INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Roger Penske delivered a forceful command for drivers to start their engines at the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.
It was probably the highlight of his day. Maybe even his month.
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Scott McLaughlin, of New Zealand, climbs out of his car after a crash on the parade lap on the start of the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Josef Newgarden heads into the first turn during of the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
Scott McLaughlin, of New Zealand, holds his head in his hands after a crash on the parade lap on the start of the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Fans make their way into the track before the start of the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
After the most trying of weeks for his own race team, one marked by qualifying penalties and the firing of three Team Penske executives, The Captain watched Scott McLaughlin crash out of the Indy 500 before it even began, then had two-time defending champion Josef Newgarden bow out with 66 laps to go because of a fuel pressure problem.
“It's tough to not have a shot at the end,” Newgarden said. “I just wish we had a chance to fight for it.”
He got much closer than McLaughlin, who was warming up his tires on the parade laps when he lost control and hit the inside retaining wall, causing so much damage to the famous No. 3 car that he wasn't able to start the race.
“I have no idea what happened,” said McLaughlin, one of the pre-race favorites despite an earlier wreck in practice, who climbed from his car, cradled his helmeted head in his hands and appeared to be nearly inconsolable on the infield grass.
“Just really upset for my team,” he said. “They built me a fantastic car again. I'm really sorry to my sponsors, my fans, my family. I don't know what happened. I can't believe we're out of the race. I had so much hope today. It's the worst moment of my life.”
Penske, who also owns IndyCar, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy 500, had been scarce in public since qualifying weekend, when the cars of Newgarden and former winner Will Power were found to have an illegally modified part.
Both were penalized and sent to the rear of the 33-car starting grid.
Penske went even further after the second scandal to engulf his team in just over a year, firing team president Tim Cindric and Team Penske officials Ron Ruzewski and Kyle Moyer, who had served as the strategist on McLaughlin's car.
McLaughlin did not have the illegally modified part on the car that he wrecked in the final round of qualifying.
The start of the 109th running of the Indy 500 was delayed when a cloud of light rain that passed over the speedway, where a crowd of about 350,000 people had arrived early and packed the sold-out grandstands. Trucks with huge dryers were sent onto the track, and it was declared ready by race control after a delay of about 35 minutes.
Penske received a warm ovation when he finally stepped to the microphone and delivered the starting command.
McLaughlin, who was starting on the inside of the fourth row, was swerving back and forth across the track to warm up his tires when his car suddenly kicked left at the end of the front stretch. It slammed into the inner barrier, destroying his suspension and ending the race he wants to win more than any other before it had even started.
It was reminiscent of the 1992 Indianapolis 500, when pole-sitter Roberto Guerrero spun out and crashed while trying to warm up his tires during the parade laps. And just like McLaughlin, he was unable to take the green flag to start the race.
“I know it's probably dramatic,” McLaughlin said after leaving the infield care center, “but it's just like — I put so much into the race. Everyone does. And I didn't even get to see the green flag.”
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Scott McLaughlin, of New Zealand, climbs out of his car after a crash on the parade lap on the start of the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Josef Newgarden heads into the first turn during of the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
Scott McLaughlin, of New Zealand, holds his head in his hands after a crash on the parade lap on the start of the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Fans make their way into the track before the start of the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's photo portrait display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery has had references to his two impeachments removed, the latest apparent change at the collection of museums he has accused of bias as he asserts his influence over how official presentations document U.S. history.
The wall text, which summarized Trump's first presidency and noted his 2024 comeback victory, was part of the museum's “American Presidents” exhibition. The description had been placed alongside a photograph of Trump taken during his first term. Now, a different photo appears without any accompanying text block, though the text was available online. Trump was the only president whose display in the gallery, as seen Sunday, did not include any extended text.
The White House did not say whether it sought any changes. Nor did a Smithsonian statement in response to Associated Press questions. But Trump ordered in August that Smithsonian officials review all exhibits before the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. The Republican administration said the effort would “ensure alignment with the president’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.”
Trump's original “portrait label," as the Smithsonian calls it, notes Trump's Supreme Court nominations and his administration's development of COVID-19 vaccines. That section concludes: “Impeached twice, on charges of abuse of power and incitement of insurrection after supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, he was acquitted by the Senate in both trials.”
Then the text continues: “After losing to Joe Biden in 2020, Trump mounted a historic comeback in the 2024 election. He is the only president aside from Grover Cleveland (1837– 1908) to have won a nonconsecutive second term.”
Asked about the display, White House spokesman Davis Ingle celebrated the new photograph, which shows Trump, brow furrowed, leaning over his Oval Office desk. Ingle said it ensures Trump's “unmatched aura ... will be felt throughout the halls of the National Portrait Gallery.”
The portrait was taken by White House photographer Daniel Torok, who is credited in the display that includes medallions noting Trump is the 45th and 47th president. Similar numerical medallions appear alongside other presidents' painted portraits that also include the more extended biographical summaries such as what had been part of Trump's display.
Sitting presidents are represented by photographs until their official paintings are commissioned and completed.
Ingle did not answer questions about whether Trump or a White House aide, on his behalf, asked for anything related to the portrait label.
The gallery said in a statement that it had previously rotated two photographs of Trump from its collection before putting up Torok's work.
“The museum is beginning its planned update of the America’s Presidents gallery which will undergo a larger refresh this Spring,” the gallery statement said. “For some new exhibitions and displays, the museum has been exploring quotes or tombstone labels, which provide only general information, such as the artist’s name.”
For now, references to Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton being impeached in 1868 and 1998, respectively, remain as part of their portrait labels, as does President Richard Nixon's 1974 resignation as a result of the Watergate scandal.
And, the gallery statement noted, “The history of Presidential impeachments continues to be represented in our museums, including the National Museum of American History.”
Trump has made clear his intentions to shape how the federal government documents U.S. history and culture. He has offered an especially harsh assessment of how the Smithsonian and other museums have featured chattel slavery as a seminal variable in the nation's development but also taken steps to reshape how he and his contemporary rivals are depicted.
In the months before his order for a Smithsonian review, he fired the head archivist of the National Archives and said he was firing the National Portrait Gallery's director, Kim Sajet, as part of his overhaul. Sajet maintained the backing of the Smithsonian's governing board, but she ultimately resigned.
At the White House, Trump has designed a notably partisan and subjective “Presidential Walk of Fame” featuring gilded photographs of himself and his predecessors — with the exception of Biden, who is represented by an autopen — along with plaques describing their presidencies.
The White House said at the time that Trump himself was a primary author of the plaques. Notably, Trump's two plaques praise the 45th and 47th president as a historically successful figure while those under Biden's autopen stand-in describe the 46th executive as “by far, the worst President in American History” who “brought our Nation to the brink of destruction.”
Barrow reported from Atlanta.
A photograph of President Donald Trump and a short plaque next to it are on display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery's "American Presidents" exhibit on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Anna Johnson)
President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
