The Inside Line IndyCar Podcasts: Indy 500 qualifying controversy, rookie takes pole
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: The Inside Line IndyCar Podcasts: Indy 500 qualifying controversy, rookie takes pole
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2025 Indianapolis Colts Preseason Schedule: Dates, Times, TV Channels
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Forbes
15 hours ago
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Indy 500 & Robotic Cars Race On Challenging Laguna Seca Raceway
IAC (Indy Autonomous Challenge) robotic race cars performed at the historic WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, CA on July 24, 2025. Eight teams participated in individual time trials across a challenging track (~2.25 miles/lap) with 11 sharp turns (including the famous corkscrew, see Figure 1 below), and steep elevation changes (180 feet). This is a first for robotic racing in the history of the WeatherTech Raceway. It is also the first time that IAC has performed during a week of Indy 500 racing events, culminating on 27 July 2025 with the Java House Grand Prix race. IAC has been hosting robotic car races since 2021 at tracks like the Indiana Motor Speedway (home of the Indy 500) and the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The event in Las Vegas, held in concert with the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2025, featured a 4-car race, something not attempted before. At the recent event in Monterey (the first time an IAC event was held during the same time period and track as the Indy 500 race), the competition featured single race cars at a time. Given the difficulty of the track and first-time participation by the different teams, multi-car racing was considered to be too risky. The course is particularly challenging for robotic cars given the perception and localization challenges due to the sharp turns and elevation changes. Stable vehicle control at high speeds is also difficult because of these factors. IAC event competitors include university teams (typically with Ph.D. level students and faculty advisors) from the USA, Germany, Italy and Korea. Participating teams for this event included: IAC races are designed to engage top robotics, artificial intelligence (AI) and vehicle dynamics/control talent across universities. The goal is to nurture practical experience in physical AI, and use the intellectual property to understand autonomy in high speed, commercial applications like autonomous cars and drones. The hardware platforms are identical (car, engines, tires, sensors, compute). Teams compete based on the quality of the AI and robotic control at high speeds, and low latency perception and decision making, PolyMOVE-MSU won the event with a winning lap time of ~90 seconds over the 2.25-mile course (average speed of ~90 mph). The peak speed reached was 148 mph. This is the first ever experience for an autonomous racing competition on a road-course circuit in the USA (Figure 2). The Purdue team was a strong competitor and came in second, with KAIST in third place. A couple of cars (CAST-Caltech and Tiger Racing) were unable to negotiate the difficult corkscrew turn and had to be rescued by tow trucks (human driven! We are yet to get to autonomous tow trucks !). According to Paul Mitchell, CEO of Indy Autonomous Challenge and its parent company Aidoptation: 'Our university research teams stepped up to this challenge, advancing the field of AI and autonomy by pushing vehicle dynamics to the absolute edge and laying down lap times that only the best human drivers can achieve". Professor Sergio Savaresi (Polytecnico Di Milano) and Rodrigo Senofieni (former Ph.D. student of Professor Savaresi, and currently at Aidoptation) are the technical leads for the PoliMOVE-MSU team. Per Professor Savaresi, the key enablers for their winning performance were: Professor Savaresi commented: 'Our team spent a lot of time in simulation to perfect the AI driver's decision-making capabilities. I am incredibly proud of this team". Purdue entered the IAC in 2021, but decided to reorganize 18 months ago to grow capabilities and focus. IAC provided guidance and sharing of best practices, and Purdue's Dean of Engineering, Arvind Raman internally championed the initiative. Dan Williams, an ex-automotive executive with extensive experience in vehicle autonomy joined as Professor of Practice two years ago, and allocates ~50 % of his time in mentoring the team of graduate students from diverse disciplines like vehicle dynamics and computer science. As a result, Purdue was just a second behind the seasoned winner PolyMOVE-MSU, a remarkable achievement on this complex racecourse. Per Professor Williams, the factors that contributed to this are: It turns out that the complexity of the Laguna Seca roadway was a perfect fit for what Purdue had been training on under Professor William's guidance for the past 12 months. The Grand Prix event was held 3 days after the IAC robotic car race (24th July), on the same track (Figure 3). This is a Indy 500 racing circuit event consisting of 95 laps (~2.25 miles each) and 27 human-driven race cars, and is part of the NTT INDYCAR Series championship. Experiencing the throb, sounds, smells and sight of engine power equivalent to ~20,000 horses at the start of the race is an out-of-world experience! The winner was Alex Palou, a strong favorite, driving the DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda race car (Figure 4). The previous two days included trial competitions. Mr. Palou dominated here as well, and started in the leading position at the Grand Prix event. This is his third win in the past 4 years at this track. Including three pit stops, he took ~2 hours and 5 minutes to cover the 95 laps (~214 miles) at an average speed of 102 mph and reached a maximum average lap speed of ~114 mph in the 10th lap. For reference, Indy racecars can reach maximum speeds of ~240 mph on level, oval tracks like the Indiana Motor Speedway (IMS) in Indianapolis. Given the complexity of the Laguna Seca track, this is considerably lower (~50%). Second and third place went to Arrow McLaren's Christian Lundgaard and Colton Herta of Andretti Global (Figure 5). Lundgaard edged out Herta in an exciting finish in the track's final corner. There were also a few collisions and crashes, and tense moments as officials scrambled to throw flags and clear accidents. Following the Grand Prix event trials a day earlier, and seconds after Alex Palou exited the track, the PoliMOVE-MSU AI driver performed high speed autonomous laps for 10 minutes, exposing thousands of racing fans to the promise of robotic car racing. As mentioned earlier, the PolyMOVE-MSU team won the IAC robotic car event with an average lap time of 90 mph. This is about 80% of that achieved by Mr. Palou. The IAC race was substantially shorter (8 laps), raced a single car at a time., and had a few instances of hardware failures and crashes. Since only a single car performs at any given time, there are no risks of human fatality, multi-car collisions or extensive property damage. IAC racecars have achieved maximum speeds of ~150 mph on the IMS, about 60% that achieved by the Indy 500 cars. Part of the difference can be attributed to the more powerful engine in the latter (700 hp and 6 cylinder engine in the Indy 500 car vs 500 hp, 4 cylinder engine in the IAC car). For Mel Harder, president & general manager, WeatherTech Raceway 'Hosting the IAC at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca as part of the Java House Grand Prix of Monterey was a thrill. Not only did we introduce our fans to the world's fastest autonomous race cars, but IAC also attracted hundreds of companies, researchers, and government leaders in AI and autonomy from Silicon Valley and around the world to our venue, and promoted engagement in motorsports.' Advances in sensing, perception and computing has enabled high-speed F-22 fighter jet pilots achieve substantially higher levels of speed (> Mach 2) and endurance. Similarly, progress in IAC technology (like sensors, perception, compute, vehicle dynamics and active safety) can enable human-driven race cars to achieve higher performance levels, balancing motorsport excitement, audience engagement and human safety. Learning from human race car drivers about multi-agent path planning (local planning) is absolutely critical for physical AI applications like AVs at very high speeds on highways. The ability to use visual, acoustic and localization cues that human drivers employ to operate in multi-agent environments is something that physical AI needs to emulate, on public roadways and racetracks. Human-driven race car performance has plateaued over the last 50 years, because of passive safety protocol constraints and saturation of human driver capability at the top levels of performance. Of course, records will continue to be broken due to factors like weather and performance peaks, as well as changes in car design and race rules. But these improvements are likely to be limited and random. For AI driven race cars, it is a different story. The technology is currently in its infancy, with significant opportunities for improvement as sensor hardware, software, compute stacks and digital twin simulation capabilities accelerate in performance. IAC car performance has improved orders of magnitude in the past 3 years of its existence. The Purdue team demonstrates how experience, physics and physical AI can improve performance dramatically in the space of 12 months. The question is whether Physical AI will improve to the point where robotic and human driven race cars are able to perform together in multi-car track or road racing? To make this a reality, addressing the multi-agent path planning problem is critical. Human drivers are exceptional at this, robotic cars not so much. The success of road traffic applications in which Waymo autonomous cars and human-driven cars perform together in uncontrolled environments depends on humans and computers understanding each other's cues, tactics and behavior (Figure 6). Mixed human and robotic racing will need similar understanding, but at extremely high speeds and very low decision-making latency. Human race car drivers can be instrumental in teaching AI drivers to solve this problem, not by massive data gathering and training, but maybe with other physical AI approaches like neuromorphic learning. Paul Mitchell, CEO of IAC 'hopes that such performance parity and understanding will be achieved in the next 2 decades as IAC and motorsports nurture and learn from each other'.
Indianapolis Star
a day ago
- Indianapolis Star
IHSAA volleyball preview: Indiana's top outside and opposite hitters to watch in 2025
The 2025 high school volleyball season is nearly upon us! Our Insider Brian Haenchen will be getting you prepared for the upcoming campaign with a week's worth of content, all leading up to the unveiling of our preseason Super Team on Aug. 13 and Central Indiana preseason Fab 15 on Aug. 14. Be sure to subscribe to IndyStar and follow Brian on Twitter for Indiana high school volleyball updates and coverage throughout the season. Today, we're looking at the state's top outside and opposite side hitters. A junior Michigan commit, Bombacino tallied 325 kills on .254 hitting for the sectional champions, who return their top two attackers and both starting setters. Bombacino also racked up 203 digs, 43 blocks and 72 aces over her 103 sets played. The Loyola Chicago-bound senior furthered her development following a strong sophomore campaign, racking up 485 kills on .307 hitting. She cleared 20 kills in four matches (reached 26 twice) and rounded out her 2024 line with 39 aces, 33 blocks and 270 digs. Volleyball state finals return to Indy: It felt inevitable. Reaction is nearly all positive The reigning Journal & Courier Small Schools Player of the Year, Foster hit .370 and racked up 343 kills over just 89 sets for the sectional runner-up Bison. The Western Kentucky commit posted double-digit kills in all but 13 matches, averaging 3.9 per set and setting her season-high with 20 in a four-set win over Evansville Memorial. She rounded out her season line with 60 aces, 33 blocks (25 solo) and 232 digs, and enters her senior season with 1,050 kills through three varsity seasons. The 5-9 senior hit .330 and tallied 287 kills across 99 sets. She notched a career-high 47 aces, 41 blocks (35 solo), a career-high 265 digs and 18 assists. Gumbel, who picked up a season-high 17 kills (.406 hit%) in a four-set loss to Homestead, enters her senior season with 493 kills and 94 total blocks across two-plus varsity seasons. Hanchar enjoyed a breakout junior campaign, totaling 339 kills on .310 hitting for the short-handed Irish. She also served 37 aces, blocked 39 shots (14 solo) and collected 252 digs. She is a 5-10 full-rotation hitter. The 2026 Illinois commit led the Hornets to the Class 3A state final last season, averaging 5.6 kills over 121 sets (676 total, .373 hit%). She's a prolific attacker, evidenced by her five matches with 30-plus kills. Among those outings were a 37-kill performance vs. NorthWood (.395 hit%) and a 36-spot (.414 hit%) vs. 4A Homestead. The 6-foot Harris, who has 1,164 career kills, also logged 127 aces, 53 total blocks and 265 digs. The 5-11 Alabama commit scored 425 kills in her third varsity season, putting her within reach of the 1,000-kill plateau entering the fall. She also recorded 47 aces, 20 total blocks, 323 digs and five assists. Two of Imes' best performances came against two of the best teams on the Eagles' schedule: Westfield (27 kills, .250 hit%) and Hamilton Southeastern (25 kills). A 6-2 Central Michigan commit, Jones totaled 56 blocks on the right side last season for the state champion Royals. She also put down 145 kills, 36 aces (166 points) and 62 digs. Jones blocked five shots in a 3-2 win over Tri-West in mid-September. Lemming accumulated 547 kills on .494 hitting over 81 sets last season (6.8 per set), leaving her with 1,289 entering her final varsity season. The Butler commit, who set a season-high with 51 kills on .610 hitting in a four-set win over Rensselaer Central, also notched 55 aces (112 points), 18 blocks and 332 digs. A 6-1 opposite side hitter, Lewis was the Irish's primary attacker, totaling 204 kills (428 career), 77 total blocks (37 solo), 38 aces and 62 digs over 88 sets. The Georgetown commit had 12 kills on .556 hitting in a two-set sweep of Center Grove and six total blocks in a four-set loss to Roncalli. The 5-11 Ohio-bound senior cleared 1,000 career kills, totaling 463 on .340 hitting to leave her three-year total at 1,035 (.280 hit%). Mahin also picked up 69 aces, 41 total blocks, 271 digs and 22 assists. A recent Ball State commit, the 6-1 Mandsager is back after missing her sophomore season due to injury. She was very good as a freshman, posting 216 kills on .230 hitting, 43 aces, 29 total blocks (24 solo) and 103 digs. Miles, a 6-1 Illinois commit, dazzled as one of HSE's primary attackers, racking up 411 kills on .402 hitting with 28 blocks, 11 aces and 80 digs over 104 sets. She had 15-plus kills in five matches, including a season-high 21 on .410 hitting in the semistate final vs. FW Carroll. The 2027 Kentucky commit improved her efficiency (hit% increased from .306 to .377) as she cleared 300 kills for a second consecutive season (340; 721 career). She served 36 aces and 134 points, and rounded out her season line with 20 solo blocks (30 total), 251 digs and 59 assists for the regional champion Knights. A rising 2028 prospect, the 5-7 Ritchie picked up 185 kills in her debut season (115 sets). She also registered 62 aces (228 points), 12 total blocks and 439 digs over 115 sets. Ritchie cleared 10 kills in five matches, posting a dozen against both Brebeuf Jesuit and Avon. The 5-11 Purdue commit is ranked tops at her position by Prep Dig Indiana and is coming off a career year for the regional champion Bulldogs. Schara scored 577 kills on .322 hitting (1,480 career), 57 aces, 27 blocks and 359 digs (1,012 career). She's the centerpiece of a very talented returning nucleus for Crown Point. Another future Purdue Boilermaker, the 5-10 senior reset her career-high with 517 kills on .355 hitting. She tacked on 47 aces, 43 solo blocks (50 total), 358 digs and 25 aces to her season line and enters the fall with 1,174 kills, 104 blocks and 741 digs for her career. Sinish, an IU Indy commit, cleared 1,200 career kills for the 4A state champs last season, totaling 494 on .351 hitting. She put down 23 kills in the semistate final vs. HSE, then notched 15 against Yorktown in the final. Sinish also logged 61 aces, 49 total blocks, and 236 digs. She has 128 blocks and 635 digs for her career. The 6-0 senior established herself as a key contributor to the HSE rotation last fall, registering 215 kills on .291 hitting over 102 sets. She had a season-high 18 kills in a five-set win over Zionsville and rounded out her season line with 43 blocks and 40 digs. Sliwa is a Ball State commit. The West Virginia-bound Smith reached 450 kills — her second consecutive season with at least that many — on .271 hitting. She also recorded 244 digs, 36 total blocks (22 solo) and 49 aces over 87 sets. Smith has over 1,200 career kills and is closing in on 1,000 career digs. A 6-1 Missouri commit, the multi-sport Stahley set career-highs across the board with 394 kills on .350 hitting, nine aces, 31 total blocks, 80 digs and 11 assists. She had 12 kills in the state championship match vs. Angola, and enters her final varsity season with 641 career kills. The Notre Dame commit is back for her senior year after missing most of last season due to injury. Stegall, a 5-11 outside, had 235 kills, 60 digs, seven aces and 26 blocks as a freshman in 2023. The rapidly rising sophomore made quite the impression as a freshman, totaling 404 kills on .302 hitting, 31 aces, 35 total blocks and 242 digs. Utterback cleared 20 kills in five matches, including a career-high 28 (.345 hit%) in a five-set loss to Brownsburg in the sectional. The SMU commit fought through injury to help the Bruins reach the 3A state semifinals, recording 243 kills on .255 hitting, 40 aces, 62 total blocks and 147 digs over 90 sets. She had 10-plus kills in 10 matches, including a season-high 15 in a four-set win over eventual 2A state champ Western Boone. More names to know: Rylee Bumgardner, Danville; Callie Gibson, Brownsburg; Addison Jones, Barr-Reeve; Lanie Marie Graber, Barr-Reeve; Natalie Sevier, New Palestine; Ella Warrick, Linton-Stockton; Sophie Wischmeier, Brownstown Central.
