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The worlds of basketball and IndyCar, 'The fastest racing on earth' crossed paths on Tuesday. The American racing series called upon WNBA star Lexie Hull for its iconic flag-raising ceremony ahead of the first race of the 2025 season - the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg - this Sunday (March 2).
The flag-raising ceremony marks the beginning of a new season for the series whose heart lies at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the world's largest sports stadium that can house 350,000 fans.
The Indiana Fever guard met IndyCar's new president, Doug Boles, a longtime president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. They spoke all things basketball for a couple of minutes, including Hull's flawless shooting, the Indiana Fever's championship outlook for the 2025 WNBA season, and her teammate extraordinaire Caitlin Clark, before heading to the top of the IMS' iconic Pagoda to raise the white IndyCar flag.
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In a video posted by Scott Agness, an Indiana-based NBA/WNBA reporter, Lexie Hull spoke about this incredible honor and what it meant to her.
"I mean they [staff] handled the hard part [of the flag-raising]. All I got to do was lift it up. It's really fun. It's cool to be part of it. It's definitely an honor. When you think of Indiana, you think of basketball, you think of racing. So to be part of this start to the IndyCar series, it's quite the honor," the 25-year-old said. [03:36]
Boles then presented Hull with an Indy 500 milk bottle, which the winning drivers at the premier event in May drink as part of a longstanding tradition. Because milk can get spoilt over time, this memorabilia contained white paint. He revealed that another such bottle was on her way, signed by an IndyCar driver.
"Oh my god, thank you. This is so cool," Hull said.
The 6'1 Fever Guard was a consistent performer for the team in the 2024 WNBA season, averaging 5.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in the regular season. The team's run to the championship was cut short in the playoffs' first round with the Connecticut Sun completing a 2-0 sweep in the best-of-three.
Currently, Hull is competing in the inaugural season of the Unrivaled 3v3 basketball series, with her team, Rose BC, on a five-game winning streak.
Lexie Hull announces interest in attending IndyCar's biggest race - the Indy 500
The Indy 500 is the biggest event on the IndyCar calendar. 33 drivers battle it out at the 2.5-mile oval circuit at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for one of the greatest glories motorsport has to offer and bragging rights for a lifetime.
The 'Greatest Spectacle of Racing' attracts over 300,000 fans each year. After the flag-raising ceremony, Lexie Hull expressed her interest in attending the 109th running of the race on May 25 this year (via Scott Agness):
"I hope to come. 350,000 people here, I hope to be one of them. It'll be a really cool experience and I know the city looks forward to it every year." [03:58]
In 2024, Hull's sensational Indiana Fever teammate Caitlin Clark, who got drafted first overall, was the Indiana fans' choice for driving the honorary pace car at the 108th Indy 500. After all, she had already been Grand Marshal at Iowa's 2023 Hy-Vee Homefront 250 during her final year of college. However, it was not to be as baseball Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. was given the honor. Team Penske's Josef Newgarden won for the second year in a row.
