2025 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500

Prema and Shwartzman were arguably the favorites to go home heading into the week and they’ve just turned that narrative on its head this weekend. Awesome performance for a team and driver who’ve never seen an oval before.
 
rd45usa said:
I really dislike this fast crap, to me it's more made up TV drama. It's asking these teams and drivers to take unnecessary risks .
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I think they’ve done a great job revitalizing qualifying weekend over the years with the Fast 6/9/12/whatever, the last row shootout, and the big boost levels. It’s certainly a lot more interesting than much of the initial post-Split era where cars were just stuck in that ~ 225mph range and there wasn’t really the drama to get people to the track or watch on TV anymore.

It’s probably all unnecessary but I think the teams and drivers love it, we’ve seen a lot of moments that've added to the lore here and the fact that it’s as challenging as it is just reinforces this is the most humbling motorsport event on the planet.
 
rd45usa said:
I really dislike this fast crap, to me it's more made up TV drama. It's asking these teams and drivers to take unnecessary risks .
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Like the unique qualifying for the Daytona 500, IndyCar uses this format once a year. At least this format has only one car on the track at a time, and teams aren't skipping practice because they feel the risk outweighs the reward.
 
This feels like 2024 Nolan Siegel all over again. DCR just don’t have speed in their cars, and VeeKay is an elite qualifier at the Speedway. Unfortunately that’ll mean Abel will be on the outside looking in.
 
It’s always a bit more gutting when it’s one guy going home instead of, Idk, three. Sucks to see that awesome Miller High Life scheme headed home too.
 
If it weren’t for the most unthinkable storyline possible, this wouldn’t be overshadowed as much as it is. RLL building up an all-new chassis in just a couple of weeks, without all the usual time spent massaging every last nook and cranny to shed as much mechanical and aerodynamic drag as possible, and Sato going right back out and putting it in the middle of the front row is a phenomenal feat in its own right.

 
I'm not big into conspiracy thought but RLL having a car on the front row that just so happens to have the only Japanese driver in the field in it along with Penske getting caught not on Day 1 but Day 2 are certainly interesting. Ultimately I'm not sure I care all that much about either vs. the fact that it all makes for good storytelling.
 
Due to work I was unable to stay up for the LCQ (no surprises there) and Top 6 qualifying.

I would've expected the Top 6 to be exactly in reverse order. I wonder if anyone bet 10 bucks on Shwartzman getting pole, that must've been a great payout.

This is just another reason to love this quali format even though nothing will beat the ultimate David v Goliath moment in the 2019 LCQ.

Pumped for Sato in 2nd as well. Can't wait for Sunday!
 
Kiante said:


If I was Dale Coyne, I'd be livid.
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Thing is that both cars passed tech on Saturday and locked themselves into the show. It wasn’t noticed until the 12 car went through tech again on Sunday, so they can’t really retroactively erase Saturday’s results.

All things considered, it’s a pretty heavy punishment. They also lost their pit selection. So now they start at the very back of the field in a track position-dependent race, lost their engineers, and have the worst pit boxes. I think it is what it is at this point.

I’d also be curious as to why or how the 3 car was the only entry that managed to have a legal attenuator.
 
Meanwhile at Nascar HQ.
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I just talked to AI and she said it didn't give Penske a performance advantage

"In IndyCar racing, an attenuator is a safety device, specifically a rear crash structure, designed to absorb and reduce the impact force during a rear-end collision. It's a spec part mandated by IndyCar and made by Dallara, the chassis manufacturer. The attenuator is installed behind the rear wing mount and is designed to crush and deform upon impact, minimizing the forces transmitted to the ****pit."
 
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Right after NBC leaves, the greatest "aDVerSiTy!" angle yet drops. It will be interesting to see how Fox covers or avoids the subject on Sunday.
 
FLRacingFan said:
Terrible optics. It passed tech every time for two weeks so you can’t re-litigate it a year after the fact, but it’s a terrible look. Both for Team Penske and the fact that series officials never noticed it.
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Ar this point I feel like Roger needs to make a strong statement on these controversies that his teams have been involved with. Whether that's firing someone high up in the organization (someone like tim cindric) or brininging in a 3rd party association to officiate the indycar series (something like the FIA is to F1) something has to change. The optics for this is terrible.

Honda has to be pissed also. 2 illegal chevys still in the field while a car with a Honda engine goes home. What a mess.
 
Greg said:
I just talked to AI and she said it didn't give Penske a performance advantage

"In IndyCar racing, an attenuator is a safety device, specifically a rear crash structure, designed to absorb and reduce the impact force during a rear-end collision. It's a spec part mandated by IndyCar and made by Dallara, the chassis manufacturer. The attenuator is installed behind the rear wing mount and is designed to crush and deform upon impact, minimizing the forces transmitted to the ****pit."
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Even if it provided only the tiniest of advantages, they would’ve gone over that seam to improve the airflow around the attenuator and decrease drag. The big teams all have 500-specific cars that are worked on pretty much year-round to get every last possible bit of drag out of the chassis and bodywork - legally, of course. The attenuator being a safety component only makes it more of a no-go as far as modifications are concerned.
 
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