The IndyCar Afterburn: Qualifying for the 109th Indianapolis 500

Today’s theme music: “365” by Charli XCX

Qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix might outstrip the excitement of the actual race, but there may be no qualifying session in the world more important than the weekend before the Indianapolis 500. Over two days of grueling time trials, thirty-four drivers had to fight four laps at a time for their right to even be part of the race. The rewards for doing well were at their highest of the year, with those in the top 12 earning up to 12 championship points as a reward for their speed, but the risk of an early heartbreak on Bump Day was just as strong. This weekend delivered in spades on both those fronts, so whether you missed it or want to relive it, let’s recap the big storylines of the weekend and see how they set the table for the Greatest Spectacle in Motorsport.

Shwartzman, Prema make history

Nobody expected Prema Racing to make noise coming into this 500. They’re a brand-new team going through all the usual growing pains, and in the first five races, their two drivers combined to put up just three finishes inside the top 20. Robert Shwartzman, in particular, had constant rough prep sessions, sometimes not even getting to turn his first laps of the weekend until qualifying.

Yet despite that start to his year, and the fact that he’d only taken oval orientation laps before this month, Shwartzman emerged as the weekend’s breakout star. Just getting into Sunday’s top 12 was an achievement in itself, but once he reached the Fast 6, he truly became a man possessed, screaming around the Brickyard at an average speed of 232.790 miles an hour. After withstanding valiant challenges from Pato O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist, that number proved sufficient, and the pilot of the #83 officially took pole position for next weekend.

Not only did this mark the first big prize for both Shwartzman and Prema in IndyCar, it made him the first rookie in this millennium to take pole at the Indy 500. That broke a drought going back to Teo Fabi, who grabbed the honor in 1983 on his way to nearly beating “Big” Al Unser for that year’s CART championship. However, if Shwartzy wants to keep elevating his name and put it alongside the greats of the past, he’ll have to put all that out of mind and focus the task ahead.

Sato attacks, gets chance

Right next to Shwartzman on the front row, we find another fan favorite in Takuma Sato. The Japanese two-time winner lived up to his “No attack, no chance” motto all weekend long, blowing his Rahal Letterman Lanigan teammates out of the water at every step. That added up to a spell as provisional polesitter in the Fast 6, and his time defeated both Álex Palou and Scott Dixon before Shwartzman finally took it away. 

Still, Sato will now start P2 at the 500 for the first time ever, and it’s worth noting that every time he’s started in the top four, he’s finished in Victory Lane. Could that pattern work out for him a third time?

Penskes fail tech, chaos ensues

Given Team Penske’s penchant blistering speed around any oval, many expected one of their drivers to take pole again this year, if not a full front row lockout like we got last year. However, while things started out according to plan, with all three cars making the top 12, Sunday saw things quickly fall apart.

The downfall started in practice with last year’s record-setting polesitter Scott McLaughlin, who hit the wall and flipped just after Turn 2. Though he was unhurt, the car was an absolute wreck, and it wouldn’t be repaired in time for top-12 qualifying.

Thus, the action on big Fox started with just 11 drivers, and that quickly fell to just nine when both Will Power and Josef Newgarden failed tech inspection due to illegally-applied sealant on their cars’ rear attenuators. That decision sent waves of upset around the paddock, and not just from the fans. Josef Newgarden went for an angry run through the infield to blow off steam, while Pato O’Ward went on record saying the Penskes should have had to deal with Bump Day rather than getting to keep their top-twelve spots.

In a way, Pato got his wish. Just this morning, IndyCar sent Power and Newgarden to the back of the grid while taking away their Fast 12 championship points and their strategists for the 500. The consequences just kept rolling team-wide, as Team Penske fired three top employees Wednesday morning, including team president Tim Cindric.

McLaughlin kept his P10 start, as his car didn’t have the violation on it, but from here on out, all three crews need to keep it clean, and the drivers, regardless of how clued-in they were on this, will have suspicious eyes on them for the rest of May, if not the season.

Dose of Daly drama saves Rahal

One driver, in a roundabout way, pounced on the Penske-shaped window of opportunity all this created is Juncos Hollinger’s Conor Daly. As time expired on Saturday’s trials, the Irish-American put up a heroic effort to try to improve his standing, and though he succeeded in getting out of 21st, it was initially only good for P13. Still, he got a free trip to the fourth row alongside Alexander Rossi, and if a big wreck on the first turn occurs where Daly would’ve been had he not made that run, he’ll be extremely thankful he took the shot.

Meanwhile, Graham Rahal will be thankful for that run regardless, because when Daly made his move, Rahal was sitting 30th and Marco Andretti’s team had failed to get in the priority lane in time. As a result, Rahal got the Sunday before the 500 off for the first time in three years. Considering his track record of finishing way above where he started in recent 500s, this could pave the way for a very respectable performance if he can keep his nose clean on race day.

Herta, Armstrong overcome Saturday scares

McLaughlin’s Sunday spill was actually the last of the big crashes that impacted the weekend, as two other drivers went airborne on Saturday. The first and scariest happened to Marcus Armstrong, who got hit hard enough in practice that he left the track in an ambulance. He’d make it back on track in a Frankencar and get some test laps in, but he ultimately had to go to Bump Day to get his spot on the grid.

Later that same day, Colton Herta went skidding upside-down along the asphalt and looked very much bound for Bump Day. However, in a masterclass of engineering work, the Andretti #26 crew were able to put together a backup car in just four hours, and Herta piloted it fast enough in qualifying to secure 29th on the grid.

VeeKay beats Abel in Coyne civil war

In the early part of the hour, Bump Day looked like it might come and go without much drama. Marcus Armstrong and Marco Andretti quickly set times that ensured their safety, Rinus VeeKay was a couple miles slower for 33rd, and rookie Jacob Abel sat on the outside looking in. However, with time winding down, VeeKay decided to throw out his time and go again. The decision nearly ended in disaster, as despite having access to his hybrid systems this time, the Dutchman actually posted a worse time and dipped below 227 miles an hour. That left the door open for Abel, but the rookie couldn’t capitalize, suffering his own even steeper drop as time expired and officially getting hit with the ignominious DNQ at the hands of his own teammate.

Abel can at least say he didn’t crash out of his first Indy qualifying the way Nolan Siegel did, and given his family backing, he should get another shot next year. Meanwhile, VeeKay, traditionally a very strong qualifier at Indy, will now have all of Dale Coyne Racing’s hands on deck as they try to give him a setup that helps him claw out of this hole.

Future Flames: 500 miles to immortality

If you’re reading this the day it went live, that means the Indianapolis 500 is just two days away. Breathe in the hype, people. Bask in it. Before long, the most glorious day in the global motorsport calendar will be upon us.

Between Shwartzman, Sato, and Pato O’Ward, we’ve got three potentially very popular winners sitting on the front row. Lurking right behind them, though, we find two very scary Chip Ganassi drivers eager to usurp those starting ahead. Between the two, Álex Palou likely has the edge in raw pace—in fact, his 233 mph performance on Saturday would have been good for pole if he’d repeated it Sunday—but this race always starts the annual “He ain’t win on no ovals, Pawwwwl” discourse around him. Meanwhile, Scott Dixon, the man who’s led more laps at the 500 than anyone in history, brings both the experience and the pace to challenge for his long-awaited second win.

On row three, we find David Malukas, the highest-qualifying American in the field; Christian Lundgaard, who’ll be very eager to challenge Pato on ovals the way he has on road and street tracks; and Marcus Ericsson, who won in 2022, nearly won again in 2023, and can’t do worse than getting collected on the first turn like last year. Behind them, of course, we have Scott McLaughlin, who would certainly love a Baby Borg to go with his conquest of the Bathurst 1000.

Add in big guns like Colton Herta, NASCAR champion Kyle Larson, and four-time 500 winner Hélio Castroneves farther down the order, plus the inevitable cast of characters who’ll save their best drive of the year for the Brickyard, and there’s no telling who’ll take the win or what stars will align to get them there.

That said, the biggest story at the back will undoubtedly be Josef Newgarden and Will Power. The former’s shot at a threepeat is now significantly harder, and both men will attempt to break a record set by Ray Harroun at the first ever 500 when he started from 28th and won the race. However, they’ll need every little thing to go right for that, and even that might not be enough if the Speedway chooses another winner.