In a dramatic unravelling of events that has sent shockwaves through the IndyCar paddock, Team Penske has dismissed three of its most senior figures just days before the Indianapolis 500. As the dust settles from a technical violation scandal that has relegated Josef Newgarden and Will Power to the back of the grid, both drivers have broken their silence on the upheaval that has rocked their organisation.
The fallout
The Team Penske controversy erupted when technical inspections revealed modified attenuators on the cars of two-time defending Indy 500 winner Newgarden and previous victor Power, resulting in them being sent to positions 32 and 33 on the grid. The penalties were severe: both cars forfeited qualification points, received $100,000 fines each, and lost their pit positions.
Team President Tim Cindric, Managing Director Ron Ruzewski, and General Manager Kyle Moyer have all left the organisation following the scandal – three men who had spent many years at Penske. Cindric joined in 1999, Ruzewski in 2005, and Moyer in the middle of the last decade.
Power: “A real pity”
Will Power, who has worked closely with the departed personnel throughout his Penske career, didn’t hide his emotions when discussing their exit to the media, including Pit Debrief. “Yeah, it’s kind of a shock and a pity. They’re all extremely good at their job,” Power said. “Yeah, it was just the pressure from outside. I guess Roger had to make a tough decision, but I can tell you these were very credible people. They really were.”
The Australian driver emphasised the minor nature of the technical infraction, explaining, “As you know, the infraction was very minor. It wasn’t a performance gain.” His personal connection to the departed staff was evident as he revealed, “I called Ron [Ruzewski]. Obviously, he’s on my car. I didn’t get him. But yeah, I feel bad for everyone involved in that situation. I really do.”
Power described the dismissed personnel as “extremely good people, great at their job, won a lot of races, championships, created an incredible team. Yeah, a real pity.”
Newgarden: “Ready to rock”
Josef Newgarden, despite the turmoil surrounding his team, remained focused on the race ahead whilst acknowledging the difficulty of the situation. When pressed about the departure of Penske colleagues who were “friends, people that you were close to,” the two-time Indy 500 winner kept his response measured.
“I don’t want to disappoint or offend anybody.” Newgarden continued, “I’m here to talk about the race. I’m here with my team. I’m ready to go racing.
“I love this race. My goodness, I’ve been enjoying being here this whole time. I look forward to it every year, as we all do. Ready to go to work with our group.”
Despite the circumstances, Newgarden’s confidence remained unshaken when asked directly about his chances of winning. “Oh, absolutely. Absolutely,” he confidently replied.
The American driver outlined his mental approach to handling the distractions. “I think you have to focus on what you can control,” he said. “That’s the difficult part about this job. It’s the difficult part about the Indianapolis 500 is how do you stay focused on what is in your control.”
The emotional toll on Roger Penske
Power provided insight into how team owner Roger Penske handled the difficult decision to dismiss the three executives ahead of the Indy 500 on Sunday. “I was called in to see Roger at RP1 there. Yeah, that’s how I found out,” Power revealed about learning of the personnel changes.
“I know it was very tough for him. He said that. It’s obviously a very tough decision to make. He said he didn’t sleep the night before because he had to make a very hard decision,” Power explained. “I feel bad for him. He’s in a very tough spot in that situation. You could tell it was heavy on him. Tough, tough for him to have to do that.
“I think Roger moves forward very quickly. I know him over the years, he makes decisions. He moves forward. Doesn’t dwell on it. He’s not going to sit and spend a month worrying about what happened. I think he’s ‘how can we fix this and let’s move forward and make sure it doesn’t happen again.'”
Team Penske starting the Indy 500 from the back
Both drivers will face the challenge of racing from the rear of the field, but they remain optimistic about working together. When asked about coordinating their charge through the field, Newgarden was realistic about the limitations, saying, “I think it’s hard to work together. We can certainly not hinder each other. That’s probably the best way to put it.”
“We don’t need to be hindering each other. I don’t know that we’re going to be able to work in parallel. It’s very tough to do here at the Speedway. In a lot of ways starting in the back, it’s every person for themselves.”
Power, meanwhile, expressed confidence in his new strategist Jonathan Diuguid.
“Roger asked what he would like, and he asked my engineer and all the engineers, ‘What’s the best way to do this?’ I got Jonathan Diuguid, who is extremely experienced and has been an engineer and run IndyCars before. I think between Dave and Jonathan, those two guys are incredibly smart and understand strategy, everything.”
Moving forward after a tough blow
Despite the upheaval, both drivers remain determined to perform on Sunday. Power summed up the team’s mindset: “I think everyone — I feel like everyone on the team is positive and very motivated. I think being the driver you need to show that this is not affecting you, and you’re very focused on the job at hand, and I am.”
Newgarden, meanwhile, maintained his enthusiasm for the spectacle ahead: “Right now I’m trying to remain happy. This is the Indy 500. We’re going to have a sold-out crowd here for the Indianapolis 500, as it should be. To see all the people that show up and make this what it is, I look forward to that. I’m ready to rock.”
As Team Penske prepares for one of the most challenging Indianapolis 500s in its history, both drivers appear determined not to let the off-track drama affect their on-track performance. With their team owner having made the decision to “make necessary changes” in Roger Penske’s words, the focus now turns to Sunday’s race and whether the team can overcome the adversity to mount a comeback from the back of the grid.
