Indy 500 polesitter Robert Shwartzman flows on and off the track

Robert Shwartzman made headlines this past Sunday after becoming the first rookie to win the pole for the Indianapolis 500 since Teo Fabi did so in 1983. The 25-year-old Russian-Israeli driver had never competed in an oval race, outran and then outlasted a host of INDYCAR veterans en route to achieving the feat. 

But Schwartzman doesn’t just excel on the track.

A well-documented music lover, the INYDCAR rookie is a published songwriter — most notably dropping his rap song “ACTIVE” in 2023 under the name “Shwartzy.” According to a previous interview he did with “Autoweek,” he developed his love of music from his father. 

“The music thing came a long time ago from my dad,” Shwartzman said in the interview. “My dad was educating me quite a lot in music, mainly classic. Nowadays, it’s rare you can see any teenager or a youngster listening to classic music, where at some stage I also was like, ‘Dad, what is this?’ It’s boring.’ But at some point I got my ear into that. I realized how the melody is structured, how everything is structured, that that’s where it all comes from. Then I started listening to some different artists like from when I was a kid. I liked rock, heavy metal, some pop songs and stuff, but like a mix.”

While Shwartzman is new to the INDYCAR, he has been on Formula One’s radar for years. He has driven at nearly every level of the European single-seaters, winning the FIA Formula 3 Championship for PREMA in 2019. Two years later, he was the runner-up to current Formula One points leader Oscar Piastri in Formula 2 (also for PREMA). He has been an F1 reserve driver for Ferrari in recent years, tested a Formula E car for DS Penske and co-drove with Robert Kubica in the World Endurance Championship.

While he’s the only driver in this year’s field to have released a song, he’s not the only athlete to have a rap career on the side. Below is a list of several familiar names that have stepped into the booth:

• Shaquille O’Neal
• Damian Lillard
• Deion Sanders
• Kobe Bryant
• Dana Barros
• LiAngelo Ball
• Roy Jones Jr.

BEST OF FOX SPORTS’ INDY 500 COVERAGE: