had some this month. It just didn’t come on race day.”

Four-time Indy car champion Sebastien Bourdais had his race come to an end when he crashed in Turn 4 on Lap 139. The same happened to three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves on Lap 146.

“I guess when I went to pass Hunter-Reay on the outside, maybe got a little debris on the tire,” Castroneves said. “I don’t know, that was obviously the first time. … But this time, unfortunately, the rear just over-rotated.”

Tony Kanaan, the 2013 Indy 500 winner, crashed in Turn 2 on Lap 189, bringing out the final caution to set up Power’s drive to victory.

With the Indy 500 paying double race points, Power vaulted into the championship lead after six of 17 races in 2018. He leads Rossi by two points, reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion Josef Newgarden by 10 and Dixon by 25.

SOURCE: INDYCAR

Indianapolis Indians 2018 Opening Day Roster

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INDIANAPOLIS – The Indianapolis Indians, in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Pirates, today announced their Opening Day roster for the 2018 season. Outfielder Austin Meadows – ranked by Baseball America as the second-best prospect in Pittsburgh’s farm system and No. 44 overall in professional baseball – headlines the group.

First-year manager Brian Esposito, the club’s 61st skipper in team history, returns 13 players from Indy’s 2017 division championship squad. Like the ’17 team, the roster has a blend of up-and-coming prospects and veterans with major league experience. Joining Meadows as top 10 Pirates prospects, according to Baseball America, is infielder Kevin Newman (No. 5) and Indy’s Opening Day starter, Nick Kingham (No. 8). Infielder Kevin Kramer (No. 12), Pirates 2017 Minor League Player of the Year, Jordan Luplow (No. 13), infielder Max Moroff (No. 16) and right-hander Tyler Eppler (No. 29) round out Indy’s top prospects.

Following Kingham in the rotation are four right-handers – Eppler, Alex McRae, Austin Coley and Casey Sadler – with McRae and Coley both having pitched for Double-A Altoona during its 2017 Eastern League Championship run. The bullpen is right-handed heavy and welcomes one returner, Ohio State University product Brett McKinney, who is joined by Tanner Anderson, Johnny Hellweg, Tyler Jones, Damien Magnifico and Richard Rodriguez. Hellweg, Magnifico and Rodriguez have each had brief big-league stints in their respective careers.

Returning catcher Jacob Stallings headlines backstop duo after finishing his 2017 campaign with a Triple-A batting average north of .300. Ryan Lavarnway, 30, a veteran with 140 major league appearances under his belt, will share duties with Stallings.

Five of the Tribe’s seven listed infielders played for Indy last season. Two newcomers, Kramer and first baseman/outfielder Jerrick Suiter, join Moroff, Newman, Jose Osuna, Erich Weiss and Eric Wood. Moroff belted a career-high 13 home runs for the Tribe in 2017, while Wood pounded a career-high-tying 16 dingers.

The Tribe outfield features Meadows and Luplow, 2017 Indy Indians MVP Christopher Bostick and 29-year-old Todd Cunningham. Last year, Bostick finished fourth in the International League in batting (.294) and was an IL midseason All-Star.

Overall, eight of the Indians’ 25 active players are currently members of Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster.

Pitchers

# Name Pos Bat Thw Ht Wt DOB Status MLB 40-man
16 Tanner Anderson P R R 6′ 2″ 195 05-27-1993 Active No
10 Austin Coley P R R 6′ 2″ 203 07-14-1992 Active No
19 Kyle Crick P L R 6′ 4″ 220 11-30-1992 Active Yes
Montana DuRapau P R R 5′ 11″ 175 03-27-1992 Restricted No
36 Tyler Eppler P R R 6′ 5″ 230 01-05-1993 Active No
22 Johnny Hellweg P R R 6′ 7″ 235 10-29-1988 Active No
30 Tyler Jones P R R 6′ 4″ 240 09-05-1989 Active No
49 Nick Kingham P R R 6′ 5″ 225 11-08-1991 Active Yes
44 Damien Magnifico P R R 6′ 1″ 205 05-24-1991 Active No
38 Brett McKinney P R R 6′ 0″ 225 11-19-1990 Active No
28 Alex McRae P R R 6′ 2″ 220 04-06-1993 Active No
31 Richard Rodriguez P R R 6′ 4″ 205 03-04-1990 Active No
37 Casey Sadler P R R 6′ 3″ 220 07-13-1990 Active No
Kevin Siegrist P L L 6′ 5″ 230 07-20-1989 Suspended No

Catchers

# Name Pos Bat Thw Ht Wt DOB Status MLB 40-man
23 Ryan Lavarnway C R R 6′ 4″ 240 08-07-1987 Active No
32 Jacob Stallings C R R 6′ 5″ 220 12-22-1989 Active Yes

Infielders

# Name Pos Bat Thw Ht Wt DOB Status MLB 40-man
17 Kevin Kramer 2B L R 6′ 0″ 200 10-03-1993 Active No
2 Max Moroff 2B S R 5′ 10″ 185 05-13-1993 Active Yes
3 Kevin Newman SS R R 6′ 1″ 180 08-04-1993 Active No
13 Jose Osuna 1B R R 6′ 3″ 240 12-12-1992 Active Yes
45 Jerrick Suiter 1B R R 6′ 4″ 230 03-04-1993 Active No
6 Erich Weiss 2B L R 6′ 2″ 200 09-11-1991 Active No
14 Eric Wood 3B R R 6′ 1″ 210 11-22-1992 Active No

Outfielders

# Name Pos Bat Thw Ht Wt DOB Status MLB 40-man
7 Christopher Bostick LF R R 5′ 10″ 200 03-24-1993 Active Yes
27 Todd Cunningham CF S R 6′ 0″ 205 03-20-1989 Active No
24 Jordan Luplow RF R R 6′ 1″ 195 09-26-1993 Active Yes
15 Austin Meadows CF L L 6′ 3″ 210 05-03-1995 Active Yes
Daniel Nava OF S L 5′ 10″ 195 02-22-1983 7-day DL No

SOURCE: Indianapolis Indians