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:

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