Race Preview: The 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500

Another May has nearly come and gone, and as we head into Memorial Day weekend, all eyes
turn to the greatest spectacle in racing: the Indianapolis 500.
The 109th running of the event hasn’t lacked drama — and it all started as early as April testing,
when Takuma Sato lost the rear and slammed into the wall. A sign of things to come.
This year is the debut of the hybrid system at IMS, and with it came pains. The added weight
proved tricky, most notably in Turn 1. Marcus Armstrong was the first to find the wall, crashing
out during practice. Hours later, Colton Herta got loose in the same corner during qualifying —
his car launching, flipping, and coming to rest upside down near Turn 2.

Short Qualifying Recap

This was one of the wildest qualifying weekends I’ve seen in my 25 years on this planet. A
teammate battle for the final spot on the grid, a racing miracle, and yet another Penske scandal
all in a matter of hours.
Heading into Sunday’s showdown, the Fast 12 featured nine familiar faces, two rising stars, and
a veteran back at the front of the grid.
Fast 12 Qualifiers (not in final starting order):

1. Christian Lundgaard
2. Marcus Ericsson
3. Will Power
4. Takuma Sato
5. Felix Rosenqvist
6. David Malukas
7. Robert Shwartzman
8. Scott Dixon
9. Pato O’Ward
10. Josef Newgarden
11. Scott McLaughlin
12. Alex Palou

Takuma Sato

Seemingly on a different planet from the rest of Rahal Letterman Lanigan, the two-time Indy
500 winner stayed near the top of the charts all day. In a newly built RLL Honda, Sato made a
statement — the drive for three is alive.

David Malukas

After spending last year’s 500 in the NBC booth and doing social content for IndyCar after being
let go by Arrow McLaren, Malukas returned with something to prove. Quietly quick, he showed
he’s more than capable of hanging with the big dogs. If he carries that pace into race day, don’t
count him out as he strives for more consistent results.

Robert Shwartzman

Rookie driver. Rookie team. First oval. Fast 12. Fast 6. POLE POSITION!
Shwartzman and Prema Racing, who have struggled through much of their debut season,
shocked the field by breaking into Sunday qualifying. For a team still finding its way in American
open-wheel racing, this was a massive breakthrough.

Last Row Drama

Sunday kicked off with a dramatic shootout for the final spot in the field — a teammate battle
between Dale Coyne Racing’s Rinus VeeKay and Jacob Abel. Unfortunately for the Kentucky
rookie, Abel’s Miller High Life Honda simply never had speed this month. Lacking both speed
and setup, he missed the show. It stings a little more when it’s one of your own fellow
Kentuckians.

The Penske Attenuator Situation

Just as cars lined up for the Fast Six, chaos erupted in pit lane. Team Penske was frantically
working behind the scenes, and soon the news broke: Josef Newgarden and Will Power’s cars
had failed tech inspection. The why? Illegal rear attenuator modifications designed to reduce
drag — a clear safety violation.
IndyCar president Doug Boles handed down $100,000 fines per car and sent both drivers to the
back of the grid. Then came the fallout: team owner Roger Penske went nuclear, dismissing
team president Tim Cindric, managing director Ron Ruzewski, and general manager Kyle Moyer.
This marks the second high-profile rules violation in months, after Penske was previously
penalized for manipulating the push-to-pass system in St. Pete 2024.

Prema Pole on Oval Debut

While the paddock buzzed over Penske’s penalties, the biggest story of all was still unfolding.
Robert Shwartzman put down a four-lap average of 232.790 mph to grab provisional pole —
locking in a front-row start for Prema Racing in their Indy 500 debut.

When Felix Rosenqvist’s final run came up just short, history was made: Robert Shwartzman
became the first rookie to sit on pole for the Indy 500 in 43 years. The moment — and the Fox
broadcast call by Buxton, Bell, and Hinchcliffe — will live in IndyCar lore for ages to come.

All Eyes on Pato O’Ward

With a scrambled starting grid and many of the usual suspects out of position, the spotlight
naturally falls on Pato O’Ward, who starts from P3.
In the last five years, O’Ward has racked up two runner-up finishes and four top-six results — all
from the third row or worse. This year, for the first time, he has the track position to match his
race-day pace, and he’s doing it in what might be the strongest McLaren we’ve seen at the
Speedway.
The competition around him tells the story.

Shwartzman and Prema have been quick, but they’re both making their oval debut — and doing
it at the world’s biggest race.
Takuma Sato? A two-time winner, sure, but this is his one and only race of the year — and he
hasn’t turned a lap in competition in twelve months.
Rosenqvist starts ahead, but the record from their McLaren days suggests Pato consistently had
the upper hand.

And for once, Ganassi doesn’t look untouchable after a surprisingly vulnerable Fast Six showing.
With a clean month behind him and a car that looks properly dialed in, this could be the year
O’Ward finally takes control up front — and never looks back.

Starting Grid for the 109th Indianapolis 500

1 – 83 Shwartzman, Robert (R)
2 – 75 Sato, Takuma
3 – 5 O’Ward, Pato
4 – 9 Dixon, Scott
5 – 60 Rosenqvist, Felix
6 – 10 Palou, Alex
7 – 4 Malukas, David
8 – 7 Lundgaard, Christian
9 – 28 Ericsson, Marcus
10 – 3 McLaughlin, Scott
11 – 76 Daly, Conor
12 – 20 Rossi, Alexander
13 – 8 Simpson, Kyffin
14 – 33 Carpenter, Ed
15 – 14 Ferrucci, Santino
16 – 30 DeFrancesco, Devlin
17 – 77 Robb, Sting Ray
18 – 21 Rasmussen, Christian
19 – 17 Larson, Kyle
20 – 45 Foster, Louis (R)
21 – 90 Ilott, Callum
22 – 06 Castroneves, Helio
23 – 27 Kirkwood, Kyle
24 – 6 Siegel, Nolan (R)
25 – 23 Hunter-Reay, Ryan
26 – 24 Harvey, Jack
27 – 26 Herta, Colton
28 – 15 Rahal, Graham
29 – 98 Andretti, Marco
30 – 66 Armstrong, Marcus
31 – 18 Veekay, Rinus
32 – 2 Newgarden, Josef
33 – 12 Power, Will

written by David Roberdeaux / Media Credit: Penske Entertainment