Reigning Indy 500 winner Alex Palou took the pole position for this coming Sunday's 110th running of the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, making him the first driver to win the race and come back to take pole the following year since Helio Castroneves won his third Indy 500 in 2009 and his fourth Indy 500 pole in 2010.
As for the reigning polesitter, he didn't even make it to this year's entry list, which is a rarity in recent Indy 500 history, to say the very least.
Robert Shwartzman, despite missing all kinds of practice time as newcomer Prema Racing sorted through a plethora of issues, shocked the world by putting his No. 83 Chevrolet on pole for the race's 109th running back in May 2025.
He did it 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, which was quicker than this year's pole speed of 232.248 miles per hour and thus remains the top pole speed of the hybrid era.
The status of the two-car Prema Racing team was in doubt before the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season began, and they unsurprisingly did not make it onto the grid for the start of the year. While the goal was to run at least one car during the month of May, as more and more time passed, the more even that looked unlikely, before their absence was eventually confirmed.
2025 polesitter not in 2026 Indy 500
As a result, Shwartzman is the first polesitter who did not return to the Indy 500 entry list the following year since Bruno Junqueira didn't compete in 2003.
Junqueira started on pole in 2002 but was knocked out due to a gearbox issue. Like he did in 2001 and 2002, he spent the 2003 season competing in the Champ Car World Series, and the Indy 500 was not a part of that series' schedule.
But unlike in 2001 and 2002, he did not travel to Indy for the race in 2003. He returned in 2004 and qualified fourth before finishing fifth, matching his fifth place finish as a rookie in 2001.
Buddy Rice didn't qualify or compete in the race in 2005, one year after winning from pole, but that was due to a practice crash; he was at least on the race's entry list. 1999 winner Kenny Brack took his place in what would ultimately be his final IndyCar start. He was knocked out due to a mechanical issue.
Tune in to Fox at 10:00 a.m. ET this Sunday, May 24 for the live broadcast of the 110th running of the Indy 500 from Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and catch all of the action from the "Racing Capital of the World"!
Add us as a preferred source on Google