GUADALAJARA, México (AP) — A large statue of soccer great Pelé was unveiled Thursday in the Mexican city of Guadalajara to commemorate his achievements with the Brazilian national team.
Pelé, who died at age 82 in 2022, won one of his three World Cup titles in Mexico at the 1970 edition of the tournament.
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A fan takes a picture with a statue of Brazilian soccer player in the background after its unveiling outside Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Refugio Ruiz)
A statue of Brazilian soccer player Pele stands after its unveiling outside Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Refugio Ruiz)
A statue of Brazilian soccer player Pele stands after its unveiling outside Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Refugio Ruiz)
A statue of Brazilian soccer player Pele stands after its unveiling outside Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Refugio Ruiz)
"This monumental figure of this great player, who played here and scored a great goal, is a great gift to the people of Jalisco and to all visitors,” Jalisco Gov. Pablo Lemus said. “Pelé loved Guadalajara, and the Brazilian national team fell in love with it because the Mexican public gave them everything in 1970.”
The 9.5-meter-tall (31-foot) statue is located in a public square called Plaza Brazil outside the Jalisco Stadium, which hosted matches in the 1970 and 1986 World Cups. For its 1970 title run, Brazil played its first-round, quarterfinal, and semifinal matches at the stadium before beating Italy in the final at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.
“People who come to the Jalisco Stadium now will stop to take pictures. This statue will be a landmark, especially since it depicts a football star like Pelé,” Lemus said. “It’s a great gift for the World Cup.”
In the 2026 World Cup, Guadalajara will host four first-round matches: South Korea vs. Czech Republic on June 12; Mexico vs. South Korea on June 18, Colombia vs. Congo on June 23, and Uruguay vs. Spain on June 26.
AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
A fan takes a picture with a statue of Brazilian soccer player in the background after its unveiling outside Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Refugio Ruiz)
A statue of Brazilian soccer player Pele stands after its unveiling outside Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Refugio Ruiz)
A statue of Brazilian soccer player Pele stands after its unveiling outside Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Refugio Ruiz)
A statue of Brazilian soccer player Pele stands after its unveiling outside Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Refugio Ruiz)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Scott McLaughlin waited 12 months to erase the worst memory of his life.
He spent the time contemplating the haunting images of a spinning car hitting the wall last May before the race had even started, his hands flapping in anger and the frustration sinking in as he climbed out. All the inconsolable McLaughlin could do was cover his face.
He's not going to blow it Sunday at another sold-out Indianapolis 500.
Instead, McLaughlin intends to take full advantage of a second chance on Indianapolis Motor Speedway's 2.5-mile oval, and he hopes to show everyone what he's learned and how resilient he's become as he tries to write a worst-to-first script.
“No doubt I’ve come back stronger from it,” he said. “I don’t think I’m driving differently this year because of it. I’m just looking forward to getting back into the race, creating a new storyline, getting on with it. I’d love to go zero to hero, of course, but driving with emotion like that is probably a detriment. I've just got to go out there, execute and see what I’ve got.”
The 32-year-old New Zealander has returned to Indy with a steadier, more determined mindset to prove he won't make the same mistake twice. He didn't duck any questions about what happened, even if it still seems inexplicable.
But at Team Penske, it's not just McLaughlin seeking redemption this weekend.
Last May might have been the worst for team founder Roger Penske since 1995, when neither of his two-time 500 winners — Al Unser Jr. or Emerson Fittipaldi — made the 33-car starting field, with the open-wheel split keeping Penske away from Indy for the next five years.
In 2025, the trouble started long before McLaughlin crashed while warming up his tires as he was driving past pit lane. Two-time defending champion Josef Newgarden and 2018 Indy 500 winner Will Power were both penalized following a post-qualifying inspection that showed each car had illegally modified rear attenuators.
It marked the second time in 14 months The Captain's team had been tarnished by a cheating scandal. In April 2024, Newgarden was stripped of his win and McLaughlin lost his third-place finish at the season-opening race in St. Petersburg because they improperly used the push-to-pass button on restarts — a rule that was changed earlier this month after a dozen drivers did the same thing at Long Beach. The new rule will allow all 33 drivers to use it on restarts Sunday, the first time on an oval.
“What happened there was a nothing burger,” Newgarden said when asked about Long Beach. “I mean look, I don't have much to say about it, it doesn't matter to me. I'm here in Indianapolis.”
But the second infraction sent both cars to the back of the starting grid, essentially ending Newgarden's opportunity to become the first driver in race history with three straight 500 wins and Power's chance to add a second Indy crown in his contract year. Three key team executives —president Tim Cindric, IndyCar managing director Ron Ruzewski and IndyCar general manager Kyle Moyer — were fired.
The three drivers' race-day results were subpar, too, for a team with a record 20 Indy wins. Power was the team's best finisher, in 16th and one lap behind the leaders. Newgarden dropped out with 66 laps to go and came in 22nd. And McLaughlin, Penske's top qualifier, didn't complete a single lap.
This year, McLaughlin and Newgarden came back to Indy with a new teammate, David Malukas, who drives the No. 12 car Power occupied for more than a decade. McLaughlin also has a new race strategist, Cindric.
And while Malukas and McLaughlin already have put Team Penske in more favorable position this May, starting third and ninth, Newgarden struggled in qualifying. He'll start 23rd, in the middle of Row 8, though it's still a nine-spot improvement over last year's starting spot. The combination at least gives Penske's team a fighting chance on the track he owns.
“I'm just going into it like I do any race,” Malukas said when asked about starting on the outside of Row 1. "I'll just watch previous race starts from that position, just getting a collection of data to see where people funnel out, funnel in. I'll just go with the flow.”
Newgarden, however, will have to manage traffic all around him after earning his worst starting spot since 2013 with the exception of last year's penalty.
And then there's McLaughlin, who has a second chance to prove to his fans and the team that last year was an aberration and this year could have a storybook ending.
“I feel like last year sucked and stunk, but it’s part of my journey,” he said. “I feel like I’ve gotten years of experience in one. It was a tough thing. I never wish that upon my worst enemy, as I’ve said. It’s something I’ve grown from, for sure. But it put a lot of perspective in my life.”
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
David Maluka, left, talks with Caio Collet before practice for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Monday, May 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
David Malukas leads a pack of cars into the first turn during practice for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Monday, May 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Former winners of the Indianapolis 500 auto race pose at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Monday, May 18, 2026. Front row, left to right, Will Power, of Australia; Josef Newgarden; Alex Palou, of Spain; and Scott Dixon, of New Zealand. Second row: left to right, Alexander Rossi; Ryan Hunter-Reay; Helio Castroneves, of Brazil; Takuma Sato, of Japan; and Marcus Ericsson, of Sweden. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Scott McLaughlin (3) and Helio Castroneves, of Brazil, head into the first turn during practice for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Monday, May 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Ed Carpenter, left, talks with Scott McLaughlin before practice for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Monday, May 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
