The biggest spectacle in all of motorsport is here.
The 109th running of the Indianapolis 500.
The days and weeks leading up to the Indianapolis 500 have not been without storylines, most notably involving Team Penske. Both the No. 2 car of Josef Newgarden and the No. 12 car of Will Power were pulled from the Fast 12 qualifying session last Sunday after Newgarden’s car failed a technical inspection for a modified attenuator. The two drivers did not participate in the Fast 12 and earlier this week, they were dropped to the back of the grid as penalties, including suspensions for team members, were handed out.
Then on Thursday Roger Penske announced that several team members, including Team Penske President Tim Cindric, has been dismissed.
Speaking with the media, including SB Nation, on Thursday Newgarden kept the focus on the track, but this is a story that is going to be part of the discussion over the next two days.
That is not the only major storyline, thanks to a dream qualifying session from Robert Shwartzman and PREMA Racing. In their first year in IndyCar — and in Shwartzman’s first race on an oval — Shwartzman put the No. 83 PREMA Racing Chevrolet up front, becoming the first rookie in over 40 years to take pole position for the Indianapolis 500.
Here is a look at the starting grid, Shwartzman’s pole position, the front row, and more.
The Indianapolis 500 Starting Grid And Green Flag Time
Here is how the full grid will line up for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 when the green flag drops at 12:45 p.m. ET:
Indianapolis 500 2025 Starting Grid
| Row | Position | Driver | Position | Driver | Position | Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Row | Position | Driver | Position | Driver | Position | Driver |
| 1 | 1 | Robert Shwartzman | 2 | Takuma Sato | 3 | Pato O’Ward |
| 2 | 4 | Scott Dixon | 5 | Felix Rosenqvist | 6 | Alex Palou |
| 3 | 7 | David Malukaas | 8 | Christian Lundgaard | 9 | Marcus Ericsson |
| 4 | 10 | Scott McLaughlin | 11 | Conor Daly | 12 | Alexander Rossi |
| 5 | 13 | Kyffin Simpson | 14 | Ed Carpenter | 15 | Santino Ferrucci |
| 6 | 16 | Devlin DeFrancesco | 17 | Sting Ray Robb | 18 | Christian Rasmussen |
| 7 | 19 | Kyle Larson | 20 | Louis Foster | 21 | Callum Ilott |
| 8 | 22 | Helio Castroneves | 23 | Kyle Kirkwood | 24 | Nolan Siegel |
| 9 | 25 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | 26 | Jack Harvey | 27 | Colton Herta |
| 10 | 28 | Graham Rahal | 29 | Marco Andretti | 30 | Marcus Armstrong |
| 11 | 31 | Rinus VeeKay | 32 | Josef Newgarden | 33 | Will Power |
Indianapolis 500 pole-sitter Robert Shwartzman
Last Sunday was the stuff of dreams at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
PREMA Racing joined the IndyCar series as a new team ahead of the 2025 season, with Robert Shwartzman and Callum Ilott as their two drivers. A powerhouse in the junior ranks, PREMA lists Formula 1 stars such as Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, Esteban Ocon, and Pierre Gasly among their list of former drivers.
Both Shwartzman and Ilott had visions of an F1 future, with Shwartzman winning the 2019 F3 Drivers’ Championship and Ilott finishing second in the 2020 F2 Drivers’ Championship.
But the two moved to IndyCar along with PREMA Racing for the 2025 IndyCar series, and in the biggest race on the calendar Ilott will be starting 21st, and Shwartzman will be in P1.
Honestly it’s unbelievable. I was just processing it, and I still can’t believe it. It’s just a dream.
“I was just thinking in my dreams fantasizing, How will it feel to take pole position in Indy 500? How is the vibe? Then I was, like, Robert, get back to reality. You have a new car, new team, you are a rookie. How can you expect to be in this position? It’s just in your dreams,” said Shwartzman Sunday after qualifying up front.
“I think the thing that made me sit here now in this position I think is just the right team mentality. You don’t need to be a genius. You don’t need to have incredible experience. You just need to have a good people around you as a team, which are conscious of what they’re doing,” added the pole sitter for the 109th Indianapolis 500.
The front row for the 2025 Indianapolis 500
Joining Shwartzman on the front row will be a pair of drivers who have been here before, including one who has won this race twice.
Starting second will be veteran Takuma Sato, driving the No. 75 AMADA Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda. Sato, who leads a driver development program as part of his role as an Executive Advisor at Honda Racing, has won the Indianapolis 500 twice. His first win came back in 2017, and he won it again in 2020.
He finished 14th in the 2024 Indianapolis 500.
“For our sake, I think no matter what result was today, I think getting the top six was our goal. Once we locked into the top six, I think we should be very proud of the team,” said Sato on Sunday.
Starting on the outside of the front row in third is Pato O’Ward, the driver of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. O’Ward said after qualifying that he’ll have the “best view” going into Turn 1.
It is also O’Ward’s first start on the front row.
“Yeah, super stoked to have my first front row start here at the 500. Definitely was pushing for that pole. First of all, I want to thank everybody, guys and gals, at Arrow McLaren. This is obviously the first time that I’ve had a true shot to compete for pole, but also compete to be one of the best three. We’ve got the best view going into turn one,” said O’Ward last Sunday.
O’Ward has come painfully close to winning the Indianapolis 500, including a second-place finish twice. He finished second last year, when he was passed by Newgarden on the final lap.
As for what a win in the 500 would mean to him, O’Ward told me recently it would mean a night of milk and tequila. “It means that I’m not gonna sleep on Sunday night and I’m gonna, I’m gonna go milk and tequila,” said O’Ward when I asked what a mean in the 500 would mean to him.
