INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indianapolis 500 has sold out its grandstands for the first time in nearly a decade, and the local TV blackout that has been in place since 1951 has been lifted so fans in central Indiana will be able to watch the race live.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Doug Boles said Monday that while its roughly 230,000 grandstand seats had sold out, general admission infield tickets were still available. He expects a crowd of about 350,000 race fans — or about 1 for every 1,000 people living in the U.S. — will be at the track Sunday for the 109th running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing."
“From our longest-tenured ticket-holders who have been coming to the Racing Capital of the World for generations to new fans who've recently fallen in love with this iconic event, everyone has contributed to this exciting and historic moment,” Boles wrote in a letter to fans. “I am grateful for the support and passion you have for this race and this place.”
The lifting of the local TV blackout is good news for Fox, which will be broadcasting the race for the first time, as well as NBA fans in central Indiana. Normally, the race would be aired locally after its conclusion Sunday evening, creating a conflict with the Pacers set to host the Knicks in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference final the same night.
“Fox Sports is all in on IndyCar, and this is an incredible accomplishment to celebrate with our first Indy 500 broadcast,” Fox Sports chief executive Eric Shanks said. “As a lifelong fan, I am also personally thrilled to see the grandstands filled on race day and look forward to broadcasting the race live in central Indiana.”
The first sellout since the 100th running in 2016 had been imminent with Boles telling fans late last week that few grandstand tickets were still available. And the biggest reason for such fevered anticipation is that storylines abound.
Josef Newgarden will be going for a record third consecutive Indy 500 victory, but now will do it from the rear of the field after his car and that of Team Penske teammate Will Power were found to have an illegally altered piece, resulting in a disqualification from the final rounds of qualifying. Power also will start from the rear of the field.
Their other teammate, Scott McLaughlin, will be running a backup car after a hard crash in practice last Sunday.
Two-time defending IndyCar champion Alex Palou, who finished second in 2021 and fifth last year, will be going for his first Indy 500 win. The 28-year-old Spaniard has been dominant in the series this season, winning four of the first five races.
Indy 500 rookie Robert Shwartzman, who has dual Israeli and Russian nationality, will start on the pole after a stunning showing by Prema Racing, which likewise is making its 500 debut. The last rookie to qualify on the pole was Teo Fabi in 1983.
Meanwhile, NASCAR star Kyle Larson will be trying for the second time to complete “the Double” by running all 1,100 laps of the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte on the same day. Tony Stewart in 2001 is the only driver to have accomplished it.
“This really is about the fans,” Boles said of the sellout. “This event has been here for 108 runnings up to this point — the 109th coming up — because of the way fans have embraced it. It is a race, but it's so much more than that. It's an event.”
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Robert Shwartzman, of Israel, celebrates after winning the pole position during qualifications for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Alex Palou, of Spain, drives into the first turn during practice for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
FILE - Josef Newgarden crosses the finish line to win the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 26, 2024. (AP Photo/AJ Mast, file)
ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.
Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.
Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.
U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.
"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”
Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.
Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.
“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”
Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.
U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.
Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.
Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.
Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.
"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.
The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.
The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.
“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.
“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”
The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
