0
0
Curt Cavin
INDYCAR Staff Writer
An unlikely starting lineup will soon arrive at the green flag for the sold-out 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
There are storylines throughout the 33-car field, but there are none more surprising than rookie Robert Shwartzman, who is competing on an oval track for the first time, starting on the first row as the pole winner, and Josef Newgarden, the winner of the past two “500s,” starting on the last row.
SEE: Event Details | Starting Lineup
The latter is a result of Team Penske being penalized for having an improperly modified attenuator on the cars of Newgarden and 2018 “500” winner Will Power. They will start 32nd and 33rd, respectively. But Shwartzman becoming the first rookie pole winner since Teo Fabi in 1983 and only the fourth such newcomer to start first on Race Day since 1950? That was the ultimate stunner.
Former race winners are sprinkled through the field, and the most decorated is Helio Castroneves of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian. The four-time race winner will take his fourth shot at becoming a five-time winner. He will take the green flag from the 22nd position. He has started in the 20s in the races since winning in 2021.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon is another of the former “500” winners, and he has another golden opportunity to end his long drought since his 2008 victory. He will start fourth.
Takuma Sato of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing will start second in a bid to become one of only 11 drivers to have won the “500” at least three times. Sato has a history of finishing what he starts. When he won in 2017, he started fourth. In 2020, he started third and finished first. Newgarden also can become a rare three-time “500” winner, but this would come with added history, as he would become the first driver to win “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” three years in a row.
Other former “500” winners in this field are Ryan Hunter-Reay of DRR/Cusick Motorsports (2014), Alexander Rossi of Ed Carpenter Racing (2016) and Marcus Ericsson of Andretti Global (2022).
Additional things to watch:
The Race Starts with Shwartzman
The rookie even surprised himself in earning the NTT P1 Award in PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying. In addition to being a first-timer in this event, this will be his first oval race. And if that wasn’t enough, PREMA Racing, a team with European road racing roots dating back to 1983, will make its oval and IMS debut on Sunday.
Shwartzman has leaned on former driver Ryan Briscoe, the “500” pole winner in 2012, for advice. Briscoe has been the calm voice for the Israel-born, Russian-reared driver as Briscoe has competed in the event for Team Penske, Chip Ganassi Racing and what is now Arrow McLaren.
There isn’t much of a reference point for Shwartzman to go on. Fabi finished 26th in 1983 after completing only 47 laps due to equipment failure. In 1950, rookie pole winner Walt Faulkner finished a lap off Johnnie Parsons’ winning pace in seventh place. Tony Stewart started from the pole in 1996 after pole sitter and teammate Scott Brayton suffered fatal injuries in a practice crash, but Stewart completed only 82 laps before engine failure.
Even the most veteran of pole winners have failed to win the race. Since 2010, only Simon Pagenaud in 2019 has won from the top starting position.
Shwartzman, 25, is the first Israeli to compete in the “500.”
The Biggest Storyline?
Newgarden was a big story even before INDYCAR sent two Team Penske cars to the back of the starting lineup for modifying an attenuator that is a spec part. No driver in history has won three Indy 500s in succession, and that’s what Newgarden is chasing. Al Unser and Castroneves came the closest with second-place finishes in 1972 and 2003, respectively. If Newgarden wins a third, he will set the event record for the deepest starting position. Ray Harroun and Louis Meyer won from the 28th positions in 1911 and 1936, respectively.
A win by Castroneves would certainly be a monumental story as he would break a tie with three of the event’s most legendary drivers: A.J. Foyt, Unser and Rick Mears. Castroneves also would set the “500” record as the oldest winner. He turned 50 on May 10. Unser is the oldest winner at 47 years, 360 days in 1987.
Sato winning a third “500” (and second with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) would be historic for Japan, and a win by any of the drivers would be noteworthy for the 14 countries they represent. The drivers in the first eight starting positions hail from eight different countries, a first in the history of the event. Like Castroneves, Sato also can also become the event’s oldest winner ever. He is 48.
A win by Kyle Larson of Arrow McLaren would send shock waves through the U.S. sports world. He is NASCAR’s Cup Series points leader and 2021 season champion, and he is considered the most versatile driver in this country since Stewart, who will be on site as one of FOX’s broadcasters. In addition to winning the “500,” Larson hopes to complete all the laps here at Indy and later Sunday in NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. His bid a year ago ended with a rain delay in the Hoosier state and rain ended the Charlotte race early.
O’Ward Stirs Crowd
Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward is this generation’s Tony Kanaan.
Like Kanaan, O’Ward has consistently knocked on the door of the Borg-Warner Trophy, only to come up short. O’Ward finished second to Ericsson in 2022 and Newgarden last year when he was leading at the white flag. O’Ward has also finished fourth in 2021, sixth in 2020 and crashed late in the 2023 race trying to pass for second place.
Kanaan won the “500” in his 12th attempt. Before winning, he had finished second through fifth.
O’Ward has led 93 laps in the event, including a career-high 39 in 2023. He has led at least 11 laps in each of the past four races.
Palou Leading Standings
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou has won four of the first five NTT INDYCAR SERIES races this season and holds a staggering 97-point lead over second-place Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global. But that means little this week as Palou pursues his first “500” victory.
Palou, who starts from the sixth position, has often been the pacesetter in practices this week. He has led 119 laps in oval races at IMS and has been on the cusp of winning several races only to get collected in a variety of unfortunate situations.
In 2021, Castroneves’ experience was what kept Palou in second place at the checkered flags. The next year, the Spaniard was coming to pit road with the mid-race lead when the caution came out, thwarting his momentum as he got sent to the rear of the field for the restart. In 2023, Rinus VeeKay’s car struck Palou’s on pit road. Through all of that, Palou’s average finish in the past four races is an impressive 5.0.
The other thing to keep in mind is that Palou has never won an oval race. His 15 series victories have been divided between permanent road courses (13) and street circuits (two). However, two of his wins have come at IMS on the road course, including the past two Sonsio Grands Prix.
FOX Makes ‘500’ Debut
FOX Sports has been hailed throughout the NTT INDYCAR SERIES paddock for its considerable commitment to the sport, and that first-year effort will be on full display Sunday.
The broadcast will begin at 10 a.m. ET and celebrities and FOX on-air talent such as football greats Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and Michael Strahan will be on hand in various capacities. Brady will ride in INDYCAR’s Fastest Seat in Sports machine driven by seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson. Strahan will be the race’s honorary Pace Car driver in a Chevrolet Corvette ZR1. Gronkowski will be the grand marshal of the Coors Light Snake Pit in the infield near Turn 3.
Former “500” drivers Townsend Bell and 2016 pole sitter James Hinchcliffe are season regulars as INDYCAR analysts on FOX, which has Tony Stewart and Danica Patrick contributing this weekend. Award-winning storyteller Tom Rinaldi will have two special packages that will air Sunday. Chris Myers will serve as host.
At the lead microphone will be Will Buxton, who in addition to calling his first “500,” will attend the race for the first time. He also is the first Englishman as television’s play-by-play broadcaster for the event.
Sunday’s race will be only the second official sellout in history – the other was in 2016. FOX Sports will offer its coverage on FOX, FOX Deportes and the FOX Sports app.
