“Nothing is more important than the integrity of our sport.” Instead of an upright chest, it was with a hung head that Roger Penske said these words. The motorsports veteran took control of the IndyCar Series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway back in 2019 with hopes of reaching new heights. Unfortunately, his own team, Team Penske, has been in the thick of controversy recently. In less than two years, the Penske name has been tarnished multiple times.

Team Penske landed in hot soup for violating push-to-pass rules at the 2024 season-opening race at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The team also faced fire in NASCAR for Joey Logano’s ‘webbed gloves’ in Atlanta. Barely a year later, it is inviting trouble yet again. But its owner took a firm stand.

Roger Penske comes clean on infraction

Josef Newgarden, the 2024 Indianapolis 500 winner, and Will Power slipped into trouble. The attenuator in their cars was illegally modified, as noticed in the Fast 12 session of Sunday’s qualifying. As a result, Team Penske incurred heavy penalties, starting with a $100,000 fine. The two drivers will start at the rear of the field for the 109th iteration of the prestigious event. What is more? Roger Penske did not hesitate to cut off bonds that he had cherished for many years.

Executive Tim Cindric has been a long-time fixture in Team Penske since 1999, acting as team president since 2006 and overseeing Penske restoration. INDYCAR managing director Ron Ruzewski was in his 21st year with the team. General manager Kyle Moyer was in his 11th season, having over 3 decades of experience in motorsports. All of them saw their way out. It was a brutal move, but a statement to the rest of the grid.

Roger Penske fired Cindric, Ruzewski, and Moyer in the wake of the latest controversy. Recently, the motorsports mogul appeared in an interview with FOX Sports reporter Jamie Little for complete candor. “Believe me, it hurts me in my gut when you think about it,” he said. Penske emphasized the ideal that was paramount to him. “People have come to me and said, ‘You’re supposed to be a leader of this sport, and here you have these two situations.’ I think the integrity of this sport, I didn’t help it any. From my perspective, what I’ve got to do, and I told this to the team owners, I’ve got to take the role on, along with the Penske Entertainment leadership, and gain back that credibility.” 

Last year in St Petersburg, Josef Newgarden lost his race victory. His 2024 car had the same modifications to the attenuator that the two penalized cars on Sunday did. Roger Penske explained this similarity: “I would say we had nine attenuators that were modified by Dallara at the beginning of 2024, and those have been rotated through the cars over the last 15 months,” Penske said. “We also had newer ones that we bought, and those have been in the same batch. That’s why you see that [Scott] McLaughlin didn’t have an issue with his car.” He added, “But when I go back to 2024, that car was taken apart piece by piece in detail following the race, and it was said to be completely legal for the win.” Complete honesty from the Coach, and we expected nothing less.

Team Penske has understandably faced a slew of backlash ever since the news was brought to light, and people around IndyCar have shared their thoughts on this. Helio Castroneves, 2025 Daytona 500 starter and 3x Indy 500 winner with Team Penske, felt that the infraction was not to gain a competitive advantage, but just a stylistic choice with an area that should not have been tampered with. Helio said, “I believe they did something to look good. I don’t think that little (adjusted) lip is going to make them three miles an hour faster… I don’t see this as a situation that people are cheating. In terms of performance, I don’t think it would have changed anything.”

Andretti Global’s Colton Herta also echoed Castroneves’ sentiments and compared it to their push to pass scandal from 2024, claiming the latter was more egregious. Herta said, “Do I think they had it for qualifying Saturday? Absolutely for sure. Do I think that’s why they were fast? Absolutely not… This is way different than 50 extra horsepower, and I won’t be passed because of what they did.” 

Then, when Penske was pressed by fans calling for his drivers to be barred from the race on Sunday, his response was stoic. Roger Penske said, “Those cars went through inspection on Saturday, got the sticker, they performed in the top 12, and were available to run on Sunday. From that point on, there was a question about our cars on Sunday — we actually pulled a car and did not make a run because of the question from the officials. But as far as I’m concerned, they’ve earned the right to be in the 109th Running of the Indy 500.” They’ve been moved to the back of the field and will suffer the consequences of the Team’s actions, and that’s a fair ruling as per Roger.

Although two of his drivers have borne the brunt of the violation, one driver may soar high above. That is what Roger Penske is counting on for the upcoming Indy 500.

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Posting high speeds and dodging trouble

Well, Roger Penske has three drivers in IndyCar. As we saw, Newgarden and Power are already in the mess. But their teammate, Scott McLaughlin, could avoid judicial trouble. His car was heavily damaged in an airborne practice crash, and officials examined its rear attenuator. According to IndyCar and IMS track president Doug Boles, McLaughlin’s car had no modifications.

This comes as a healthy update, added by the fact that McLaughlin will start from the 10th spot in the Indy 500. The No. 3 driver also shows great promise, considering that he posted top speeds a month ago. During mock qualifying runs around the 2.5-mile speedway, the Kiwi posted the single fastest lap of 232.686mph.

In April, Scott McLaughlin had projected a positive outlook for the upcoming Indy 500. He reflected on his top speed: “I felt like the morning qualifying session – the high-boost session – was a bit of a cr–shoot. (There were a) couple yellows. When the track got better, it was a bit dirty from some of the shunts, as well. Then everyone was trying to cram a lot into 40 minutes. But overall, a really solid (car) balance to kick off the Month of May.” So, despite the massive overhaul in the team, Roger Penske looks forward to a thumping weekend. He said recently, “I made some management changes that we announced today, and I think we’ll move on. Our goal is to win the race this upcoming weekend.”

Evidently, Roger Penske is trying his best to move on from an embarrassing situation yet again. As the Indy 500 looms into view, let us see what developments visit his team.