Shwartzman First Rookie To Take Indy 500 Pole In 42 Years

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — In a stunning turn of events, a rookie will be starting on pole for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500.

The new sweetheart of the fans, without a doubt, is Robert Shwartzman. The Israeli rookie with no oval experience and very little IndyCar experience dazzled the crowd at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with an impressive run on Saturday. He replicated the results on Sunday with an average of 232.790 mph, good enough to start in the top spot on Memorial Day weekend.

“Honestly, it feels like I’m dreaming,” Shwartzman said. “It’s the Indy 500, the main race of the year. The car felt amazing. I’m really proud of the team. I never expected myself to be in this position!”

PREMA Racing and Shwartzman had 40-to-1 odds to claim the pole over the likes of the established teams like Chip Ganassi, Team Penske, and Arrow McLaren. Takuma Sato laid down an average speed of 232.478 mph to start second. Pato O’Ward competes the front row starting third with an average speed of 232.098 mph.

Shwartzman is the first rookie to start on pole in the Indianapolis 500 since Teo Fabi in 1983. The achievement is also the first pole position for PREMA Racing since entering IndyCar competition at the beginning of the season.

A surprise of the Fast 6 qualifying was Alex Palou. Despite being a heavy favorite for the pole out of the first day of qualifying on Saturday, he was unable to replicate the speed he found the day before. Palou qualified sixth, on the outside of Row Two, at 231.378 mph. To his left will be teammate Scott Dixon (232.052 mph) in fourth and Felix Rosenqvist (231.987 mph) in fifth.

PENSKE PROBLEMS

As good a day as it was for PREMA Racing, it was a disaster of a day for Team Penske. It started off promising with Scott McLaughlin taking to the track in Fast 12 practice shortly after 1:00 pm. After having turned the fastest lap of the month at 233.553 mph, McLaughlin wrecked his ‘Yellow Submarine’ exiting Turn Two.

With the car destroyed, there was no hope of McLaughlin competing for the pole for a second time in a row. It only got worse for Team Penske, who were then disqualified from Fast 12 qualifying due to a failure of pre-qualifying inspection.

“The 12 (Will Power) had actually passed inspection,” said Penske team president Tim Cindric. “But, when the 2-car (Josef Newgarden) also went through, an official noticed a video of the crew making changes that they didn’t like. There was a blending on the attenuator. Knowing it was the same on the 12-car, we decided to pull both cars out of the qualifying line.”

IndyCar referred to the violation as a “body fit violation on the rear attenuator.” Essentially, Penske crew members tried filling in a lip on the attenuator to make it smoother in the air. The attenuator is not a part that crews are allowed to alter in any way.

Because of this move, both Newgarden and Power forfeited their qualifying spots in line. With McLaughlin not taking a qualifying run as well, McLaughlin, Newgarden, and Power will occupy all three spots on Row 4 based on their previous times from Saturday.

ABEL UNABLE

The drama of Bump Day was brought back to life again on Sunday with a dual of teammates for the last spot available in the Indianapolis 500 field. The Dale Coyne cars of Rinus Veekay and Jacob Abel struggled to find enough speed to make the Top 30 on Saturday. In like manner, Marco Andretti found himself in the same boat. Marcus Armstrong crashed on Saturday and had no choice but to take part in Last Chance Qualifying.

Andretti and Armstrong qualified with virtual ease. Veekay and Abel had to battle amongst themselves. Veekay laid down a first run of 227.740 mph. It was well off the pace, but enough to get in the show. Abel’s subsequent run of 227.112 mph was not fast enough to bump his teammate from the field. As Abel cooled his car for another run, Veekay and crew went out again.

Forefiting their previous time, it was reported that Veekay was unable to use his hybrid on the previous run. The logic was to improve their time with the hybrid issue resolved. Veekay ended up going slower at 226.913 mph. Abel, still without a registered time, had one last shot to bump his way in as the gun sounded on the day. It was to no avail as Abel’s 226.394 mph would not get him in the show.

“Starting yesterday, I had kind of been preparing for this,” Abel said. “It’s strange. We’d been fast all week, but between Friday and Saturday, we lost something. It sucks. I thought this would be my first Indy 500, but hopefully it will be sooner rather than later.”

“It’s a relief, to be honest,” Veekay said, knowing he will be in the field. “We were just very slow, both Jacob and I. Unfortunately, it was going to be one of us two to go out. It feels good to make the field, but it is very, very much the definition of bittersweet.”

THE STAGE IS SET

With that, the field of 33 for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 is set. The drivers who have made the field will have two more practice sessions before race day. One will happen on Monday for a two-hour period. The final practice will be on Carb Day on Friday before the race on Sunday.