Updated starting grid for 2025 Indy 500 after Penske penalties

Here is the full starting grid for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 after penalties for two out of the three Penske cars.

Rachit Thukral

20 May 2025

A total of 33 drivers will take part in the Indy 500 on 25th May 2025.

2025 Indy 500 starting grid
Position	Driver	Team	Engine
1	Robert Shwartzman	Prema	Chevrolet
2	Takuma Sato	Rahal Letterman Lanigan	Honda
3	Pato O'Ward	Arrow McLaren	Chevrolet
4	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
5	Felix Rosenqvist	Meyer Shank	Honda
6	Alex Palou	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
7	David Malukas	A.J. Foyt Racing	Chevrolet
8	Christian Lundgaard	Arrow McLaren	Chevrolet
9	Marcus Ericsson	Andretti Global	Honda
10	Scott McLaughlin	Team Penske	Chevrolet
11	Conor Daly	Juncos Hollinger Racing	Chevrolet
12	Alexander Rossi	ECR	Chevrolet
13	Kyffin Simpson	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
14	Ed Carpenter	ECR	Chevrolet
15	Santino Ferrucci	A.J. Foyt Racing	Chevrolet
16	Devlin DeFrancesco	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
17	Sting Ray Robb	Juncos Hollinger Racing	Chevrolet
18	Christian Rasmussen	ECR	Chevrolet
19	Kyle Larson	Arrow McLaren w/ Rick Hendrick	Chevrolet
20	Louis Foster	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
21	Callum Ilott	Prema Racing	Chevrolet
22	Helio Castroneves	Meyer Shank Racing	Honda
23	Kyle Kirkwood	Andretti Global	Honda
24	Nolan Siegel	Arrow McLaren	Chevrolet
25	Ryan Hunter-Reay	DRR-Cusick Motorsports	Chevrolet
26	Jack Harvey	DRR-Cusick Motorsports	Chevrolet
27	Colton Herta	Andretti Global	Honda
28	Graham Rahal	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
29	Marco Andretti	Andretti-Herta Motorsport	Honda
30	Marcus Armstrong	Meyer Shank Racing	Honda
31	Rinus VeeKay	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda
32	Josef Newgarden	Team Penske	Chevrolet
33	WIll Power	Team Penske	Chevrolet

Ex-Ferrari Formula 1 protege Robert Shwartzman will start the race from the front of the grid after taking a shock pole for IndyCar newcomer Prema.

He will be joined on the front row by Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s Takuma Sato, the oldest driver on the 2025 IndyCar grid, and Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward.

Chip Ganassi’s Scott Dixon will take the start from fourth place, sharing the second row of the grid with Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist and teammate and reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou.

Palou is chasing his first Indy 500 victory in six starts as well as his first on an oval track.

David Malukas (A.J. Foyt Racing), Christian Lundgaard and Marcus Ericsson (Andretti Global) make up row three, while the top 10 will be completed by Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin.

McLaughlin’s teammates Josef Newgarden and Will Power were due to start alongside him in 11th and 12th positions, but have been sent to the back of the grid after Penske was found guilty of modifying the rear accentuator on their cars in a development that has shaken the IndyCar paddock.

The accentuator is a spec part that is common across all cars and must not be modified or altered in any manner. But regular technical checks on the final day of qualifying revealed that the seams on the accentuator had been smoothed out in a major violation of the series’ technical rules.

Penske elected to sit out Newgarden and Power from the Top 12 shootout for fear of disqualification, leaving the duo 11th and 12th on the original grid.

However, a day after the scandal broke, IndyCar took further action against Penske, demoting the two drivers on the starting grid while also imposing a hefty $100,000 fine on each of the two entries.

McLaughlin, who took no part in the Top 12 qualifying after wrecking his primary chassis in a crash, escaped sanction as IndyCar found no evidence of his car being modified illegally by Penske.

The penalties for Newgarden and Power promote Juncos Holinger Racing’s Conor Daly to 11th position, with Ed Carpenter Racing’s Alexander Rossi also moving up to 12th.

Rinus Veekay, who was originally due to line up in 33rd place for Dale Coyne Racing, moves up two positions to 31st.