President of Team Penske Tim Cindric, left, and driver Josef Newgarden wait during practice for the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis on Sunday. (AP photo)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — There has been so much drama ahead of the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 that Kyle Larson’s attempt to complete the 1,100-mile NASCAR double doesn’t even crack the top attention-getters.

Roger Penske’s credibility was tested this week and he fired the top three executives of his IndyCar team because the cars of two-time defending race winner Josef Newgarden and Will Power failed inspection. The team had modified a spec safety part — something IndyCar insists provided no competitive advantage — and it forced Penske to act.

The second major infraction in just over a year at Team Penske put The Captain’s reputation at stake. He owns his team but also IndyCar, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy 500 — the most important race in the world to him, and one that the 88-year-old Penske has won a record 20 times.

“We had an organizational failure not once but two times. It hurts me in my gut,” Penske told new TV partner Fox Sports. “There’s a certain amount of credibility you have to have. We let people down. We’ll move on and our goal is to win the race.”

The grandstands are sold out for the first time since 2016 and the Indy 500 is slated to run hours before the Indiana Pacers host Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals a few miles away. The speedway is expecting 350,000 people will attend.

“The downside is that most of the talk going into our biggest race of the year is about that,” 2008 Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon said of the Team Penske scandal. “There’s so many cool stories going into it.”

What about the Penske cars?

The three Team Penske cars did not participate in the final day of qualifying. Scott McLaughlin crashed earlier that day, before Newgarden and Power were disqualified, and his car did not have the illegally altered piece on it.

McLaughlin will start 10th and is motivated to help Penske repair the team image. Newgarden, seeking to become the first driver to win Indy in three consecutive years, will start 32nd and Power in the final spot following the penalties.

No driver has ever won from the last row but Newgarden believes it can be done. The field won’t be surprised.

“The Penskes are freaking missiles,” Pato O’Ward said. “It’s going to be fun watching Josef carve his way through traffic.”

Larson doing The Double

The NASCAR star is attempting to complete the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 in North Carolina on Sunday, an accomplishment that he fell short of last year because of rain.

A long delay in Indianapolis made Larson late to Charlotte Motor Speedway, and the race had not only started by the time he arrived but been stopped by rain. He didn’t turn a single lap of the NASCAR leg.

He’s not shown the same speed at Indy as he did a year ago, and being teammates with O’Ward has dulled some of the spotlight on him. Larson will make the NASCAR race his priority.

“I feel like I get a lot of attention in everything that I do and race, and I don’t really like that because I feel like it takes away from the spotlight of others,” Larson said. “This year has been better because I feel like I’ve kind of flown under the radar. Last year I felt, like, crazy. It’s been more normal, and I like it that way.”

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing