Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin. Bob Goshert/For IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Indianapolis 500 qualifying goes horribly wrong for Team Penske

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated May 18, 2025 4:49 PM ET

A year after sweeping the front row in Indianapolis 500 qualifying, Team Penske came into 2025 looking to repeat the front row sweep.

Unfortunately, Penske's bid for a repeat of a front row sweep at Indianapolis has already turned sour before any of the team's three cars had a chance to make a lap in Sunday's Fast 12 qualifying session.

Penske's problems started in Sunday's practice session, when defending Indianapolis 500 polesitter Scott McLaughlin's No. 3 got loose in Turn 2 and spun, sending McLaughlin on a wild, airborne ride.

Scott McLaughlin hits the wall hard in #Indy500 practice. pic.twitter.com/N5oPmCuOVI
— INDYCAR on FOX (@IndyCarOnFOX) May 18, 2025

The impact of McLaughlin's wreck was so violent that the left rear tire on his car was detached and the track surface was damaged.

While McLaughlin was unharmed in the vicious crash, he would not be able to make a qualifying lap on Sunday. But Penske still had two of their cars ready to qualify — the No. 2, driven by two-time defending Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden, and the No. 12, driven by 2018 Indianapolis 500 winner and two-time IndyCar champion Will Power.

Both Newgarden and Power's cars were pushed to the grid, but both cars were found to have failed pre-qualifying inspection.

The No. 2 and 12 cars fail pre-qualifying inspection

Both @Team_Penske entries will not be given their guaranteed Top 12 Qualifying attempt. pic.twitter.com/pAh1bHGzVN
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) May 18, 2025

The teams of Newgarden and Power were forced to push both vehicles back to the garage area, where they sat silently while the other drivers in the Fast 12 made their qualifying runs.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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