Revised 2025 Indy 500 starting order after Team Penske controversy

The upcoming Indy 500 will mark the 109th edition of the race, and the grid was initially formed on Sunday after the final day of qualification. However, with Team Penske running a modification on its two cars, which wasn't allowed, the grid order was later changed, as Josef Newgarden and Will Power's cars were found to be violating the regulations set by the championship. This changed the starting order as multiple drivers earned free promotion up the field.

Team Penske is the most successful team at the Indy 500 and the IndyCar championships. With Newgarden, the team was eyeing to rewrite history by claiming a three-peat at the fabled race, but their start to the weekend had been worse than they could have imagined.

After Scott McLaughlin binned his car during the practice before the Top 12 qualifying, it was understood that Newgarden and Power would be bearing the Mooresville-based squad's flags. However, the No. 2 and No. 12 cars failed pre-run technical inspection as they had a modified rear attenuator.

Many reckoned this would mean that all three Penske cars would start on the fourth row. However, this soon changed as IndyCar fined the team $200,000 and imposed other penalties while relegating the two concerned entries to the back of the field. This has led to a revised Indy 500 starting lineup, which helped over a dozen drivers gain two positions up the field:

1. #83 Robert Shwartzman-R: 232.790mph
2. #75 Takuma Sato: 232.478mph
3. #5 Pato O'Ward: 232.098mph
4. #9 Scott Dixon: 232.052mph
5. #60 Felix Rosenqvist: 231.987mph
6. #10 Alex Palou: 231.378mph
7. #4 David Malukas: 231.599mph
8. #7 Christian Lundgaard: 231.36mph
9. #28 Marcus Ericsson: 231.014mph
10. #3 Scott McLaughlin: 233.013mph
11. #76 Conor Daly: 231.725mph
12. #20 Alexander Rossi: 231.701mph
13. #8 Kyffin Simpson: 231.641mph
14. #33 Ed Carpenter: 231.633mph
15. $14 Santino Ferrucci: 231.593mph
16. #30 Devlin DeFrancesco: 231.575mph
17. #77 Sting Ray Robb: 231.461mph
18. #21 Christian Rasmussen: 231.438mph
19. #17 Kyle Larson: 231.326mph
20. #45 Louis Foster-R: 231.058mph
21. #90 Callum Ilott: 230.993mph
22. #06 Helio Castroneves: 230.978mph
23. #27 Kyle Kirkwood: 230.917mph
24. #6 Nolan Siegel-R: 230.571mph
25. #23 Ryan Hunter-Reay: 230.363mph
26. #24 Jack Harvey: 230.348mph
27. #26 Colton Herta: 230.192mph
28. #15 Graham Rahal: 229.863mph
29. #98 Marco Andretti: 229.741mph
30. #66 Marcus Armstrong: 229.091mph
31. #18 Rinus VeeKay: 226.913mph
32. #2 Josef Newgarden: Penalty
33. #12 Will Power: Penalty

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Team Penske shares their thoughts on the Indy 500 qualifying saga

Josef Newgarden (L) and Will Power at the practice for the INDYCAR 109th Running of The Indianapolis 500 - Source: Getty

The Indy 500 is IndyCar's biggest race of the season, and such mishappenings tarnish the reputation of the teams involved. With Team Penske being the latest addition to the list, the squad quickly adopted the strategy of accountability in their response to the whole ordeal.

The statement by the team admitted to the allegations and said, via FOX Sports:

"We accept the penalties issued today by the INDYCAR Series which are due to a ‘Body Fit’ violation that occurred prior to the qualifying session yesterday. We are disappointed by the results and the impact it has on our organization."

Despite being relegated to the last row of the field, other paddock members had more to say as Jacob Abel had been knocked out of the LCQ for the Indy 500, while the Team Penske drivers got a free pass from it.