Eleven cars took to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Thursday in a test session for next month’s Indy 500. Rain washed out a good portion of the day, which ended up being only for rookies and veteran refresher tests. Veteran Sebastien Bourdais topped the speed chart with a lap at over 224 miles per hour in his A.J. Foyt Racing number 14. There was one incident Thursday. Rinus VeeKay suffered a broken finger after a nasty spin and crash in turn one, but the 20-year-old was cleared to drive. Veteran testing will continue Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the 2.5 mile oval. The session is closed to the public, but will be streamed on the NBC streaming service Peacock.
The Indiana Pacers look to win two games in a row Friday night when they take on the Orlando Magic on the road. The Blue and Gold will once again be without Myles Turner, who remains sidelined with a sprained ankle suffered earlier this week. Fellow starters Domantas Sabonis and Malcolm Brogdon are questionable with injuries. The shorthanded Pacers are 23-27 after holding on to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves Wednesday night in Indianapolis. Orlando is 17-34 and traded away many key pieces at last month’s trade deadline. The Pacers and Magic tip off at 7 p.m. Eastern.
Indiana forward Race Thompson announced he is removing his name from the NCAA transfer portal and will return to Bloomington next season. As a redshirt junior, the 6-foot-8 Thompson averaged 9.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Thompson was voted a team captain last year and started all 27 games. Hoosiers guard Armaan Franklin announced he is transferring to Virginia. The 6-foot-4 Indianapolis native was IU’s second-leading scorer last season with 11.4 points per game, and he was also one of Indiana’s few bright spots as a shooter last season at over 42 percent from 3-point range.
Lance Lynn pitched a gem in his South Side debut and the Chicago White Sox blanked Kansas City 6-0 in the White Sox home opener. Lynn pitched a complete game five-hitter and struck out 11 Royals without recording a walk. The White Sox offense struck early with back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the first from Yoan Moncada and Yermin Mercedes. The St. Louis Cardinals won their home opener 3-1 over the Milwaukee Brewers. New Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado slugged a two-run, go-ahead home run in the bottom of the eighth inning in front of the Busch Stadium fans. The Chicago Cubs homered three times and beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2 at PNC Park.
