The federal government provided loans to struggling companies during the COVID-19 pandemic through its PPP program. Among those receiving millions in federal help include boxing promotions companies led by Floyd Mayweather, Oscar De La Hoya and Bob Arum, as well as teams in NASCAR, IndyCar and the MLS.

On Monday, data was released that showed the recipients of these loans, although specific dollar amounts were not given. The three boxing organizations requested loans between $350,000 and $1 million. What is interesting here is that in the case of Mayweather, last year he was named the highest-paid athlete during the decade of the 2010s as he made around $915 million.

The Seattle Sounders, Inter Miami, Orlando City, and D.C. United are teams from the MLS who received loans. There are rumors that other clubs received loans from the government. 

Other notable sports organizations that applied for PPP loans include: 

• National Women’s Soccer League
• 32 U.S. Olympic Sports Organizations 
• The BIG 3 
• Numerous NASCAR Teams
• Almost Every IndyCar Team Except Team Penske
• Several Esports Organizations
• 4 NCAA Conferences:
  • Conference USA
  • The Big South Conference
  • The Southland Conference
  • The BigSky Conference

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar Series and all related businesses were officially sold on Monday to Penske Entertainment Corporation.

The two companies finalized the deal with a statement to the press.

“The Board of Directors of Hulman & Company are announcing the sale of the company and certain subsidiaries, including the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the NTT IndyCar Series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway Productions (IMS Productions), to Penske Entertainment Corp., a subsidiary of Penske Corporation,” the statement read.

As Roger Penske takes over the IndyCar Series, questions have arisen about how it will operate, seeing as he is also the owner of Team Penske. Penske made a pre-emptive statement in order to combat any potential accusations of wrongdoing.

“The sanctioning body will be a separate company… Tony’s been a car owner. There’s been some history (of that),” Penske said at Monday’s news conference. “I don’t want to leave this conversation, I understand the integrity, there’s got to be a bright line. Hopefully, I have enough credibility to make sure it’s not a conflict. I’ve got a lot of guys watching me.”

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Penske went on to further discuss the impact this will have on the sport as a whole, and how he wants to increase the prevalence and popularity of racing.

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“This isn’t up to the teams. I think it’s up to the people who run the series. They have to understand the impact,” said Penske. “The same people they’re calling on to support the TV package and everything, to race the next week — if their car doesn’t make the Indy 500, it’s a ricochet that affects the whole season. I hope they understand that.”

“You have to step back and do what’s best for the series and take the individual egos out of it and make the right decision,” he added.

The IndyCar Series is set to begin in early March and will last until around late September. It will encompass 17 races along the way.

General Motors Executive Vice President of Global Product Development Mark Reuss caused a big scene at Sunday’s Detroit Grand Prix Indycar race after he wrecked the Corvette pace car he was driving.

GM Executive Crashes Corvette Pace Car

Reuss was driving the car for the “parade lap” that came before the race officially began. Reuss was coming off a turn when the back end of the vehicle became detached and the car began spinning quickly, and its front bumper crashed into a nearby wall.

Reuss and the passenger next to him, Indycar manager Mark Sandy, were both unhurt. However, the competition was delayed by around 30 minutes while the debris from the collision was cleaned up.

GM released the following statement regarding the crash:

“We are thankful that there were no serious injuries. Both the pace car driver and the series official were taken to the infield care center, where they were checked, cleared and released. It is unfortunate that this incident happened. Many factors contributed, including weather and track conditions. The car’s safety systems performed as expected.”

Reuss apologized for the accident in a Facebook post:

“I have driven this course many many many times,” he wrote. “I have paced this race in the wet, cold, hot, and calm. On [Corvette] Z06’s, Grand Sports, and other things. It is never a casual thing for me, but an honor to be asked. Today I let down my friends, my family, Indycar, our city and my company. Sorry does not describe it. I want to thank our engineers for providing me the safety I know is the best in the world.”