Rookie Shwartzman Shocks All, Earns Pole For Indy 500

Robert Shwartzman (left) celebrates with his PREMA Racing team after winning the pole for the 109th Indianapolis 500. (Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment photo)

SPEEDWAY, Ind. – There’s just something about PPG Armed Forces Qualifying for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing which often leads to moments that dreams are made of.

And after shockingly starting preparations for the 109th Indianapolis 500 by missing most of the opening day of practice, oval debutant Robert Shwartzman found a bolt of incomparable magic Sunday evening during the Firestone Fast Six at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

With a stunning four-lap average of 232.790 mph over his four-lap, 10-mile qualification run at the famed 2.5-mile racetrack, the 25-year-old from Tel Aviv, Israel brought fans in attendance and around the world to their feet by becoming the first rookie to win the Indy 500 pole in more than four decades.

Shwartzman has been a revelation all week long leading into Indy 500 time trials, making the top 12 during day-one qualifying Saturday in the first oval race weekend of his life, after prior success in Formula 2 and the World Endurance Championship.

Not only is this year his first attempt at Indianapolis, it’s also the ‘500’ debut for Shwartzman’s team – fabled Italian brand PREMA Racing – making Sunday’s result even more incredible for all parties.

“Honestly, I can’t believe this,” said Shwartzman of the first NTT P1 Award of his short NTT IndyCar Series career. “I was closing my eyes [as the last qualifier finished running] telling myself, ‘This is a dream. It can’t be true.’ But it is. I don’t even know what to say.

“The car felt amazing all weekend. I can’t thank PREMA and [engine manufacturer] Chevy enough,” he added. “Everyone did such a good job. It’s unbelievable. A moment I can’t even describe.”

Prior to Shwartzman, and perhaps fittingly given PREMA’s home base, the last true rookie to qualify on the Indy 500 pole was Italian Teo Fabi in 1983 with the legendary Forsythe Racing team.

Shwartzman will be just the sixth rookie to start from the pole in the 109-year history of the Indy 500.

Shwartzman went out fourth among the Fast Six competitors, usurping early top gun Takuma Sato, but his run held up despite the best efforts of two NTT IndyCar Series giants – Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward and Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist.

When Rosenqvist’s qualifying effort was complete and the pole position was official, a raucous pit-lane celebration erupted among the PREMA crew, with Shwartzman at the epicenter of the jubilation.

“Coming here for my first oval race, I never even expected myself to be in this position,” Shwartzman noted. “Big thanks to the fans who came here and have been cheering for me … they’ve made me feel so at home here and it’s such an honor to have this moment now.

“All the engineers on our [No.] 83 team … they’ve done an amazing job, step-by-step improving the car and trying new things to make us better. All of the things we did just got us better and better and better, and we came to a point where we felt the car was so good, we didn’t want to risk changing it [in pre-qualifying practice].

Robert Shwartzman in action Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment photo)

In statistical significance, Shwartzman is the fourth Jewish driver to win an Indy 500 pole, joining Peter Revson, Mauri Rose, and Eddie Sachs. He could become the first Jewish driver to win the famed race.

But Shwartzman’s focus wasn’t on that goal, not in the moment as he celebrated his pole.

“I just want to appreciate this moment,” he said. “We’ll think of what’s going to be in the race next week.”

Even though he was the first to time in during the Fast Six, Sato’s four-lap average of 232.478 mph held up for second overall, giving the 48-year-old Japanese driver his best-ever Indy 500 starting spot.

Sato will roll from the middle of the front row next Sunday in pursuit of his third BorgWarner Trophy.

Completing the front row is O’Ward, whose No. 5 Chevrolet averaged 232.098 mph on his time-trial run to end up third in the first Fast Six appearance of his seven Indy 500 attempts.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, a five-time ‘500’ pole winner and the 2008 race winner, was fourth with a 232.052-mph average. Rosenqvist, who was fastest in the earlier Round of 12, and Saturday quick man Alex Palou rounded out the Fast Six.

Palou’s drop over 24 hours was surprising, given he’s won four of the first five IndyCar races this year and three championships in four seasons. He’ll chase his first Indy 500 win next Sunday.

One of the biggest stories of the day was the exclusion of Team Penske from the Fast Six, after Scott Mclaughlin crashed in practice to start the afternoon, and then the cars of both Josef Newgarden and Will Power failed pre-qualifying technical inspection before the Round of 12.

As such, Newgarden and Power were not permitted to qualify Sunday, and the three Roger Penske-led drivers will share the fourth row of the starting grid – 10th, 11th, and 12th – based on their Saturday speeds.

AJ Foyt Racing’s David Malukas, Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard, and Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson – the 2022 ‘500’ winner – did make attempts in the Round of 12 and start seventh through ninth, respectively, on row three.

In contrast, the heartache of the day came during the hour-long Last Row Shootout, which saw Jacob Abel fail to qualify in his first Indy 500 attempt.

Abel lost out to his Dale Coyne Racing teammate Rinus VeeKay in a dramatic final 10 minutes, with the American unable to run fast enough in a Miller High Life tribute scheme honoring Danny Sullivan’s 1985 ‘Spin and Win’ to crack the Field of 33.

With the makeup of the 11 rows of three finalized, drivers will return to IMS Monday, May 19 for two hours of race practice starting at 1 p.m. ET.

Carb Day final practice follows Friday, May 23 before the 109th Indianapolis 500 kicks off Sunday, May 25 at 10 a.m. ET, live on FOX, the IndyCar Radio Network, and SiriusXM IndyCar Nation, channel 218.

The green flag for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing is scheduled to wave at 12:45 p.m. ET next Sunday.