Memorial Day Weekend brings us the 109th running of “the greatest spectacle in racing” — the Indianapolis 500. The Indy 500 sold out its grandstand of 350,000 for the first time since 2016, and the decades-old local TV blackout has been lifted so locals can watch the race live.

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.

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.