The Indianapolis 500 is still days away, but the tension is already building—and not just on the track. Three engine changes during practice this week have sent Chevrolet and its teams scrambling for answers, with some of the sport's biggest names voicing real concern.
Alexander Rossi's crew worked late into Wednesday night swapping out the engine in his car. It's a familiar scene for Ed Carpenter Racing, which had already made the same switch Tuesday night—on team owner Ed Carpenter's own machine. That's two changes in two days, and the pressure is mounting.
"I am concerned," said Rossi, the 2016 Indy 500 winner and former Formula One driver. "It's not only Ed, I mean, there's been two others as well. So you're going to have to ask—like, we don't have the full information as to, are they the same failures? Is it something that's a batch thing?"
In total, three drivers—Rossi, Carpenter, and Team Penske's Scott McLaughlin—have all required engine swaps this week. A Chevrolet spokesperson confirmed each engine has been sent back to Detroit for a thorough inspection. The situation is especially puzzling for a series that has dramatically reduced mechanical failures in recent years, where caution periods for breakdowns have gone from routine to rare.
With the turbocharged power boost coming Friday, qualifications set for Saturday and Sunday, and a sold-out Indianapolis 500 looming on May 24, the timing couldn't be more nerve-wracking. Drivers are now wondering if that trend of reliability can hold through a second week on the Brickyard's legendary 2.5-mile oval.
Still, it's not all doom and gloom for Chevy. Two of the three fastest qualifiers on last year's 33-car starting grid—including pole winner Robert Shwartzman—were Chevy-powered. So were second- and third-place finishers David Malukas and Pato O'Ward on race day. O'Ward posted the fastest lap in Thursday's practice at 227.308 mph, while Conor Daly still holds the top speed of the first three practices at 228.080 mph. Both are Chevy drivers, and both feel confident heading into the next two weekends.
"I kind of hate to say it because I don't really want to get too far ahead of myself," one driver admitted, "but this is the best car I've had in a long time."
As the countdown to the Greatest Spectacle in Racing continues, all eyes will be on Chevy's engine bay—and whether the team can solve this mystery before the green flag drops.