Team Penske parts company with president, MD and GM after Indy 500 qualifying controversy

Team Penske have parted company with three senior IndyCar executives following the controversy surrounding qualifying for the Indianapolis 500.

A Team Penske statement announced the departures of team president Tim Cindric, IndyCar managing director Ron Ruzewski and IndyCar general manager Kyle Moyer four days before the 109th running of the Indy 500.

In last weekend’s qualifying session, the cars of Josef Newgarden, who has won the last two editions of the Indy 500, and Will Power were found to have an illegally modified part, which resulted in them being disqualified. Each entry was also fined US$100,000 by IndyCar.

“Nothing is more important than the integrity of our sport and our race teams,” said Roger Penske, owner of both Team Penske and IndyCar.

“We have had organisational failures during the last two years, and we had to make necessary changes. I apologise to our fans, our partners and our organisation for letting them down.”

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The organisational failures that Penske is referring to include the push-to-pass scandal from the start of the 2024 season, which saw the team illegally circumvent the overtaking system in the series. This gave their drivers a huge advantage over their rivals in the opening race of the season.

Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward, who narrowly missed out on his first Indy 500 win to Newgarden last year, has this week alleged further infractions by Team Penske that were not publicly reported.

It has also emerged that the modified part Team Penske was penalised for in Indy 500 qualifying has been used on the team’s car for well over a year. While there is no suggestion the team has gained a performance advantage, this development casts an unwelcome shadow over the series’ governance.

BlackBook says…

Team Penske have been held up as the gold standard in IndyCar. To be caught breaking the rules twice in the space of just over a year, especially ahead of IndyCar’s landmark event, is nothing short of a PR disaster.

Roger Penske’s position as both series and team owner exacerbates the situation, but he has now been decisive in taking action.

Cindric had been with the team for 26 years, Ruzewski for 20 and Moyer for ten – these were not dismissals taken lightly.

But this speaks to a seemingly wider issue of chaos and disorganisation within IndyCar, something that continuously holds it back from fulfilling its potential.

Penske should be commended for keeping the series afloat during the pandemic, but another controversial incident risks further undermining all his good work.