When Prema Racing's practice time was severely limited during the buildup to qualify for the 109th running of the Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway a year ago, many fans had them circled as one of the teams most likely to see a car bumped on Bump Day.
Not one of the teams most likely to take pole on Pole Day.
But rookie Robert Shwartzman, out of absolutely nowhere, advanced to the top 12 qualifying session, advanced to the Firestone Fast Six, and then ultimately took the pole position, doing so with a four-lap average speed of 232.790 miles per hour around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Speedway, Indiana oval.
Fastest Indy 500 team from 2025 not a part of 2026 race
That speed remains the quickest official qualifying speed (excluding non-pole rounds) of IndyCar's hybrid era, as this year's pole went to Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou with a four-lap average of 232.248 miles per hour.
Yet Prema Racing's status for 2026 had been in doubt all offseason amid an ownership shakeup. Even after it was finally confirmed that they would not take part in the start of the NTT IndyCar Series season, there was at least a sliver of optimism that they'd be able to field a car in the Indy 500.
Instead, the fastest team of IndyCar's hybrid era is not a part of this year's running of the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing", just one year after shocking the world when their rookie driver, who at that point had never finished a race higher than 18th, led the field to green, alongside two-time winner Takuma Sato and two-time runner-up Pato O'Ward.
It remains unlikely that they'll be back, not just because a 2026 return already felt out of the question, but because IndyCar plans on limiting all non-Indy 500 races to only the 25 chartered cars, beginning in 2027.
In 2025, Prema Racing's two cars were the only non-chartered (open) cars on the grid.
The 110th running of the Indy 500 is set to be shown live on Fox from Indianapolis Motor Speedway starting at 10:00 a.m. ET this Sunday, May 24. Begin a free trial of FuboTV today and don't miss any of the action from the "Racing Capital of the World"!
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