Shwartzman shocks the field as he becomes 1st Indy 500 rookie since 1983 to win the pole

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A rookie driver for a brand new team won the pole for the Indianapolis 500 on a strange day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where Team Penske was disqualified before the final two rounds of qualifying.

Robert Shwartzman, a 25-year-old with dual nationality in Israel and Russia, became the first Indy 500 rookie to qualify on the pole since 1983 when he did it for Prema Racing.

The last rookie to qualify on the Indy 500 pole was Teo Fabi. Coincidentally, he was an Italian — just like Prema, which also was founded in ’83. Prema is established in Europe and races in the Formula 2 series. It made its IndyCar debut this season.

Shwartzman initially raced under the Russian flag until the start of the war with Ukraine. He now races under the Israeli flag, which makes the Tel Aviv native the first driver from Israel to make “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

Prema is the first team making its debut in the Indy 500 to land on the pole since Mayer Motor Racing put Tom Sneva there in 1984.

Shwartzman, who has never before raced on an oval, was mobbed by a sea of red-clad team members as soon as his pole-winning run became official.

“Honestly it feels like I’m dreaming. I just had it in my dreams when I was going how would it feel to do such a good job in quali,” he said. “It’s the Indy 500. It’s the main race of the year. Honestly it feels unbelievable.”

Shwartzman had been pursuing a career in Formula 1 and was part of the Ferrari development program as well as its reserve driver from 2021 until the end of last season — when Prema nabbed him for its two-car team.

He was the fourth of six drivers to make their qualifying attempt and took the pole from Takuma Sato of Rahal Letterman Lanigan. But he still had to wait for Pato O'Ward of McLaren and Felix Rosenqvist of Meyer Shank Racing to make their runs, and he nervously watched from pit lane.

O'Ward went first and landed in the third spot and Rosenqvist dropped to fifth, sandwiched in the second row between Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Scott Dixon and Alex Palou. It was a strange finishing order as the Ganassi cars were expected to battle each other for the top starting spot in next Sunday's race.

“Rookie on pole with Shwartzman -- how wild does that get? New team. I didn’t see that coming at all,” said 2008 winner Dixon.

The pole was wide open for the taking first when Team Penske was disqualified from qualifying for an illegal modification on the cars of two-time defending Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden and Will Power, and Scott McLaughlin destroyed his car in a Sunday morning crash during practice.

The three Penske drivers all started on the front row last year, but will be 10th, 11th and 12th in the fourth row together next weekend. That put the odds in Ganassi's favor, but they had a surprising drop in speed from Saturday to Sunday.

So then Sato, in his first race in nearly a year, sat atop the scoring pylon until Shwartzman's shocking run.

“I don’t even know what to say. The car felt amazing," he said, "Coming here for my first oval race, I couldn’t even expect to be in this position. Big thanks to everyone. Big thanks to the fans cheering for me. It’s unbelievable.”

Shwartzman’s engineer is Eric Leichtle, who spent a season with Team Penske as the engineer for Newgarden in 2022. Leichtle left motorsports and spent the past two years working for SpaceX as a senior structures engineer.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Robert Shwartzman, of Israel, celebrates after winning the pole position during qualifications for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Robert Shwartzman, of Israel, celebrates after winning the pole position during qualifications for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Robert Shwartzman, of Israel, celebrates after winning the pole position during qualifications for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Robert Shwartzman, of Israel, drives through the third turn during qualifications for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Robert Shwartzman, of Israel, celebrates after winning the pole position during qualifications for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state's history, died Sunday. He was 79.

Codey’s wife, Mary Jo Codey, confirmed her husband’s death to The Associated Press.

“Gov. Richard J. Codey passed away peacefully this morning at home, surrounded by family, after a brief illness,” Codey's family wrote in a Facebook post on Codey's official page.

"Our family has lost a beloved husband, father and grandfather -- and New Jersey lost a remarkable public servant who touched the lives of all who knew him," the family said.

Known for his feisty, regular-guy persona, Codey was a staunch advocate of mental health awareness and care issues. The Democrat also championed legislation to ban smoking from indoor areas and sought more money for stem cell research.

Codey, the son of a northern New Jersey funeral home owner, entered the state Assembly in 1974 and served there until he was elected to the state Senate in 1982. He served as Senate president from 2002 to 2010.

Codey first served as acting governor for a brief time in 2002, after Christine Todd Whitman’s resignation to join President George W. Bush’s administration. He held the post again for 14 months after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004.

At that time, New Jersey law mandated that the Senate president assume the governor’s role if a vacancy occurred, and that person would serve until the next election.

Codey routinely drew strong praise from residents in polls, and he gave serious consideration to seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005. But he ultimately chose not to run when party leaders opted to back wealthy Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, who went on to win the office.

Codey would again become acting governor after Corzine was incapacitated in April 2007 due to serious injuries he suffered in a car accident. He held the post for nearly a month before Corzine resumed his duties.

After leaving the governor’s office, Codey returned to the Senate and also published a memoir that detailed his decades of public service, along with stories about his personal and family life.

“He lived his life with humility, compassion and a deep sense of responsibility to others,” his family wrote. “He made friends as easily with Presidents as he did with strangers in all-night diners.”

Codey and his wife often spoke candidly about her past struggles with postpartum depression, and that led to controversy in early 2005, when a talk radio host jokingly criticized Mary Jo and her mental health on the air.

Codey, who was at the radio station for something else, confronted the host and said he told him that he wished he could “take him outside.” But the host claimed Codey actually threatened to “take him out,” which Codey denied.

His wife told The Associated Press that Codey was willing to support her speaking out about postpartum depression, even if it cost him elected office.

“He was a really, really good guy,” Mary Jo Codey said. “He said, ‘If you want to do it, I don’t care if I get elected again.’”

Jack Brook contributed reporting from New Orleans.

FILE - New Jersey State Sen. and former Democratic Gov. Richard Codey is seen before New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the statehouse, in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)