Indianapolis 500 Qualifiying: Robert Shwartzman and PREMA Racing win pole for debut

By: Spencer Neff
May 18, 2025

Robert Shwartzman and PREMA Racing continued to make Indianapolis 500 history. On Sunday evening, the rookie driver and team won pole for next Sunday’s 109th Indianapolis 500.

It is their first-ever pole as the organization continues their debut season of NTT INDYCAR SERIES competition. Shwartzman’s previous best start was at the St. Petersburg opener where he qualified 18th. Teammate Callum Ilott started 16th in that race, PREMA Racing’s previous best effort as a team.

PREMA is the first team since Mayer Motor Racing in 1984 to start on the pole for their Indianapolis 500 debut (Tom Sneva and Howdy Holmes started 1-2).

Shwartzman completes his Fast Six attempt while his PREMA Racing crew look on (Paul Hurley/INDYCAR)

Shwartzman’s best finish to date has been 18th (Long Beach and IMS Road Course). Those are also PREMA’s best finishes to date. He currently leads the Rookie of the Year standings following the 12 bonus points for qualifying.

Shwartzman will start on the pole as the first Israeli-born driver at the Indianapolis 500, He is the first rookie to qualify on the pole since Teo Fabi in 1983 (Tony Stewart would start on the pole following the death of Scott Brayton in 1996).

Joining Shwartzman on the front row are Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Takuma Sato and Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward.

Sato, who won the race in 2017 and 2020, tops his previous best start in this race-a third during his 2020 victory. O’Ward makes his first appearance on the front row at the Indianapolis 500.

His previous best start was seventh in 2022, the first of two runner-up finishes in his last three starts.

Fast Six Recap: Sato and O’Ward Round Out Front Row; Dixon, Rosenqvist and Palou occupy Row 2

Takuma Sato opened the Fast Six with a four-lap average of 232.478 mph in his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Chip Ganassi Racing followed with Alex Palou and Scott Dixon who posted speeds of 231.378 mph and 232.052 mph.

Shwartzman would then claim the top spot with a blistering average of 232.790 mph. He and Sato were the only drivers to run a lap over 233 mph during the Fast Six.

O’Ward followed with a 232.098 mph effort. Rosenqvist split the Ganassi teammates, who his Meyer Shank Racing team share a technical alliance with. He will start fifth with a speed of 231.987 mph.

Andretti, Armstrong and VeeKay top Last Row Shootout; Abel bumped

Abel would not qualify following a battle with Dale Coyne Racing teammate Rinus VeeKay (Walt Kuhn/INDYCAR)

Rookie Jacob Abel was next and qualified at 227.112 mph but was bested when Dale Coyne Racing teammate Rinus VeeKay ran four laps at 227.740. Abel’s team later saw their qualifying attempt disallowed following unapproved adjustments on pit lane.

In a dramatic turn of events, VeeKay pulled his previous qualifying attempt to run again. On his second attempt, he slowed to 226.913 mph. Abel would get in a four-lap run at 226.395 mph, falling short of making his debut at the Indianapolis 500.

Marco Andretti (shown with grandfather Mario Andretti) looks on during Sunday’s qualifying. (Paul Hurley/INDYCAR)

Rosenqvist leads Fast 12, Penske Issues continue

Coming back from a violent crash yesterday morning, Marcus Armstrong began the Last Row Shootout with a four-lap average of 229.091 mph in his Meyer Shank Racing entry. Armstrong was bested after Marco Andretti of Andretti Global averaged 229.741.

Following Scott McLaughlin’s practice crash, Team Penske ran into more issues ahead of the. Fast 12.

Both Josef Newgarden and Will Power failed pre-qualifying technical inspection and were not allowed to make a qualifying attempt in the session. Row 4 will be comprised of all three drivers from Team Penske after none of their drivers made a Fast 12 attempt.

During the session, Rosenqvist led the way. He posted a four-lap average of 232.523 mph, earning his second Fast Six appearance in three years. O’Ward and Shwartzman led the Chevrolet group following Penske’s issues. Sato would also give RLLR their best qualifying effort since he started third in his 2020 victory.

Rosenqvist will start his seventh Indianapolis 500 from the middle of the second row (Karl Zemlin/INDYCAR)

While Team Penske occupies the fourth row, David Malukas of A.J. Foyt Racing and Christian Lundgaard of Arrow McLaren earned their best ever starts win the first Indianapolis 500 with their new teams. 2022 race winner Marcus Ericsson led the way for Andretti Global in 9th for his seventh start here.

INDYCAR has reverted Team Penske back to their Day 1 Attempts, meaning Power starts 12th, with Newgarden 11th and McLaughlin 10th.

Up Next

Jacob Abel and his father Bill embrace following the Last Row Shootout (Chris Owens/INDYCAR)

Tomorrow will be the first of a pair of two-hour practice sessions, the final on-track preparations the Field of 33 will have before the race. Monday will be the first of those.

FS1 will have live coverage from 1-3 p.m. for Monday’s session.

IndyCar1909 will be on-site and credentialed for all on-track activities. Stick with IndyCar1909 and our social media for the latest on the Indianapolis 500 and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

Header Image By Paul Hurley/INDYCAR