From Wienie 500 at Carb Day to Fever roster moves: A packed weekend in Indy
IMS is buzzing ahead of the Indy 500, the Fever add Grace VanSlooten, and Metta World Peace compares Caitlin Clark to Steph Curry.
Good afternoon and welcome back to Fieldhouse Files. After a Fever-heavy few days, I’m returning to the classic notebook format today.
In Indianapolis, there’s no better weekend than race weekend.
I’m writing this from the media center at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where preparations are complete for the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday. Despite concerns about rain throughout the weekend, drivers were able to complete the final two-hour practice session on Friday.
A number of celebrities will be part of the festivities on Sunday.
Jordin Sparks will sing the national anthem, Caitlin Clark will serve as Grand Marshal and give the command for drivers to start their engines, and IU football coach Curt Cignetti will drive the Chevrolet pace car.
The grandstands and official parking have already sold out, and the local blackout on FOX59 has been lifted. We’re ready to go for another race.
One of the more entertaining additions to Carb Day returned Friday afternoon: the Wienie 500.
For the second straight year, Oscar Mayer brought six 27-foot-long Wienermobiles to the track for a novelty race that has quickly become a fan favorite. Each vehicle had its own identity — including Chi Dog, New York Dog, and Corn Dog — and the crowd loved every minute of it.
Even big FOX aired it live and leaned fully into the absurdity of it all. Using the same announcers from the Indianapolis 500 broadcast made the race even better, with the commentary crew delivering nonstop jokes and energy throughout.
Oscar Mayer deserves a lot of credit too. The marketing campaign around the race has been brilliant. Everywhere you looked Friday, fans were dressed as hot dogs or carrying hot dog memorabilia.
They were all-in on the puns.
New York Dog took the checkered flag and boos came down from the stands. That dog was not a fan favorite.
Coming up on Saturday, Pascal Siakam and Andrew Nembhard of the Pacers will serve as Grand Marshals for the 500 Festival Parade. The Pacemates are also involved.
Former Pacer Scot Pollard served as Grand Marshal last year, while Tamika Catchings held the role in 2024.
The parade begins at noon ET from downtown Indianapolis.
Also of note:
Fever Fill Open Roster Spot
The Fever signed 6-foot-3 forward Grace VanSlooten — a third-round 2026 pick of the Seattle Storm. She fills the roster spot that was created after they waived guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough on Thursday.
The move gives Indiana additional size in the frontcourt, something the roster needed.
VanSlooten, 21, was selected in the third round of this year’s WNBA Draft by Seattle. She appeared in four games for the Storm, averaging 4.3 points, 1.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game before being waived Monday.
Seattle then activated rookie forward Awa Fam, the No. 3 overall pick.
The move also brings VanSlooten back closer to home. The Toledo, Ohio native spent two seasons at Oregon before transferring to Michigan State for her final two collegiate seasons.
Now, she trades green uniforms for Fever red, white, and blue.
VanSlooten spent her final high school season at IMG Academy, earned McDonald’s All-American honors, and has experience with USA Basketball.
Last season at Michigan State, she started all 32 games and averaged 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game.
VanSlooten will return to the No. 14 she wore in college.
WNBA Issues Warning to Fever
The Fever received a warning from the WNBA regarding their injury reporting procedures prior to Wednesday’s win over the Portland Fire, a league source told Fieldhouse Files.
Indiana had a clean injury report until 100 minutes before tipoff, when the team announced that Caitlin Clark — the face of the WNBA — was suddenly out.
And remember, every Fever game is on national TV.
According to league policy:
By 5 p.m. local time the day before a game (other than the second day of a back-to-back), teams must designate a participation status and identify a specific injury, illness, other medical condition, or other reason for any player whose participation in the game may be affected for any reason.
And so, ahead of Friday’s home game against the Golden State Valkyries, closing out a four-game homestand, the Fever listed Clark on the injury report as probable — back.
They did not practice on Thursday.
Clark Joins Aliyah Boston’s Podcast
Clark and Aliyah Boston are a dynamic duo on and off the court. Clark recently joined “Post Moves,” a podcast with her All-Star teammate, along with Candace Parker — a member of the Class of 2026 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
It’s an entertaining episode because of their personalities, love for the game, and the chemistry between Clark and Boston carries over to their chat on a couch.
Metta World Peace on Clark, Tyrese Haliburton
Former Pacer Metta World Peace — formerly Ron Artest — remains a regular around the NBA. He’s often courtside, especially when the Pacers play in Los Angeles.
He’s also coached Division II women’s basketball for seven years.
In a recent interview with Hard Rock Bet, World Peace discussed the rapid growth of women’s basketball and why he enjoys watching the WNBA.
“The Indiana Fever and the Los Angeles Sparks are my favorite teams to watch,” he said. “I’m from New York, so by default, I’m a New York Liberty fan too.
“But the women’s game is getting better. I love women’s sports. It’s a different style of game because of the body type, but it’s still so exciting. You’re not going to find Michael Jordan in the WNBA because he is a male. You’re going to find Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. They play just as well as the men.”
World Peace then praised Clark and compared her to an NBA player who also changed the game: two-time MVP Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors.
“Clark really reminds me of Curry in terms of her skill set,” he said. “She may even be a better passer. That’s not to take anything away from Curry. He is also incredible.
“I’m excited about these million-dollar checks which have been signed in the WNBA this offseason. That’s so exciting, and it’s long overdue. It would’ve been a tough pill to swallow if they continued to have zero million-dollar players, because they draw fans and they drive engagement. They’re that good.”
Following the ratification of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement in mid-March, the players now have a share of league revenue for the first time and, notably, the league minimum is now higher than what the maximum salary was last season.
World Peace also touched on the Pacers, a team he played for from 2002-06. He was named Defensive Player of the Year in 2004.
The Pacers went from the 2025 NBA Finals to the worst record in franchise history: 19-63. They dealt with numerous injuries, the primary one being All-Star Tyrese Haliburton missing the entire season due to a torn Achilles tendon suffered in the first quarter of Game 7 at Oklahoma City last June.
“It’s tough anytime you have to deal with a long-term injury, especially an Achilles injury, because that’s a little bit different from an ACL or MCL,” World Peace said. “You know you’re going to be out for a year. As well as recovering from this injury, he’s had to deal with shingles too.
“So, for the Pacers, it goes to show how valuable Haliburton is to them. It shows that he is an MVP-caliber player. …. For the Pacers to go from the NBA Finals to the second-worst record in the league, it shows you how important he is and how good he is as a player.”
Every body is different, but Haliburton is part of a growing list of NBA stars on the mend from a torn Achilles — including Dejounte Murray, Jayson Tatum, and Damian Lillard.
He also suffered a setback after being diagnosed with shingles, something that’s still not completely behind him. He dealt with it on his face, itchy and affecting his eye brow. He’s tried multiple medications to try to find one that works. As a result, he’s gained weight.
After their season ended one month ago, Haliburton still had another six months before the start of the 2026-27 regular season.
“Haliburton has had the entire season to recover, and he’ll have the offseason too,” said World Peace. “So, he’s had more than enough time. He’ll come back with the same speed, and his body will be well-rested.
“The technology today is also great, and guys get more rest. When we played, even 18-year veterans were practicing hard, for the most part. But the recovery side of things and the science are a lot better today. It allows players to recover faster and better than we did.”
Meanwhile, the Knicks are playing the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals — a reminder of where the Pacers believed they could have been without the injuries.
Still, it feels like the conference is wide open and the Pacers are optimistic about being a top-tier team once again. But there are never any guarantees.
Still, World Peace believes Indiana already has the most important piece in place.
“Outside of that [Haliburton’s return], I don’t think they need much more because they have Coach Rick Carlisle,” added World Peace, who played for him.
“Coach Carlisle is really good at getting the best out of what he has. In fact, he’s one of the best at this. You saw that during the team’s run to the NBA Finals last season. On paper, I don’t think they were a team that was capable of going as far as they did. But Carlisle got the best out of them, and he can spot holes in other teams.”
Race weekend in Indianapolis always has a different energy to it. From IMS to Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the city is buzzing — and Sunday hasn’t even arrived yet.
Let’s all just hope that the rain stays away.