Has a rookie ever won the Indy 500? Robert Shwartzman could join an elite group
Has a rookie ever won the Indy 500? Robert Shwartzman could join an elite group
Robert Shwartzman made Indy 500 history last weekend, becoming the first rookie driver since 1983 to capture pole position for the Indianapolis 500 with a stunning run in Fast 6 qualifying.
It's not only Shwartzman's first attempt at the Indy 500 - it's his first race on an oval in his entire racing career. Shwartzman moved up through the European karting and Formula levels, eventually becoming the Formula 3 champion in 2019 and a test driver for Ferrari's Formula 1 team.
He made the move to IndyCar in 2025 with the brand new Prema Racing team, and hasn't finished above 18th in the five races so far in 2025 - but he showed plenty of speed when it mattered on the sport's greatest stage.
A total of 10 Indy 500 rookies have won in their first attempt over the years - but it's become extremely rare in the modern era.
Indianapolis 500 races won by a rookie driver:
2016: Alexander Rossi
2001: Helio Castroneves
2000: Juan Pablo Montoya
1966: Graham Hill
1928: Louis Meyer
1927: George Souders
1926: Frank Lockhart
1914: Rene Thomas
1913: Jules Goux
1911: Ray Harroun (inaugural Indy 500)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
3 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
From scandal to strategy: Kyle Moyer's new role at Arrow McLaren Racing
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kyle Moyer, one of the three Team Penske executives fired during an Indianapolis 500 scandal, has been hired by Arrow McLaren Racing and will be with the IndyCar team this coming week for a test session at Iowa Speedway. Moyer was hand-selected to join McLaren by team principal Tony Kanaan. The two won the 2004 IndyCar championship together at Andretti Global. Moyer was Kanaan's team manager at the time. At McLaren, Moyer will be the director of competition and assist Scott Harner, who is the director of race operations. He will also replace Kanaan as strategist for Nolan Siegel, freeing Kanaan to work on race day with all three McLaren drivers. Moyer's official start date is June 30. Kanaan said almost the entire industry tried to hire Moyer after his May firing at Penske, but the previous relationship between Moyer and Kanaan gave McLaren the edge. 'Kyle is one of the best strategists in the paddock, so talking about his qualities, not just about him as a human being, he knows a lot about racing,' Kanaan told The Associated Press. 'Kyle probably is one of the top guys of knowledge of IndyCar — he's been around it his entire life. 'And Kyle is a people person, he's that kind of guy that captivates people and people want to work for Kyle,' Kanaan continued. 'At the same time, he is very direct and he will call you out and he makes it so every person I've ever seen working for Kyle wanted to work for Kyle. That's something that I experienced in my career and that is probably the biggest thing. The respect that I have for the guy is unbelievable.' Moyer's popularity was evident when Penske driver Scott McLaughlin lashed out after the trio of firings ahead of the Indy 500 . Moyer was let go along with team president Tim Cindric, a 25-year Penske employee, and managing director Ron Ruzewski. Moyer was Penske's general manager of the IndyCar program and the strategist for McLaughlin's car. The firings followed the discovery that the cars of Josef Newgarden and Will Power had illegally modified rear attenuators; Cindric said seams on the safety part had been sealed for aesthetic purposes, but the rulebook clearly stated no alterations could be made to the part. It was the second major technical violation for Penske cars in just over a year and team owner Roger Penske was left with no choice but to fire his top three executives. Penske owns the three-car race team, the IndyCar Series, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500. 'Ultimately, those three guys are friends of mine and have done a tremendous amount in my career to get me to this point,' McLaughlin said in May after the firings. 'I guess you could say there's a sadness from my perspective. At the end of the day I drive for Roger Penske. I respect the decision. I understand the decision. We move forward.' Kanaan said he was shocked that Moyer did not have a non-compete clause and was available to McLaren immediately. He believes Moyer will be a help to Siegel, the 20-year-old in his first full season of IndyCar. Siegel heads into Sunday's race at Road America in Wisconsin ranked 21st in the standings. Moyer will eventually relocate from North Carolina, where Penske is based, to Indianapolis for his role with McLaren. ___ AP auto racing:
San Francisco Chronicle
3 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Fleetwood seizes control after Scheffler blowup and leads Travelers by 3
CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) — Tommy Fleetwood avoided the blunders by Scottie Scheffler and Justin Thomas, never missing a fairway Saturday and seizing on the good scoring conditions for a 7-under 63 for a three-shot lead going into the final round of the Travelers Championship. At stake for Fleetwood is a chance to add a PGA Tour title to a resume that includes seven European titles, three Ryder Cup appearances and a regular fixture among the top 25 for the last two years. The immediate challengers at steamy TPC River Highlands are New England's favorite son and Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley (63) and Russell Henley, who had a 61 one day after calling a penalty on himself when he wasn't entirely sure it was one. Missing are Scheffler and Thomas, both tied for the 36-hole lead with Fleetwood. Scheffler had a 29th birthday to forget. Thousands of spectators around the first tee serenaded him. He responded with a triple bogey, the first time he has done that to start a round in his PGA Tour career. The world's No. 1 player never quite recovered, posting a 72, the fifth time in 55 rounds this year he was over par. Scheffler was nine shots behind. Thomas, already a winner at Hilton Head this year, was still in range of Fleetwood when he hit his tee shot onto the railroad tracks left of the par-5 13th, the club slipping out his hand. And then it got worse. He twice watched chips up a slope to a green that ran away from him come up short and roll back down the hill. He missed a 6-foot putt and took a quadruple-bogey 9. Thomas shot 73 and was 10 behind. Without the wind — only extreme heat — the course average was right about 68. The final group of Scheffler and Thomas combined to go 5-over par. Fleetwood was in such control of his game that he didn't realize until after the round that he didn't miss a fairway, key to setting up birdie chances. He also made eagle on the 13th hole for the second day, giving him three eagles for the week. They don't hand out crystal for that at the Travelers, only red umbrellas. But it allowed Fleetwood to get some separation for Henley and Bradley going into Sunday. Fleetwood, a 34-year-old from England, was at 16-under 194. 'I'm on top of a lot of stat lines for people that haven't won on the PGA Tour, so to always be a No. 1 at something is always nice,' he said with a laugh. 'Yeah, of course I would love to win on the PGA Tour. I think it's like an element of your career that everybody wants, and I of course want it. I haven't, this year especially, I don't feel like I've given myself ... I've given myself a back-end chance a couple of times this year, but I've not been in contention. So this is like my first real chance, so I'm really excited about that and looking forward to it." Jason Day ran off three straight birdies on the back nine to salvage a 67 and was five shots back. No one else was closer than eight shots of Fleetwood. Scheffler hasn't finished out of the top 10 since March and remarkably he ended the day with a birdie for a tie eighth. The start was a shocker. He drove left into the 5-inch rough and hit wedge into a front bunker with a decent lie. But he caught all ball and sent it over the green, leaving him a tough pitch up the slope and over a mound toward the hole. The first pitch came up short and rolled back down into the rough. He hit a flop to 15 feet and two-putted for triple bogey, his first on the tour since the BMW Championship last August. Bradley, whose name has not vanished from Ryder Cup consideration as a player, won the Travelers two years ago and cleared a major hurdle trying to perform before New England fans, now chanting, 'U-S-A! U-S-A!' at him at every turn. He likes his position of chasing. He still knows he needs to play well. 'Oh, man, you're going to have to shoot something at least in the mid 60s, probably where I am, probably lower,' Bradley said. "But it's doable out here. When you play a course where you've got to make birdies it brings a different challenge. You can't have a stretch of 1-over par for seven holes or you lose a million shots. 'So in some aspects it's difficult just like a hard course would be.' ___
NBC Sports
3 hours ago
- NBC Sports
Tommy Fleetwood, seeking first PGA Tour win, leads by three at Travelers Championship
A rogue bunker shot sent Scottie Scheffler's first hole on Saturday at the Travelers Championship spiraling -- and himself down the leaderboard at TPC River Highlands. CROMWELL, Conn. — Tommy Fleetwood avoided the blunders by Scottie Scheffler and Justin Thomas, never missing a fairway Saturday and seizing on the good scoring conditions for a 7-under 63 for a three-shot lead going into the final round of the Travelers Championship. At stake for Fleetwood is a chance to add a PGA Tour title to a resume that includes seven European titles, three Ryder Cup appearances and a regular fixture among the top 25 for the last two years. The immediate challengers at steamy TPC River Highlands are New England's favorite son and Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley (63) and Russell Henley, who had a 61 one day after calling a penalty on himself when he wasn't entirely sure it was one. Missing are Scheffler and Thomas, both tied for the 36-hole lead with Fleetwood. Scheffler had a 29th birthday to forget. Thousands of spectators around the first tee serenaded him. He responded with a triple bogey, the first time he has done that to start a round in his PGA Tour career. The world's No. 1 player never quite recovered, posting a 72, the fifth time in 55 rounds this year he was over par. Scheffler was nine shots behind. Thomas, already a winner at Hilton Head this year, was still in range of Fleetwood when he hit his tee shot onto the railroad tracks left of the par-5 13th, the club slipping out his hand. And then it got worse. He twice watched chips up a slope to a green that ran away from him come up short and roll back down the hill. He missed a 6-foot putt and took a quadruple-bogey 9. Thomas shot 73 and was 10 behind. Without the wind — only extreme heat — the course average was right about 68. The final group of Scheffler and Thomas combined to go 5-over par. Fleetwood was in such control of his game that he didn't realize until after the round that he didn't miss a fairway, key to setting up birdie chances. Golf Channel Staff, He also made eagle on the 13th hole for the second day, giving him three eagles for the week. They don't hand out crystal for that at the Travelers, only red umbrellas. But it allowed Fleetwood to get some separation for Henley and Bradley going into Sunday. Fleetwood, a 34-year-old from England, was at 16-under 194. 'I'm on top of a lot of stat lines for people that haven't won on the PGA Tour, so to always be a No. 1 at something is always nice,' he said with a laugh. 'Yeah, of course I would love to win on the PGA Tour. I think it's like an element of your career that everybody wants, and I of course want it. I haven't, this year especially, I don't feel like I've given myself ... I've given myself a back-end chance a couple of times this year, but I've not been in contention. So this is like my first real chance, so I'm really excited about that and looking forward to it.' Jason Day ran off three straight birdies on the back nine to salvage a 67 and was five shots back. No one else was closer than eight shots of Fleetwood. Scheffler hasn't finished out of the top 10 since March and remarkably he ended the day with a birdie for a tie eighth. The start was a shocker. He drove left into the 5-inch rough and hit wedge into a front bunker with a decent lie. But he caught all ball and sent it over the green, leaving him a tough pitch up the slope and over a mound toward the hole. The first pitch came up short and rolled back down into the rough. He hit a flop to 15 feet and two-putted for triple bogey, his first on the tour since the BMW Championship last August. Bradley, whose name has not vanished from Ryder Cup consideration as a player, won the Travelers two years ago and cleared a major hurdle trying to perform before New England fans, now chanting, 'U-S-A! U-S-A!' at him at every turn. He likes his position of chasing. He still knows he needs to play well. 'Oh, man, you're going to have to shoot something at least in the mid 60s, probably where I am, probably lower,' Bradley said. 'But it's doable out here. When you play a course where you've got to make birdies it brings a different challenge. You can't have a stretch of 1-over par for seven holes or you lose a million shots. 'So in some aspects it's difficult just like a hard course would be.'
