There were few winners out of the attenuator controversy that overshadowed qualifying and the build-up to the 109th edition of the Greatest Spectacle In Racing, which resulted in the axing of three high-profile Team Penske stalwarts.

Josef Newgarden’s right-hand man Tim Cindric was the most significant pine tree to fall alongside Ron Ruzewski and Kyle Mower, who were the strategists for Will Power and Scott McLaughlin respectively.

It’s meant that Mason will step up and take on more responsibility. He’ll be charged with making the big calls when it comes to the #2 Shell Chevy.

Mason worked with Supercars team Stone Brothers Racing and into the Erebus Motorsport era before making the leap to the United States where he worked in NASCAR before making the move across to IndyCar. It’s been a sharp rise in a dramatic three years.

Ironically, Mason was on the receiving end of sanctions after the push-to-pass scandal in 2024 that meant he missed the Indianapolis 500 that year.

Despite a sudden step up the ladder, Mason said he’s not daunted by being shoved into the hot seat in the middle of the biggest event of the year.

“It doesn’t really change our approach,” Mason told Speedcafe at Indianapolis.

“We’re starting at the back. We proved in the pit stop competition that we have the fastest crew and people lane. I think we’ve got the best oval driver in the series currently driving the race car, and in all honesty, we’ve shown the past week that we’ve got the car to beat in traffic.

“Our approach to the race doesn’t change. We’ve got to be really patient and bank on Josef being able to get through the field, bank on our crew being able to make time up in the pit lane and jump spots there.

“Ultimately for me, my role – yeah, you take it a bit more responsibility and ultimately the decision on what we do and when it falls falls on me, but I look back and I’ve been extremely fortunate to have worked alongside one of the best in pit lane to ever do it in Tim Cindric, being able to watch how he operated for the three years I’ve been here and soak in some of the ways he goes about making the decisions and how how he approaches the role of the strategist and making sure all the details are correct. You learn a lot just being there and being able to lean on him and talk to him about what we should do.

“The last two years have been very much a collective approach between him and I talking about what the right thing to do and when. I’m not gonna have him to lean on Sunday, but at the same time, he instilled a lot of the reasoning as to what you do when and you take all that board and you just trust they make the right decision come race day.”

The gravity of the situation isn’t lost on Mason, but said at face value that the opportunity is “unbelievable” for his career.

“You’ve got one of Roger Penske’s cars at the biggest race in the world, and the responsibility is on you to make the decisions in that race and get the best result possible,” said Mason.

“I think collectively as a group, we all wish it was under different circumstances. We don’t get to the position we’re in without those three people who lost their jobs. The efforts that they put in over a vast period of time aren’t forgotten.

“We’re not here if they’re not there in the shop with us preparing the cars. It’s a great loss that that had to happen, but at the same time, it’s not just the #2 car, it’s the #12 car and the #3 car that collectively have a group now. We’re all excited at the possibility of the opportunity that we have Sunday and beyond Sunday to forge something pretty special.”

Newgarden is vying for a special slice of history to become the first driver to win the Indy 500 three years consecutively.

He’ll have to rewrite history too and become the first driver to win from last on the grid. The lowest grid spot that any driver has won from is 28th.

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Despite the record book being against them, Mason said there’s every chance Newgarden could complete the feat.

“It would be a pretty cool way to do it,” said Mason.

“In many respects, the pressure’s off us because no one’s done it so no one’s expecting us to do it. We’re gonna need a bit of luck. Starting at the back anything can happen, you can get caught up in a lot of shit back there.

“It’s the same with our spot in pit lane. People don’t understand how scary it is at the tail end of pit lane when cars are coming in flat chat at 370 [km/h] plus and hit the brake pedal and people are locking up brakes. Not everyone gets it right and you’re right in the danger zone there for something really bad to happen.

“If we all execute our job, the plan is to have Joseph in the top three with 20 laps to go and we will put our feet up after that and just watch the TV and be a race fan like everyone else and no one comes up on top.”

The 109th Running of the Indianpolis 500 gets underway on Monday, May 26 at 2:45am AEST with coverage live and exclusively on Stan Sport in Australia.