IndyCar Series on FOX; Donovan Long goes behind the scenes
The Brief
The IndyCar Series is now on FOX, and the Sonsio Grand Prix is on Saturday.
FOX6's Donovan Long got a behind-the-scenes look at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
A former Packers player is now part of the pit crew for one driver.
INDIANAPOLIS - The IndyCar Series is now on FOX, and FOX6's Donovan Long was at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a behind-the-scenes preview of the races. The Sonsio Grand Prix is at 3:30 p.m. Saturday on FOX6.
Wisconsin connection
Local perspective
A pit crew member for driver Christian Rasmussen is a former Packers offensive lineman. Benjamin Braden played parts of a few seasons for Green Bay. He now wears a different jersey and admits he misses the contact, but now uses his experience to move like lightning to get his driver up to speed.
Advertisement
RELATED: Check out the new and improved FOX Sports app
As for how Braden went from Green Bay to the speedway, he said he has known Ed Carpenter, owner of Ed Carpenter racing, for years. When he pivoted from the NFL, he connected his love of motor sports and sportsmanship.
Racing fans
What they're saying
Driver Scott Dixon has tons of fans, including 10-year-old Hayden Jaskela of Indianapolis. Jaskela waited in line with hundreds of people to meet Dixon, get his autograph and take pictures on Friday.
The 10-year-old has been into IndyCar as long as he can remember and loves going to races with a dream of hitting the speedway just like his favorite driver.
Advertisement
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android
Racing fan Dylan James is from New Zealand, but traveled from London to Indianapolis to see driver Scott Dixon, who is also from New Zealand. He said the trip is meant to honor his dad, who passed away last year and never got to experience the Sonsio Grand Prix.
James traveled alone and will return to the speedway for the Indy 500 in two weeks, another race his dad was never able to attend.
The Source
Information in this report is from FOX6 News interviews.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
If You Enjoyed ‘Dept Q', Don't Sleep on New Prestige Crime Series ‘Smoke'
There's a lot of noise around the big blockbusters coming out right now – Fast cars! Dinosaurs! Jonathan Bailey's flip flops! – but while the cinemas are busy whipping themselves into a frenzy, a new prestige drama is quietly dropping onto television screens. As Netflix's recent Dept Q showed, a high-calibre, low-key crime thriller can scratch a different kind of itch, and if you've burned your way through that one, you're in luck: another superior offering is on its way. Smoke, which consists of nine hour-long episodes, isn't set in dreary old Britain/Scotland, but takes place in dreary young America, in an unspecified state. It does, however, star several British actors, including a chisel-jawed Taron Egerton in the lead, who also executively produces the series. Egerton plays Dave Gudsen, an amiable and ominously named firefighter turned arson investigator who is wrestling with memories of the traumatic conflagration that ended his former career. Dave is also getting flak (I stopped myself saying 'heat' – you're welcome) from his boss (an excellent Greg Kinnear) for failing to identify the two serial arsonists who are running rampant through the local area. One of them, 'The Divide and Conquer' arsonist, is setting off simultaneous fires in multiple public locations including supermarkets, so that the fire departments are stretched beyond capacity. The other, the 'Milkjug' guy, is burning down ordinary people's houses with cooking oil, though viewers are given more than a tip-off of who that might be with the introduction of downtrodden fry cook Freddy (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine). Dave, however, is having minimal success tracking down either culprit – in fact, he seems rather distracted by his own literary ambitions, as he's got a schlocky fictionalised memoir on the go – and the situation is raging out of control. The corporation that owns the supermarkets isn't happy and is threatening to take action against the whole department; that, if not people's houses burning down, might be what's needed to light a firecracker up Dave's... (sorry but it's so hard!). What does Dave need? Why, a partner of course! And preferably one towards whom he can feel mild animosity, if not outright contempt. Enter Michelle Calderon (another conspicuous name, from the Spanish for 'cauldron'), played by the impressively self-contained Jurnee Smollett, a detective from a different police force who has been assigned to assist Dave for reasons that aren't entirely clear. Michelle has secrets, including a toxic affair with her former boss (another Brit, Rafe Spall) and some fire-related trauma from her earlier life. She's doing her best to block it out – mostly by exercise – but the past, as we know, doesn't like to stay buried. Of course these elements are all familiar, some might say hackneyed, tropes of the crime genre, but what elevates Smoke – which is based on the true-crime podcast Firebug – is the quality of its cast and, thanks to writer Dennis Lehane (Gone Baby Gone, Shutter Island), who created and wrote the series, its big-swinging script. 'Fire doesn't give a fuck about your wallet, or the size of your gun, or the size of your dick you wish was the size of your gun,' narrates Egerton, presumably quoting from the book Dave's writing in giant letters in his notepad (maybe it's not so bad after all!). It's punchy stuff. Smoke looks great too – all desaturated compositions of sickly grey-greens, with the striking billows of pale yellow when a fire is burning white-hot. And fire really is staggering beautiful, as much as it is terrifying and obliterating and all the other things that get writer-mode Dave so hot under the collar. It's certainly a change to have a drama that focuses on ash dispersal rather than blood spatter. (For a bit of bonus cred, the title track, over elegant sequences of smouldering pages, is performed by Radiohead's Thom Yorke.) That said, there are no dinosaurs, or F1 cars, or flip-flops. But Smoke does have tension, and great performances, and slow-burn simmer. Also, if you stick with it, the promise of some serious twists (and John Leguziamo!) to come. 'Smoke' is now streaming on Apple TV+ with new episodes every Friday You Might Also Like The Best Men's Sunglasses For Summer '19 There's A Smartwatch For Every Sort Of Guy What You Should Buy For Your Groomsmen (And What They Really Want)
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Wings' Paige Bueckers makes WNBA history with performance vs. Fever
The post Wings' Paige Bueckers makes WNBA history with performance vs. Fever appeared first on ClutchPoints. Paige Bueckers made incredible WNBA history during Friday's matchup between the Dallas Wings and Indiana Fever. Advertisement In 36 minutes of action, Bueckers lit up the nets against the Fever's defense. She put up a stat line of 27 points, six assists, two steals, two blocks, and a rebound. She shot 9-of-18 from the field, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, and 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. Her efforts helped her set a new WNBA record, per Polymarket Hoops. She became the first player to have a stat line of 25 or more points, five or more assists, two or more steals, two or more blocks, and zero turnovers. How Paige Bueckers, Wings played against Fever Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Despite Paige Bueckers' historic night, it wasn't enough as the Wings suffered a 94-86 loss to the Fever at home. Advertisement Despite missing Caitlin Clark due to injury, the Fever jumped out to a 33-13 lead and never looked back. Even though the Wings cut the deficit to single digits as time went on, they were unable to recover from their slow start. Indiana was highly effective with its shot selection, making 59.3% of their total attempts. This is in significant contrast to the 42.6% shot accuracy from Dallas' end. Rebounding also played a role as the Fever beat the Wings 32-23 in that area. Three players scored in double-digits on Dallas' behalf, including Bueckers. Arike Ogunbowale finished with 15 points, a rebound, an assist, a steal, and a block. She shot 5-of-12 overall, including 1-of-4 from downtown, and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Aziaha James came next with 14 points and two assists, Myisha Hines-Allen had nine points and three assists, while NaLyssa Smith and Li Yueru provided seven points each. Dallas fell to a 4-13 record on the season, remaining at the bottom of the Western Conference standings. They are 1.5 games behind the Los Angeles Sparks and four games behind the Las Vegas Aces. The Wings will look to bounce back in their next matchup, remaining at home. They host the Washington Mystics on June 28 at 8 p.m. ET. Related: Wings' Paige Bueckers reveals how Kyrie Irving inspired 'unguardable' motivation Related: Paige Bueckers reacts to Caitlin Clark missing Fever-Wings game with injury
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Will the NFC East finally have a repeat division winner?
Knowledgeable Commanders fans know the statistic: It's been since 2004 that an NFC East team has repeated as divisional champion. Yes, it was the Eagles; in fact, it was the last of Philadelphia's four consecutive NFC East titles. Strange as it sounds, it's true, no NFC East team has repeated since. Advertisement Kevin Sheehan of Team 980 discussed the phenomenon on Friday. Sheehan pointed out that four writers covering the four NFC East teams had a dialogue/story this week discussing the NFC East in 2025. John Keim, Washington's ESPN beat reporter, predicted that the Eagles will break the string and win the division. Keim basically said, How can you go against the Eagles after the season they had last year? Keim did point out that the Commanders do have the quarterback to threaten the Eagles, but remaining objective, had to admit what we all know is the major question mark for Washington in 2025. Will their defense make a large enough jump to challenge the Eagles for the division title in 2025? Sheehan cautioned Commanders fans not to overlook the fact that the Cowboys do have good offensive talent in quarterback Dak Prescott, receiver CeeDee Lamb, and, now this offseason, they added receiver George Pickens. The best Cowboy is Micah Parsons, and they drafted a highly regarded pass rusher and signed former Commanders edge rusher Dante Fowler. The Giants will be very strong on the defensive line. Their defense has been good, and they added Abdul Carter (EDGE) in the draft. Can Russell Wilson bring them steady play at quarterback? If Wilson doesn't get the job done, will Jameis Winston prove to be adequate? Or, do the Giants turn to rookie Jaxson Dart? Receiver Malik Nabers (LSU) exhibited enough last season to prove he is the real deal. The Eagles have stud defensive tackles, the best linebacker in the division, the best running back, the best offensive line and perhaps the best duo of wide receivers. They ran the ball down Washington's throat in the NFC Championship game and entirely dominated the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Can the Commanders overtake the Eagles to keep NFC East streak intact