It’s time to put the ugliness of the past week behind us and have a fun weekend of racing. We need a very good race and a popular winner. We need a race with no officiating controversies, and a few caution periods to keep things interesting.

What should have been one of the best qualifying stories ever at IMS was buried in an avalanche of controversy and scandal involving Team Penske’s rules violation and its aftermath. It’s time to give Robert Shwartzman his due,

Shwartzman had never driven on an oval before coming to the Speedway. His car had been sluggish early in the week, but it came alive on Fast Friday. He won the pole for the 500 on Sunday, and he was the center of attention that night and early the next day until the Penske story took a darker turn. I think Shwartzman will struggle in the dirty air of the race. I’m not sure he will even lead a lap. I just hope he doesn’t fade quickly at the start.

Elements are in place to make this a very good race. The weather forecast calls for temperatures in the 60s, which means there will be lots of grip. There are strong cars and drivers scattered throughout the field who will move forward, Starting with row 6, Kyle Kirkwood, Colton Herta, Marcus Armstrong, Josef Newgarden, and Will Power will charge forward.

In the front half of the field, Takuma Sato and Pato O’Ward will battle for the early lead with Alex Palou waiting for his opportunity to strike. Conor Daly, Christian Lundgaard, and Alexander Rossi could be factors as well. This race is wide open.

At the end of the race, one driver has been so close to winning the last three years will finally break through. he knows how to be there at the end, and I think this year he will finally get the timing correct and take the checkered flag. Pato O’Ward will win the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500.