While today was a career day for Robert Shwartzman and PREMA Racing, it could have been far better.
Starting a respectable 11th in Race 2 of Iowa Speedway’s NTT IndyCar Series doubleheader weekend, the 25-year-old Russian-Israeli rookie looked to best his career-best finish of 10th, which he set at the series’ last oval race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.
After the green flag flew, Shwartzman stuck with the fringes of the top 10 through part of the first half of the race but eventually fell a lap down thanks to the speed shown by Josef Newgarden early on.
Fortune fell in the way of the driver of the No. 83 Chevrolet when Andretti Global’s Colton Herta lost a right front tire in turn 2 and hit the wall, one of multiple tire incidents for the Honda team this weekend.
With a lot of the leaders getting caught out on green flag pit stops, Shwartzman found himself third with only Marcus Armstrong and eventual winner of the Farm to Finish 275, Alex Palou, in front of him. For good measure, last week’s winner at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Scott Dixon, was right behind.
“At that stage, I said, ‘OK, maybe we have a good chance,'” Shwartzman said to Frontstretch. The only thing I was hoping [for] was just a quick pit stop, put a little bit of fuel [in], and and go out.”
This is where the wheels fell off, or in this case, never came off.
Shwartzman came down for his pit stop, and the crew never changed off their worn tires and started to fuel the car too much, adding unnecessary weight to the car.
“We didn’t change the tires,” Shwartzman said. “Some guys behind us put new tires. For us, we made a mistake in the pit stop that we nearly put [in a] full tank by accident. That obviously compromises a lot.”
This caused Shwartzman to struggle for grip against his competitors in the final 11-lap sprint to the finish, costing the team a net six spots in the end.
“When I did restart from fourth, I tried to defend as much as I can,” Shwartzman said. “I nearly lost it, honestly. The car was not handling great with its full weight. Then a couple of guys with new, fresh tires just managed to run me by, and we finished ninth.”
It was mixed emotions for Shwartzman on what could have been an incredible day at Iowa.
“On one side, I’m happy because we finally put the car in the right place, and it was really fast,” he said. “On the other side, I’m really pissed because we could’ve easily took a top five if we didn’t do a mistake on the pit stop. Again, we need to learn and have a look. Every time, it’s something new.”
Although “pissed off” and dejected by what could have been. The 2025 Indianapolis 500 polesitter again showed that with the right planning and strategy, Shwartzman and PREMA can find ways to finish up front against an extremely competitive IndyCar field in their maiden season.
“There’s a lot of factors,” Shwartzman said. “Everybody is trying to give their best. People [are] trying to teach me new things, and I try to get the best feel for it. Generally, it feels naturally good for me. I naturally can feel really well on ovals, and it seems that we can put a better, stronger car in those conditions. So, that helps for me to go faster.”
This team still has important points to clean up on when it comes to putting together a clean race but, so far, Shwartzman and PREMA have again proven that they can find their feet in IndyCar oval racing; in only his fourth oval start in any discipline, Shwartzman has led the charge for the European team in IndyCar’s American tradition of oval racing.
Wyatt Watson has followed motorsports closely since 2007. He joined Frontstretch as a journalist in February 2023 after serving in the United States Navy for five years as an Electronic Technician Navigation working on submarines. Wyatt is one of Frontstretch's primary IndyCar correspondents, providing exclusive video content on site. He hosts Frontstretch's Through the Gears podcast and occasionally The Pit Straight.You can find Wyatt's written work in columns such as Friday Faceoff and 2-Headed Monsteras well as exclusive IndyCar features. Wyatt also contributes to Frontstretch's social media team, posting unique and engaging content for Frontstretch.
Wyatt Watson can be found on X @WyattWRacing