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Indianapolis Star
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
'A lot of beer': Trash cleanup crews descend on IMS after Indianapolis 500
The gravel below the grandstands of turn 4 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Memorial Day morning showed the aftermath of the more than 300,000 people that attended the Greatest Spectacle in Racing the day before. Hot dog buns and half-eaten fried chicken pieces were scattered between crinkled bags of chips, candy wrappers and paper plates. Empty cans that fell from the bleachers to the rocks indicated the beer preferences of Indianapolis 500 race fans, including Bud Light, Busch Light and Miller Lite to name a few. But in the H and J stands of turn 4, members of Frankton High School's Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Anderson University football team spent the morning cleaning up the remnants of race day, starting in the bleachers and working their way to the gravel below. 'A lot of beer,' Frankton High School junior Hadely Walls said of what she saw at IMS. 'It's crazy to see how many people don't throw away their trash.' The Memorial Day cleanup, which happens every year after the Indy 500, is a fundraising opportunity for the Frankton and Anderson groups. With every chicken bone and beer can picked up from their portion of the massive track, they earn money to support their organizations, advisers said. Jonathan Coddington, the head football coach for Anderson, said his team has tackled similar cleanups before, including after Indianapolis Colts games and big concerts. The groups took on the cleanup challenge with the help of Jim Hostettler, who said he has assisted post-race trash pickups since 1998. Hostettler said IMS can pay about $4,000 for the cleanup of stands H and J, but he enjoys seeing different groups, especially younger kids, get out and work. 'It's good to let the kids know they're doing it for the environment,' he said. Kaydence Banda, a freshman at Frankton, said she saw the packed grandstands on TV during the race on May 25 and was struck by how quiet IMS was just a day later, as she stood in the same bleachers and carried down trash bags of garbage from race day. Memorial Day was Banda's first time helping clean up after the Indy 500. 'It's crazy big,' Banda said of IMS. 'I don't think I really knew what to expect.' While fundraising was one perk of cleaning up after the Indy 500, the morning at IMS was also a chance to connect with other Frankton FCA members, Walls said. The group began just after 6 a.m. on May 26, riding in white "Frankton Eagles" buses to Indianapolis. "It's a great time to bond," she said. After tackling the bleachers, Hostettler directed the Frankton students and Anderson football players on how to clear the trash under the grandstands. Cans would go in one container and trash in another, he told the groups. They got to work immediately with rakes, recycle boxes and buckets with "Keep Indy Clean" printed in bold letters on the side and the clink of the cans hitting the containers a sign of their progress toward a cleaner section of the track.
Indianapolis Star
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- Indianapolis Star
'We were controlling the race': Promising Indy 500 for Conor Daly ends in disappointment
INDIANAPOLIS — Within the final 100 miles of the 2025 Indianapolis 500, Conor Daly was in second place. Instead of fighting for his first NTT IndyCar Series win, Daly had to settle for a 10th-place finish in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. The Noblesville native ran inside the top 10 for most of the first half of the race and moved the No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet into the top five near the race's halfway point. Daly led 13 laps before making his penultimate pit stop but something changed in the car's handling that forced the team to make their final pit stop earlier than planned. 'Something must have broken like about halfway through, because our car was unbelievably good and then all of a sudden the last two sets of tires (were) just completely different,' Daly told assembled media on pit road after the race. 'And the degradation was absurd. We were crashing basically for 15 laps in a row. Normally in my entire life, you usually get better as you go, and for some reason we got to a point and just had just a massive shift in what our car was doing.' 'The car was really good,' team co-owner Ricardo Juncos said. 'I mean, we were controlling the race. We thought everything was really, really good. And something happened on the last two set of tires. I mean, the second to last set was really, really, really, really bad. He was saving the car (and was) about to crash and then we've got to pit a lap earlier.' Daly told his crew of a slight vibration in his car before his penultimate pitstop. The crew noted that the right rear tire pressure was slightly above normal and Daly's slide down the running order commenced. David Malukas passed Daly for second place on Lap 164. On the following lap, Alex Palou and Santino Ferrucci dropped Daly to fifth. After telling his crew that they would lose too much time staying on track, the JHR crew called Daly in for his final pitstop on Lap 166, earlier than planned. That meant that Daly had to run slower laps to save more fuel for the rest of the race, ending any chance he had to win. After running in eighth place for much of the final stint of the race, Daly fell as low as 11th before a very late pit stop from Helio Castroneves gifted Daly 10th place on Lap 199 before Alex Palou claimed his first win at Indianapolis. Sunday's result might be Daly's best finish of the 2025 IndyCar season so far, but frustration was the only thing evident on Daly's face after a lengthy conversation with the team's engineers over the headsets at the pit wall. 'This car is super fast,' Daly said. 'I'd like to just put it in the trailer and hopefully if they'll have me back next year, wheel it out for next year and just try to figure out how we do it again. 'I've led a lot of races, but I keep leading the wrong lap. So we've just got to get this thing good at the right time and be there at the end.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Crashes at the 2025 Indianapolis 500: Kyle Larson, Scott McLaughlin, Rinus VeeKay and more
The 2025 Indianapolis 500 saw several crashes before the 109th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing was even halfway over. Here are all of the crashes from this year's race. More news: Amid Indy 500 crashes, watch Indycar drivers reactions to falling out of the race Kyle Larson, Sting Ray Robb out of the race after a crash on Lap 91 Kyle Larson, who is attempting to run both the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, spun out in Turn 2 on a Lap 91 restart, collecting Sting Ray Robb and knocking both out of the race. Arrow McLaren driver Kyle Larson (17) crashes Sunday, May 25, 2025, during the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Pole-setter Robert Shwartzman crashes during pitstop Prema Racing's Robert Shwartzman, a rookie driver who was on pole, slammed into some of his pit crew and the inside wall on a Lap 86 pit stop. Shwartzman blamed cold tires for the crash. Advertisement "As soon as I touched my breaks, my car just go," he said. PREMA Racing driver Robert Shwartzman (83) prepares to put on his helmet Sunday, May 25, 2025, ahead of the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Rinus VeeKay crashes on pit road during Lap 80 Dale Coyne Racing's Rinus VeeKay spun out of control entering pit road and hit the inside pit wall. After impact, VeeKay got the car pointed in the correct direction and drove his car to his pit stall. Dale Coyne Racing driver Rinus VeeKay (18) stands on the track Sunday, May 25, 2025, ahead of the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Alexander Rossi's day is over after car catches on fire Alexander Rossi, a driver for Ed Carpenter Racing, was getting a tire change when his car burst into flames. "That's what is so painful about this place. You have to do everything right," Rossi said. One of Ed Carpenter Racing driver Alexander Rossi's (20) crew members is sprayed with a fire retardant after helping extinguish a fire in Rossi's car Sunday, May 25, 2025, during the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Marco Andretti crashes on Lap 4 Marco Andretti, who races for Andretti Global, was knocked out due to a multi-car collision on Lap 4. Advertisement 'I'm fine, just bummed. I wait all year for this and to have it end that early is as frustrating that it gets. If I had a crystal ball, I just would've waited, but it's not really in my nature to do that,' Andretti said. 'I had a really good start going and just got crowded at the top. I couldn't move up anymore and got shoved into the wall.' Andretti Herta with Marco & Curb-Agajanian driver Marco Andretti (98) spins and hits the wall Sunday, May 25, 2025, during the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Scott McLaughlin crashes on parade lap Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin's race ended before it began. McLaughlin crashed on a warm-up lap before the race started. The race started under caution because of the crash. 'I have no idea what happened. I just lost it,' McLaughlin told reporters outside of the IU emergency medical center. 'I don't know whether there was a little bit of moisture, I don't know. Something happened and I'm just really sorry to my fans (and) my team that built me two fantastic cars with a lot of hope today. By far, worst moment of my life. Advertisement 'This is everything to us and I didn't even see the green flag, so heart is broken in a million pieces right now.' Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin (3) reacts after spinning out in the first turn on a pace lap Sunday, May 25, 2025, during the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indy 500 crashes: Kyle Larson, Marco Andretti, Rinus VeeKay and more
Indianapolis Star
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- Indianapolis Star
Crashes at the 2025 Indianapolis 500: Kyle Larson, Scott McLaughlin, Rinus VeeKay and more
The 2025 Indianapolis 500 saw several crashes before the 109th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing was even halfway over. Here are all of the crashes from this year's race. Kyle Larson, who is attempting to run both the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, spun out in Turn 2 on a Lap 91 restart, collecting Sting Ray Robb and knocking both out of the race. Prema Racing's Robert Shwartzman, a rookie driver who was on pole, slammed into some of his pit crew and the inside wall on a Lap 86 pit stop. Shwartzman blamed cold tires for the crash. "As soon as I touched my breaks, my car just go," he said. Dale Coyne Racing's Rinus VeeKay spun out of control entering pit road and hit the inside pit wall. After impact, VeeKay got the car pointed in the correct direction and drove his car to his pit stall. Alexander Rossi, a driver for Ed Carpenter Racing, was getting a tire change when his car burst into flames. "That's what is so painful about this place. You have to do everything right," Rossi said. Marco Andretti, who races for Andretti Global, was knocked out due to a multi-car collision on Lap 4. 'I'm fine, just bummed. I wait all year for this and to have it end that early is as frustrating that it gets. If I had a crystal ball, I just would've waited, but it's not really in my nature to do that,' Andretti said. 'I had a really good start going and just got crowded at the top. I couldn't move up anymore and got shoved into the wall.' Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin's race ended before it began. McLaughlin crashed on a warm-up lap before the race started. The race started under caution because of the crash. 'I have no idea what happened. I just lost it,' McLaughlin told reporters outside of the IU emergency medical center. 'I don't know whether there was a little bit of moisture, I don't know. Something happened and I'm just really sorry to my fans (and) my team that built me two fantastic cars with a lot of hope today. By far, worst moment of my life.
USA Today
25-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
33 things to know about Indy 500: Drivers to watch, loads of history, where Penske finishes
33 things to know about Indy 500: Drivers to watch, loads of history, where Penske finishes INDIANAPOLIS — The 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 features perhaps the fastest trio of drivers to start on the back row, along with a rookie polesitter on a rookie team, Kyle Larson's latest attempt at the double and a shot at what would be career-defining wins for IndyCar's young crop of stars that include Pato O'Ward, Alex Palou, David Malukas and Christian Lundgaard. Sunday's edition of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing is chock-full of storylines up and down the grid, with history likely, or even scheduled, to be broken and tension, potential drama aplenty. Here are 33 things to know and watch out for as you get ready to watch the 2025 Indianapolis 500: Rookie Robert Shwartzman an improbable Indy 500 polesitter The way in which rookie Robert Shwartzman shot up from the bottom of the timing charts to the very top in less than a week remains — admittedly during a chaotic lead-up to the Indy 500 — maybe the most under-the-radar headline and story arc we've seen this month. Keeping in mind that solely looking at practice results doesn't tell nearly the full story, here's where Shwartzman finished the sessions of the open test and full-field practices leading into qualifying (in chronological order): 30th, 28th, 25th, 31st, 33rd, 28th, 32nd and 13th. And then Qualifying Day 1, he finished sixth fastest, laid down the third best lap in the Fast 12 and threw down a lap neither O'Ward nor Felix Rosenqvist could top. Just a rapid ascent over the course of just over 48 hours, and he's now just the third rookie to win pole for the 500 on-track. Takuma Sato or Pato O'Ward could take lead before Lap 1 ends Now, what does that mean for the race? I wouldn't at all be surprised to see Takuma Sato (starting second) or O'Ward (third) jump out to the lead before the end of Lap 1. Frankly, as long as drivers stay out of areas where they could get caught up in others' messes, who's leading in the race's early laps matters very little, unless you're logging a bunch of laps at the front and putting your fuel consumption at risk. All that's to say, we haven't seen Shwartzman finish any better than 25th in a session run with race day boost levels (he was 26th Monday). I still don't think we really know what "Robert Shwartzman the race day performer" is going to bring, and I'd be thoroughly floored if he somehow wins, but honestly, a top 10 even would be a monumental performance for a team that only has four top-20 finishes in 10 starts so far in 2025. A Takuma Sato Indy 500 trend to note I'm not saying Sato is going to win Sunday, but I'm definitely noting this: of his 15 previous Indy 500 starts, he's started in the top four twice, in 2017 and 2020. Sato, with two separate teams that year and in two separate eras of the car (with and without the aero screen), won both times. The 48-year-old makes his best start on the middle of the front row. Why Pato O'Ward may win first Indy 500 According to Chad Smith, 14 times in the 500's history has the race-winner finished second the previous year — most recently with Dan Wheldon, who finished second each of the two previous years before his win in 2011. Though he's had a relatively quiet Month of May, O'Ward's loads of experience while running up nearly the front the last three years, if nothing else, gives him a level of experience few starting in the upper third of the field have. McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown may not witness Indy 500 from IMS If O'Ward or one of this three Arrow McLaren teammates finds a way to carve their way to victory lane on Sunday afternoon, there's a strong likelihood that McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown will be absent. As of the time of writing, Brown plans to stay with McLaren's Formula 1 team at its Monaco Grand Prix race weekend as long as at least one of its drivers is starting within the top 3, at a track where it's incredibly tough to pass among the frontrunners, in a series where McLaren has a more than a 100-point lead in the constructers championship and has its drivers sitting 1-2 in the drivers championship with five wins in seven races. McLaren hasn't won the crown jewel of the F1 calendar since 2008. This year stands to likely be the last year for the foreseeable future where the 500 and Monaco are run on the same day. Scott Dixon to make IndyCar history starting Indy 500 As he crosses the start-finish line on Sunday and takes the green flag, Scott Dixon will become IndyCar's all-time starts leader, breaking his tie with Mario Andretti for the all-time mark and making the 408th of his career. The active full-time driver with the second-most IndyCar starts is Will Power, who will make his 308th start Sunday, followed by Graham Rahal (298) and Josef Newgarden (221). A Scott Dixon Indy 500 win would make history Among the many marks he's made in the Indy 500 history books, a Dixon win Sunday from the inside of the second row would make for the longest gap between wins in a multi-time Indy 500 winner's career (17 years, 2008 to 2025). Juan Montoya currently holds the record of 15 years (2000-15), though he made no starts after his 2000 win until 2014. Scott Dixon's all-time laps led lead could grow Given his fourth-place starting spot this year, there's reason to think Dixon may find a way to grab some additional laps led to continue to pad his all-time mark of 677 and potentially become the first driver to reach 700. For comparison, Helio Castroneves has the second-most among active drivers and has just 326 (18th all-time). The most among full-time drivers is Power (145 laps, 43rd). Will Alex Palou finally break Indy 500 drought? Since his runner-up finish in the 500 in his first year with Chip Ganassi Racing, Palou has proved to be a constant storyline at or near the front, despite having failed to register another top-3 finish over his last three starts. He's overcome untimely yellow flags that forced him to take a splash of fuel while the pits were closed, sending him to the back of the field before he recovered to ninth (2022), was run into in pit lane and dropped beyond 25th halfway through the race before finishing fourth (2023) and clawed his way up from a 14th-place staring spot to finish fifth a year ago. Is this the year where Palou truly factors into the late-race action as he starts sixth? Alex Palou could join elite company with Indy 500 victory Unless he crumbles on the way to the finish, Palou is eyeing the chance of becoming the first driver since Dario Franchitti in 2010 to win both the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar title in the same season. Doing so in 2025 would make him one of five drivers in American open-wheel racing history with at least one 500 victory and four championships. Could Indy 500 bring shakeup to IndyCar championship race? A win Sunday would also ensure Palou enters the second third of the season with a more than 100-point lead. As it stands entering Sunday's 500, including points earned last weekend for qualifying sixth, Palou leads O'Ward by 97 points, Lundgaard by 100 and Kyle Kirkwood by 104. Depending on how chaotic Sunday's race is, with top drivers strewn throughout the starting grid, spots second to 10th in the championship could see a sizable shakeup, with those spots in the championship separated by just 58 points. Is Christian Lundgaard poised for best Indy 500 yet? In his three previous years racing for a Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team that consistently has struggled in qualifying of late, Lundgaard has historically been great at carving up the back of the pack and working his way to a respectable finish by the checkered flag, making up 39 total spots from his starting position in his three 500 starts. This year, Lundgaard starts (sixth) closer to the front of the grid than he's finished, his career-best 500 (13th) came in 2024. What will Marcus Ericsson do in this Indy 500? It's wild to think it's been this long, but Marcus Ericsson essentially hasn't run a 500 since his controversial runner-up run in 2023 that followed his 2022 victory. The Andretti Global driver was taken out in Turn 1 of Lap 1 a year ago, but qualified far and away better than any of his teammates (ninth) and is one of just three former 500 winners starting in the top 10 this year among a class of eight former winners — 10 (1992) is the all-time record for former 500 winners in a field. Scott McLaughlin gives Penske its best chance at Indy 500 win Scott McLaughlin firmly believed he had the field's fastest car before his Sunday afternoon crash that will see him step into a backup car for Sunday's race. The 2024 polesitter said Thursday he has every reason to believe his team has still prepared him a rocket ship, and if Team Penske has any serious hope in a third straight 500 victory, he's likely to be their winning ticket as the only one of Roger Penske's cars starting inside the top 30. Team Penske has new cars lined up for Indy 500 Before he was first suspended from Sunday's race and then later fired by Roger Penske, Tim Cindric pointed out to reporters that all three of Team Penske's cars Sunday will be entering their first races. Historically, Team Penske prepares Indy 500-specific cars for their drivers, and IMS is the only track they race on, so as to attempt to hone them in for the specific rigors of the 500. Cindric said McLaughlin's car for the race is a new chassis after he totaled his pole-winning car from a year ago. Power's is also new after his sizable crash in last year's race, and Newgarden's 2024 chassis was retired after a single start, as Team Penske immediately puts its 500-winners into either its own museum or that of IMS. Indy 500 starting grid has parity This year's first four rows on the grid features 10 of the race's 12 teams, with only Arrow McLaren and Chip Ganassi Racing landing more than one driver in the mix and only Dale Coyne Racing and Dreyer and Reinbold Racing not represented, entering a race that at the moment lacks a clear favorite, or even a clear and obvious short-list of 2 to 3 drivers, unlike a year ago. Conor Daly's Indy 500 helmet honors fellow Hoosier Wilbur Shaw With the grid penalties handed out to Power and Newgarden this week, Conor Daly will start as close to the front of the Indy 500 grid as the Hoosier ever has, tying an 11th place start in 2019. Since that race, Daly has managed to log four top-10 finishes, including a career-best sixth in 2022, despite starting no better than 16th in his last five starts. This year, he's honoring Wilbur Shaw, who stands as the last 500 winner born and raised in Indiana, with a tribute helmet featuring the same colors as Shaw's car he won the 1940 Indy 500 in, the last of Shaw's three victories. Alexander Rossi a dark horse Indy 500 winner? For someone who hasn't won the 500 since his rookie year in 2016, you'd be hard-pressed to find a driver who's performed better and found himself near the front more often in the last nine years who hasn't won in the previous eight races than Alexander Rossi, whose last three finishes are fifth, fifth and fourth. With a decent starting spot (12th) and a solid race car, I'd expect to see Rossi up at the front at some point. And who knows, remember who won the last 500 with soldout grandstands? Can Ed Carpenter shake his poor Indy 500 finishes? The 500 hasn't been kind of late to Ed Carpenter, who makes his third consecutive start outside the top 12 (14th) and who hasn't finished inside the top 16 in his three previous starts. Now as a 500-only driver for the first time in his career, Sunday's race stands to be Carpenter's last race for a calendar year, when he'd be 45 years old and making his 23rd Indy 500 start. Will we see the youngest or oldest Indy 500 winner take victory lane? As has been the case the last several years, this year's 500 could still see the oldest, or youngest, winner in its history. The records currently are owned by Troy Ruttman (youngest; 22 years, 80 days old for his 1952 win) and Al Unser Sr. (oldest; 47 years, 360 days old for his 1987 win). Indy 500 rookies Nolan Siegel (20 years, 197 days old on race day) and Louis Foster (21 years, 302 days) would both be record-young winners, as would second-year driver Kyffin Simpson (20 years, 228 days). Castroneves (50 years, 15 days) and Sato (48 years, 117 days) will be able to set the all-time oldest 500 winner mark for the remainder of their careers. Will a first-time Indy 500 winner drought be snapped? Our most recent Indy 500 first-time winner (Newgarden in 2023) fell one race short of tying Sam Hanks' record as the longest start to a race-winner's career before an initial victory. Several drivers in the field would blow the doors off Hanks' mark of 13 starts when he won in 1957, including Rahal (18th start, starting 28th), Marco Andretti (20th start, starting 29th) and Carpenter (22nd start, starting 14th). Can Kyle Larson complete the double in full? Just getting a chance to start both the Indy 500 and Coke 600 would be an improvement on Larson's initial attempt at the double in 2024, where Mother Nature hampered his chances and forced he and his team to choose. But should he manage to make it to Charlotte on time Sunday, his Hendrick 1,100 will mark the 10th time the two races have been run in the same day. Six of those nine previous attempts have led to top 10s in the 500, with sixth-place achieved by Robby Gordon, Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch. As one might imagine, the closing stint of the feat, 600 miles at Charlotte Motor Speedway, has been tougher to excel at. Only twice, Stewart's pair of attempts in 1999 and 2001, has a double driver finished all 400 laps of the Coke 600. And only one of those (2001) saw Stewart complete all 200 laps at the 500, too. That year, Stewart finished sixth at IMS and third in Charlotte. Helio Castroneves becomes 15th driver to start Indy 500 at age 50 or older A member of the media jokingly asked Castroneves if he'd yet obtained his AARP card yet, to which the newly minted 50-year-old said 'no.' But this year, the four-time winner becomes the first 50-year-old the Indy 500 field has seen since Lyn St. James in 2000. Castroneves' start Sunday will be the race's 38th in its history by drivers age 50 or older, and he's the 15th different driver to do so. Of those starts, only nine have ended up in the top 10, and just three of them (Mario Andretti, fifth in 1993; A.J. Foyt, fifth in 1989; and Al Unser Sr., third in 1992) have ended in top-5 finishes. Helio Castroneves closing in on Indy 500 mileage leader By taking the checkered flag on the lead lap last year, Castroneves moved within 1,000 miles of Foyt's all-time miles completed record in the Indy 500, sitting at 11,495 and second all-time, compared to the record of 12,272.5 miles. With a full race this year and next, Castroneves would become the 500's all-time mileage leader. Among active drivers, Dixon sits second (10,172.5 miles), followed by Carpenter (9,477.5 miles), Andretti (8,782.5 miles) and Power (7,998 miles). From back of the pack to Indy 500 winner? Experience may get it done Just once since 1988 has a driver started 19th or worse and won the 500, meaning several star drivers in this year's field would have to pull off some serious magic to turn that trend around. Along with 2021 NASCAR Cup series champ and double' participant Kyle Larson (19th), the back chunk of the field includes three-time IndyCar race-winner Kirkwood (23rd), 2014 Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay (25th), 2024 IndyCar championship runner-up Colton Herta (27th), two-time defending Indy 500 winner Newgarden (32nd) and 2018 Indy 500 winner Power (33rd). Can a rookie win the Indy 500 this year? Only 10 times has the Indy 500 been won by a rookie, including the first running in 1911, as well as the third (1913) and fourth (1914), and only four times has it happened since 1928 — by the legendary Graham Hill (1966), by young rookies in the midst of the contentious split (Montoya, 2000; Castroneves, 2001) and by one of the most masterful fuel saves we've seen in recent memory (Rossi, 2016). This year's polesitter Shwartzman far and away has the best odds of adding to that historic list with Foster (22nd) and Siegel (26th) a ways back. How does Rinus Veekay fare with worst Indy 500 starting spot? After a career at the 500 that saw him qualify no worse than fourth in his first four starts, Rinus VeeKay will roll off Sunday on the inside of the 11th and final row on the grid — a position only marginally improved with Newgarden and Power being sent to the back. Watching him to see how he fairs carving through the back of the field instead of trading off the lead at the front should be a performance to keep a close eye on. Will Josef Newgarden or Will Power drive to historic Indy 500 win? History would say the penalties levied by IndyCar on Monday for Team Penske's illegally modified attenuators has moved former 500 winners Newgarden (2023-24) and Power (2018) out of contention for the win, with no driver having won the race in its 108-year history from any further back than 28th (1911, Ray Haroun; 1936, Louis Meyer). After being pulled out of line ahead of the start of the Fast 12, the pair had been originally slated to start 11th and 12th. Who has made up the most positions in the Indy 500? That being said, that size chunk of positions has been made up in the race before. Zeke Meyer (1932) holds the record for the greatest improvement from one's starting position at 32 spots, advancing from 38th to sixth in one of the handful of years when the 500 started with more than 33 cars. Last year, four drivers made up 15 or more starting spots, with Daly eating up the most in his leap from 29th to 10th. Josef Newgarden's historic Indy 500 run may not end like those before him Famously, the Indy 500 has never had a driver win three consecutive races, with Newgarden eyeing to become the first. Of the five drivers before him who've attempted to win three straight, each of the last two (Unser Sr. and Castroneves) have each finished runner-up in their attempt at history. Recent Indy 500 winners have started in first three rows If recent history matters much, our winner seems reasonably likely to come from the first three rows, with seven of the last eight winners starting eighth or better on the grid — the only outlier being Newgarden in 2023 (17th). New pairings highlight the Indy 500 grid Fourteen of the 33 drivers in this year's field enter either with a different team than they ran for a year ago, as a rookie who are making their first 500 start or a driver who took a gap year and did not race the 500 in 2024. Add in the Team Penske trio who will all have different strategists than they typically would (and than they did a year ago during separate Team Penske suspensions), and there's a bunch of new pairings up and down the grid in 2025. Tim Cindric left a legacy if IndyCar career is over after being fired by Team Penske If this is the last time we see ex-Team Penske IndyCar president Tim Cindric on an IndyCar grid, should he ramp up his wishes to scale back his workload after being fired by Roger Penske this week, then the Pike High School grad will have completed perhaps one of the most historic runs as a team leader the sport has and could ever see. The IndyCar teams under his more than a quarter-century of leadership won 10 Indianapolis 500s, starting with three straight (2001-03) and ending on back-to-backs (2023-24), though Cindric was suspended from the team for last year's race in the fallout of Team Penske's push-to-pass scandal.
