A big black cloud hangs over the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during its biggest race weekend, and it’s not just the possibility of thunderstorms in the area. A scandal involving the iconic Penske racing team threatens to overshadow the Indy 500.
What is the Indy 500 cheating scandal about?
The 109th running of the famed race is scheduled for Sunday, May 25, at 12:45 p.m. ET. Indy President Doug Boles has been doing damage control since the scandal broke and said the timing couldn’t be worse.
“I’d much rather be talking about how great the Indianapolis 500 is,” Boles said. “And how our ticket sales are, and how we had our biggest qualifying weekend in terms of attendance since 2016.”
Two of the fastest cars in the field, one driven by two-time defending champ Josef Newgarden and the other by former winner Will Power, will start at the back of the pack on Sunday after failing inspection during qualifying. It’s the second major rule violation for the Penske team in two years. Scion of the sport, Roger Penske, fired his executive team on Wednesday, May 21, because of it. He told Fox Sports that his organization let everyone down.
“People have come to me and said, you’re supposed to be a leader of this sport, and here you have these two situations, and I think the integrity of the sport, I didn’t help it any,” Penske said. “From my perspective, what I have to do, and I told this to the team owners, I’ve got to take the role along with the Penske Entertainment leadership and gain back that credibility.”
Newgarden is looking to make history by becoming the first driver to win three consecutive Indy 500s. During “Carb Day” practice on Friday, May 23, he turned in the fastest lap with a speed of 225.687 mph.
What are other drivers saying about the violations?
Penske-owned cars have won 20 Indy 500 races since 1972, making his team the most successful in the sport. He owns not only the race team that was caught but the entire Indy car series and the famous race track. Other drivers didn’t see this week’s scandal as intentional cheating by Penske’s team, but many say better oversight is needed.
Driving legend Helio Castroneves, who won three of his four Indy 500 trophies racing in a Penske-owned car, agreed with the penalties but didn’t think the violations would have given Newgarden or Power an advantage.
“I know how Roger operates. He wants to make everything beautiful, perfect, shiny,” Castroneves said. “I believe it was, again, a mistake in touching that area that you’re not supposed to. So, I believe what the series is doing is right. But they don’t need anything like that to go fast.”
What is the other big storyline this weekend?
Kyle Larson is hoping for high speeds and many miles on Sunday. He is attempting to become just the second driver in history to complete “The Double,” meaning he plans to race in the Indy 500, then jump on a private plane to Charlotte, N.C., to race in NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 later that night.
“The Double” has been attempted 11 times by five different drivers over the last 30 years, including by Larson in 2024. Tony Stewart was the only one to complete all 1,100 miles in 2001. Making matters more difficult for Larson, he crashed his best car during Indy practice on May 16 and will need to start in the middle of the pack on Sunday.
“I think if you just do normal kind of race stuff, execute good restarts and pit stops and things, you can work your way forward without having to work too hard,” Larsen said. “So, hopefully myself and our team can do a good job on Sunday and just chip away at it.”
Last year, a nearly 3-hour rain delay at Indianapolis Motor Speedway prevented Larson from making it to Charlotte on time to race in the 600. The forecast for Sunday does call for some showers and possible thunderstorms in Indianapolis, so he may need a little luck to pull it off.
