Indy 500 drivers find crypto craze fuels needed sponsorship

By DAN GELSTON
AP Sports Writer

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — IndyCar drivers are among the growing number of athletes who getting deep in the crypto game. The shift to cryptocurrency sponsorship may still be a curious concept to the almost 300,000 fans that will pack the track for Sunday’s Indianapolis 500. But new forms of digital money help pay the bills and salaries for teams and athletes. Team owner Ed Carpenter is a staunch advocate for cryptocurrencies. Ed Carpenter Racing is better known in the paddock during May as the Bitcoin Racing Team because drivers Conor Daly and Rinus VeeKay drive Chevrolets sponsored by BitNile.