He won the pole with Italian team Prema Racing, a dominant European organization that this season expanded to IndyCar. Shwartzman has never before raced on an oval and will start alongside two-time winner Takuma Sato and Pato O’Ward, who lost to Newgarden on the last lap year.

Prayers are pouring in for Erin Andrews on Thursday. The Fox Sports NFL sideline reporter welcomed her first child into the world, a son named Mack, with the help of a surrogate in 2023. Andrews and her husband, former NHL player Jarret Stoll, had been trying to get pregnant on their own for years. ...

Newgarden has 31 career wins, making him the winningest active American driver on the IndyCar series. He is tied for 10th on the all-time list. Newgarden became the first back-to-back champion at the Indy 500 since Helio Castroneves in 2001 and 2002. He is trying to become the first driver ever to win the race in three straight years.

Last Sunday’s FOX broadcast of Indianapolis 500 qualifying showed a grinning Alex Palou, of Chip Ganassi Racing, and Josef Newgarden standing together on pit lane, watching the Team Penske driver’s team work on the car’s attenuators.