You don’t need to follow the entire IndyCar season to get caught up in the excitement of its crown jewel, the Indy 500. And while the three-hour race around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is easily the most exciting in any form of auto racing, this year’s developments are promising an even more nail-biting (and sold-out) race come Sunday, May 25.
From an Italian racing team virtually unknown to most Americans finding success where no one expected it, to the series’ most successful drivers failing tech and being sent to the back of the pack after a somewhat shadowy review process, nothing’s gone according to expectations. And, well, if you like excitement, that’s a good thing.
With only 33 starting spots and 34 drivers competing to make the grid for the 109th running of the Indy 500, everyone knew someone would ultimately go home disappointed. Logic dictated it would be one of the under-performing teams, a rookie driver, or a combination of the two. Frankly, newcomers Prema Racing were on the shortlist to walk away empty-handed during the qualifying weekend.
It was quite the opposite for the No. 83. Rookie Robert Shwartzman embarrassed the best in the game when he set a 232.790 mph four-lap average around the 2.5-mile super speedway, knocking down two-time winner Takuma Sato to second place. The Israeli racing driver was speechless after getting out of the car, practically in disbelief at what he had just accomplished.
“Honestly, it feels like I’m dreaming,” said Shwartzman after his quali run. “The car felt amazing, so fast.”
Series favorite and multiple-time runner-up, Pato O’Ward, will start from third place with a prime, unobstructed view of Turn 1 once the green flag drops. He and Sato will undoubtedly look to devour Shwartzman as quickly as possible. Here’s a free tip for Fox Sports: broadcast Shwartzman’s heart rate on live TV at the start of the race. It’ll be something to behold.
Team Penske is owned by Roger Penske, the most successful team owner in the history of the Indy 500. The business and racing magnate also owns the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the IndyCar series. You could say he’s kind of a big deal around the place. Unfortunately, that hasn’t stopped his employees from making questionable and, per the regulations, wrong decisions lately.
Last year, the team and two of its drivers, Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin, were found guilty of having and using Push to Pass during a race when the system shouldn’t have been available. It was a whole ordeal, which resulted in loss of points, loss of credibility, and a very emotional press conference by Newgarden.
While IndyCar rightfully penalized the team and drivers, Penske decided to internally go a step further and suspend the engineers and managers involved, including its president, Tim Cindric, for two weeks. As a result, these key figures were not present at the Indy 500.
Now, Penske is making headlines for the wrong reasons again, as cars No. 2 and No. 12 of Newgarden and Will Power (both Indy 500 winners) were caught in violation of the rulebook on Sunday as they prepared for the second day of qualifying.
On Saturday, the duo managed to get into what IndyCar calls “Fast 12,” meaning the two Penskes secured their spots in the top half of the field and would not fall any lower than 12th regardless of their performance on Sunday. As they prepared to go out on Sunday, however, it was noted that team mechanics were grinding away an adhesive on the car’s attenuator, which had been used to seal together two body components. Reportedly, the adhesive was used to seal the gap between the two parts and improve aero performance. This is not allowed by the rules.
The issue was reportedly discovered in Power’s car during the tech inspection, which it ultimately failed. And despite the team trying to correct the issue on Newgarden’s car (hence the grinders and torches in pit lane), Penske decided to withdraw that car too. Failing tech and withdrawing the other car ultimately sent both cars to the back of the grid—no, not the entire grid—the Fast 12 grid. This move, which ultimately saw Penske go penalty-free for violating the rules, was seen as unfair by the rest of the field.
“They [Penske] weren’t accidentally doing it because they had the blowtorch right there in order to get it out,” said McLaren’s Pato O’Ward after Sunday’s qualifying session. “Honestly, I feel for [Jacob] Abel and for everybody that did the disqualifications or the last chance qualifying. Those (Penske) cars weren’t in regulations.
“I’m not an engineer, so I can’t tell you what they were doing, how much speed that it is or if it is any speed,” said O’Ward. “Obviously it’s not in regulation. The rule is pretty black and white. Those cars should have been in the last chance qualifier. Like, those cars should have never — obviously they didn’t do anything in the Fast 12, but they should have been brought into the LCQ because they had that yesterday, I guarantee you. Until someone pointed it out today. Those cars, if they’re disqualified today, they should have been disqualified yesterday.”
O’Ward didn’t mince words, and rightfully so. His mention that he felt bad for Jacob Abel is accurate, too, as Abel was ultimately knocked out for being too slow. Had the Penskes been found guilty of rules infringement on Saturday, Abel’s outcome may have been different.
It’s clear that there were some long and tough meetings held Sunday night, as IndyCar made the decision Monday morning to send both Penske cars to the back of the grid—the very back, this time. Newgarden, who won the race in 2023 and 2024, will start the race from the 32nd spot, and Power, who won the race in 2018, will start dead last.
“The integrity of the Indianapolis 500 is paramount, and this violation of the INDYCAR rule against modification to this part and using it ‘as supplied’ is clear,” IndyCar President J. Douglas Boles said. “The penalty should be more than simply starting where the cars might have qualified anyway, if given the opportunity. The cars belong in the field as two of the fastest 33; however, starting on the tail of the field is the appropriate penalty in this instance.”
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Jerry Perez is the Deputy Editor at The Drive, overseeing the site’s daily and long-term content initiatives in addition to writing his own features and reviews. He’s been covering the automotive industry professionally since 2015 and joined The Drive in January 2018.