Roger Penske sells a third of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar to Fox

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Roger Penske sells a third of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar to Fox

2025-07-31 22:59 Last Updated At：23:01

Penske Entertainment, the Roger Penske-owned entity that holds Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar among its assets, said Thursday it has sold one-third interest in the company to FOX.

The sale was described as a strategic investment and partnership designed to launch new growth for IndyCar and it includes a multi-year contract extension for Fox Sports' media rights deal with the open-wheel series. Fox Sports is in its first season broadcasting IndyCar.

Penske Entertainment expects the sale of part of the company to spearhead innovative and industry-leading racing and entertainment events, heightened digital strategy and immersive content focus, as well as enhanced promotion and star-building opportunities for IndyCar drivers.

“This partnership is built on long-standing trust and a shared vision for the future,” Roger Penske said in a statement. “Fox sees the incredible potential across our sport and wants to play an active role in building our growth trajectory.

"Lachlan Murdoch and his team, starting with Eric Shanks, are committed to our success and will bring incredible energy and innovation to IndyCar.”

Shanks is an Indiana native who grew up attending the Indianapolis 500 and has an affinity for IndyCar racing. He desperately wanted to add IndyCar to Fox Sports' properties and snagged the TV deal away from NBC Sports ahead of this season.

All races are broadcast on Fox making IndyCar the only series in the United States that does not air any of its events on cable. This year’s Indianapolis 500 on Fox averaged 7.01 million viewers — a 41% increase over last year and a 17-year high.

This season, IndyCar is averaging a 31% increase in viewership year-over-year.

“We’re thrilled to join the IndyCar ownership group at such a pivotal time for the sport,” said Eric Shanks, CEO & Executive Producer, FOX Sports. “IndyCar represents everything we value in live sports — passionate fans, iconic venues, elite competition and year-round storytelling potential.

"This investment underscores our commitment to motorsports and our belief in IndyCar's continued growth on and off the track. We’re excited to help elevate the sport to new heights across all platforms.”

The sale to Fox gives some clarity to the succession plan for Penske, who bought IndyCar and the speedway ahead of the 2020 season. He has long declined to discuss his succession plans although sons Roger Jr. and Greg are involved in the racing entities of the Penske Entertainment.

The sale of a portion of Penske Entertainment creates more seats at its leadership table moving forward, but Penske has remained steadfast in his determination that IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be generational assets for his family.

Penske, who is 88, still runs the day-to-day operations of all of his businesses, which includes racing teams in NASCAR, IndyCar, and IMSA and WEC sports car racing, as well as his billion-dollar transportation empire at Penske Corp.

Penske Automotive also owns multiple car dealerships and Penske is one of the largest BMW dealers in the United States. His race teams, the transportation business and his dealerships are not part of the Fox transaction.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Justice Department investigating whether Minnesota's Walz and Frey impeded immigration enforcement

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is investigating whether Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have impeded federal immigration enforcement through public statements they have made, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The investigation focused on potential violation of a conspiracy statute, the people said.

The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss a pending investigation by name.

CBS News first reported the investigation.

In response to reports of the investigation, Walz said in a statement: “Two days ago it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly. Weaponizing the justice system and threatening political opponents is a dangerous, authoritarian tactic.”

Walz’s office said it has not received any notice of an investigation.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s office did not immediately respond to an email and voicemail requesting comment.

The investigation comes during a weekslong immigration crackdown in Minneapolis and St. Paul that the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest enforcement operation, resulting in more than 2,500 arrests.

The operation has become more confrontational since the fatal shooting of Renee Good on Jan. 7. State and local officials have repeatedly told protesters to remain peaceful.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Liberian man who has been shuttled in and out of custody since immigration agents in Minnesota broke down his door with a battering ram was released again Friday, hours after a routine check-in with authorities led to his second arrest.

State authorities, meanwhile, had a message for any weekend protests against the Trump administration's unprecedented immigration sweep in the Twin Cities: avoid confrontation.

“While peaceful expression is protected, any actions that harm people, destroy property or jeopardize public safety will not be tolerated,” said Commissioner Bob Jacobson of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.

His comments came after President Donald Trump backed off a bit from his threat a day earlier to invoke an 1807 law, the Insurrection Act, to send troops to suppress demonstrations.

“I don’t think there’s any reason right now to use it, but if I needed it, I’d use it," Trump told reporters outside the White House.

The dramatic initial arrest of Garrison Gibson last weekend was captured on video. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan ruled the arrest unlawful Thursday and freed him, but Gibson was detained again Friday when he appeared at an immigration office.

A few hours later, Gibson was free again, attorney Marc Prokosch said.

“In the words of my client, he said that somebody at ICE said they bleeped up and so they re-released him this afternoon and so he’s out of custody,” Prokosch said, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Gibson’s arrest is one of more than 2,500 made during a weekslong immigration crackdown in Minneapolis and St. Paul, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The operation has intensified and become more confrontational since the fatal shooting of Renee Good on Jan. 7.

Gibson, 37, who fled the civil war in his West African home country as a child, had been ordered removed from the U.S., apparently because of a 2008 drug conviction that was later dismissed. He has remained in the country legally under what’s known as an order of supervision, Prokosch said, and complied with the requirement that he meet regularly with immigration authorities.

In his Thursday order, the judge agreed that officials violated regulations by not giving Gibson enough notice that his supervision status had been revoked. Prokosch said he was told by ICE that they are “now going through their proper channels" to revoke the order.

Meanwhile, tribal leaders and Native American rights organizations are advising anyone with a tribal ID to carry it with them when out in public in case they are approached by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

Native Americans across the U.S. have reported being stopped or detained by ICE, and tribal leaders are asking members to report these contacts.

Ben Barnes, chief of the Shawnee Tribe in Oklahoma and chair of the United Indian Nations of Oklahoma, called the reports “deeply concerning”.

Organizers in Minneapolis have set up application booths in the city to assist people needing a tribal ID.

Democratic members of Congress held a local meeting Friday to hear from people who say they've had aggressive encounters with immigration agents. St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, who is Hmong American, said people are walking around with their passports in case they are challenged, and she has received reports of ICE agents going from door to door “asking where the Asian people live.” Thousands of Hmong people, largely from the Southeast Asian nation of Laos, have settled in the United States since the 1970s.

Minneapolis authorities released police and fire dispatch logs and transcripts of 911 calls, all related to the fatal shooting of Good. Firefighters found what appeared to be two gunshot wounds in her right chest, one in her left forearm and a possible gunshot wound on the left side of her head, records show.

“They shot her, like, cause she wouldn’t open her car door,” a caller said. “Point blank range in her car.”

Good, 37, was at the wheel of her Honda Pilot, which was partially blocking a street. Video showed an officer approached the SUV, demanded that she open the door and grabbed the handle.

Good began to pull forward and turned the vehicle's wheel to the right. Another ICE officer, Jonathan Ross, pulled his gun and fired at close range, jumping back as the SUV moved past him. DHS claims the agent shot Good in self-defense.

FBI Director Kash Patel said at least one person has been arrested for stealing property from an FBI vehicle in Minneapolis. The SUV was among government vehicles whose windows were broken Wednesday evening. Attorney General Pam Bondi said body armor and weapons were stolen.

The destruction occurred when agents were responding to a shooting during an immigration arrest. Trump subsequently said on social media that he would invoke the Insurrection Act if Minnesota officials don’t stop the “professional agitators and insurrectionists” there.

Minnesota’s attorney general responded by saying he would sue if the president acts.

Associated Press reporters Ed White and Corey Williams in Detroit; Graham Lee Brewer in Oklahoma City; Jesse Bedayn in Denver; Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu; and Ben Finley in Washington contributed.