The 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge takes place on Sunday (May 25), with Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou in control of the championship, leading the standings by 97 points from Kyle Kirkwood. Palou, who has been fast at IMS all month long, struggled in qualifying last weekend and will start the race from sixth place.
Kirkwood, in the No. 27 Chili’s Andretti Global Honda, starts Sunday’s race from 23rd place on the grid after struggling in qualifying, however, Honda has very fast cars so we can expect Kirkwood to be fast and pick up solid points on Sunday.
Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard is third in the championship, 98 points behind Palou, and starts the race from eighth place on the grid. Lundgaard’s teammate, Pato O’Ward in the No. 5 Chevrolet, who is fourth in the championship, 100 points behind Palou starts the Indianapolis 500 from third place, and it will be interesting to see how McLaren do on Sunday as they have largely struggled throughout May.
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin in the famous yellow submarine had a fast car ahead of qualifying for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, but crashed during practice. The New Zealander starts from 10th place.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda starts the Greatest Spectacle in Racing from fourth on the grid and will be hoping that he can score his second Indy 500 win. The Iceman had a solid start to the season with a second place at the Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg, but since then it has been a relatively difficult season compared to his teammate Palou.
Dixon, who has led more laps than any other driver in the history of IndyCar at 677 laps led, says he has a great car for the race.
It has been a tough week for Team Penske, which has been well documented, and Will Power in the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet will have it all to do on Sunday. The Australian, who is currently in seventh place in the championship, will start from 33rd and last on the grid.
Felix Rosenqvist, who is bringing special sponsorship to his No. 60 Meyer Shank Honda from rock legends Creed, starts the race from fifth and is currently eighth place in the championship. However, he is 123 points championship leader Palou.
Andretti Global’s Colton Herta starts the race from 27th place and is currently ninth in the championship.
Dale Coyne Racing’s Rinus VeeKay rounds out the top 10 in the championship and will start Sunday’s race from the back row in 31st place. The Dutch driver had qualified in 33rd place but due to the exclusion of both Josef Newgarden and Power who will start 32nd and 33rd respectively, has been promoted to 31st place.
PREMA Racing’s rookie driver Robert Shwartzman shocked the establishment last weekend by taking the pole award for the biggest single day sporting event in the world. The grid’s newest outfit has struggled to get up to speed in the opening races of their IndyCar Series career.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is also the first oval race of the year and the first time that Shwartzman had driven on an oval which makes it extra special for the Israeli-born driver.
“Well, unbelievable guys, we made it,” Shwartzman said in a team statement after qualifying. “My first ever Indy 500 pole as a rookie with the rookie team PREMA Racing. I mean overall, I just want to say a big thanks to PREMA and to Chevy for their support and for their work. We’ve done a really good job with progressing the car and honestly now I still can’t believe it.
“Mentally I’m quite exhausted, I just need to digest this whole thing, that I’m going to be starting on pole for the Indy 500. So yeah, just amazing. Big thanks to all the fans for the support and to everybody who was supporting me and believing in me for all these years.”
It was pointed out to Shwartzman after qualifying that the last time a rookie driver took the pole position for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing was back in 1983 which is ironic given that Schwartzman’s car number is 83.
Points will be a secondary concern for the field as they tackle the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, but the championship battle will continue the on June 2 with the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.
