Penske buys IMS, IndyCar
Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the IndyCar Series were sold to Penske Entertainment Corp. in a stunning move Monday that relinquishes control of the iconic speedway from the Hulman family after 74 years.
Tony Hulman bought the dilapidated speedway in 1945 and brought racing back to the corner of 16th St. and Georgetown Ave. after a four-year absence following World War II. Roger Penske will become just the fourth owner of the 110-year-old speedway.
The speedway spun off multiple subsidiaries, including the IndyCar Series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway Productions, which are also part of the deal to Penske Entertainment. That group is a subsidiary of Penske Corp., which is owned by billionaire Roger Penske.
The IndyCar Series is on an upward trend with improved television ratings and increased interest. Penske is the winningest team owner in Indianapolis 500 history with 18 victories, including Simon Pagenaud’s in May. He capped the IndyCar Season with a championship from driver Josef Newgarden, the 15th for Team Penske.
BASEBALL
Madison Bumgarner has received a $17.8 million qualifying offer from the San Francisco Giants, a move that likely will decrease demand for the 30year-old left-hander in the free-agent market.
San Francisco’s decision Monday means a team signing Bumgarner would lose at least one pick in next year’s amateur draft as compensation unless a deal is struck after the draft starts in June. Compensation caused pitchers Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel to wait until after the draft to sign 2019 contracts.
San Francisco also made a qualifying offer to lefthanded reliever Will Smith, who went 6-0 with a 2.76 ERA and 34 saves in 63 appearances.
Indians let Salazar go: The Cleveland Indians have given up on 2016 all-star Danny Salazar, whose career has been sidetracked by injuries.
Salazar was reinstated from the 60-day disabled list and refused an outright assignment to Class AAA Columbus, electing to become a free agent.
Salazar, 29, made the AL all-star team in 2016 before shoulder problems set him back. The righthander did not pitch at all in 2018 following surgery, but worked his way up and pitched four innings against Houston on Aug. 1.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Notre Dame guard Abby Prohaska said she has blood clots in both lungs and is out indefinitely.
The 5-foot-10 sophomore announced on social media Monday she has been diagnosed with bilateral pulmonary embolism.
She played in 38 of the team’s 39 games last season and averaged 14.4 minutes. She was expected to take a bigger role this year. No. 16 Irish has lost all five starters from the team that was beaten by Baylor in the national championship game.
GOLF
For the first time in nearly 26 years – 1,353 weeks to be exact – Phil Mickelson is no longer among the top 50 in the world.
He dropped to 51 after finishing in a tie for 28th in the HSBC Champions.
It was the longest consecutive streak in the top 50 since the Official World Golf Ranking began in 1986.
“It was a good run,” Mickelson said. “But I’ll be back.”
TRACK AND FIELD
Dutch Olympic sprinter Madiea Ghafoor was sentenced to 81⁄2 years in prison on drug charges in Germany on Monday.
The court in the town of Kleve found Ghafoor knowingly imported around 50 kilograms of ecstasy and two kilograms of methamphetamine from the Netherlands into Germany in June.
The 27-year-old Ghafoor reached the European Championship final in the 400 meters last year and was tipped to represent the Netherlands in the 1,600-meter relay at the recent world championships. She also raced the 1,600-meter relay at the 2016 Olympics, where the Dutch team was eliminated in the heats.