Month of May

After the January interviews, the girls wait nervously for results that same evening from the judges. Good news is given to 66 finalists, who are scheduled for a final interview in early February.

Michael Peña, who will wave the green flag to start the 97th running of the 500, has appeared in the Oscar-winning films Million Dollar Baby and Crash and the hit television crime drama The Shield.

The honor comes during a busy month for the team, many of whose players are returning from overseas stints with other clubs for the start of the 2013 WNBA season in San Antonio on May 24.

Last week, 38 cases went home with attendees of a preview charity event in Speedway, according to Tom Blattler of Ed Carpenter Racing, which is sponsored by the vodka brand.

A complete photo gallery of all things kickoff week.

The past year has been an eventful one for the former star of the Andy Griffith Show and Gomer Pyle, USMC. After having heart-valve surgery last spring, he came out of the closet in early 2013.

Music acts and costumes, belly dancers and superheroes—the Indy Mini has it all, with runners the world over all pushing themselves to the limit on the IMS track’s 2.5 miles of splendor and sweat. Then there are the other nearly 11 miles.

Sometimes described as a “garage band,” The Trumans play a mix of ’90s alternative, modern rock—Holloway has a special affinity for Kings of Leon—and, occasionally, pop country.

In a message to participants on April 29, organizers wrote that “in partnership with the Indianapolis Department of Public Safety, local, state, and federal agencies, [we] will be taking additional security and safety precautions … [that] may or may not be visible to event attendees.”

You can look all you want this May. But you’ll have to wait until the fall to call one of these babies your own.

Several months ago, American Way, the in-flight magazine of American Airlines, asked May Madness (and Yours Truly) to share some of our local expertise on the Indianapolis 500 and surrounding hoopla.

Despite the star treatment, Veach says staying humble makes connecting with fans much easier. He considers himself a typical teen. “When I’m hanging out with my friends back at home,” he says, “we usually talk about video games, girls—normal stuff.”

The Indianapolis 500 has come and gone—and what a race it was—and the figures are in. Here’s a rundown of important numbers from this latest installment in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing”:

When you’re a reporter, you’re supposed to keep fandom to yourself. Cheering (and, sadly, beer) is frowned upon in sporting-arena press boxes. There’s never a sign telling you not to; you’re just supposed to know, much the same as no sign tells you to wear pants in public. It’s okay to be breathless in your description of high sports drama, so long as the excitement is not tied to one side in the contest. And you’re not supposed to fawn over the competitors (a dictum many of ESPN’s reporters and commentators seem to have lain aside, but I digress).

On Sunday night, close to 12 miles away from the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, another spectacle played out at a more-modest racetrack across town: the First Annual United States Figure 8 Championship 90-minute World Figure 8 Enduro race at Indianapolis Speedrome (802 S. Kitley Ave.), on the edge of the eastside Irvington neighborhood.