Indy 500 rocked by another cheating scandal by marquee team

As the latest round of Team Penske cheating allegations swirled through Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the president of the IndyCar team stood outside the garage to address the illegal modifications discovered on two of its cars.

Lurking over Tim Cindric’s shoulder was a random race fan wearing what appeared to be a Team Penske branded shirt.

It was not: Like Josef Newgarden’s and Will Power’s cars for the Indianapolis 500, the shirt had been modified. It read: “Team Cheaters” with the Penske logo bar.

Perception isn’t necessarily reality, but Roger Penske has a serious perception problem now that his team has been swept up in scandal for the second time in just over a year.

The first time, it was the discovery last April that the Penske drivers had access to the push-to-pass system when they should not have been able to use the extra horsepower boost. On Sunday, during the second day of qualifying for the 109th running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” it was discovered that Newgarden’s and Power’s cars had an illegally modified part.

They were disqualified from making a four-lap run, and IndyCar a day later hammered Team Penske: Newgarden, the two-time defending race winner, was dropped to 32nd in the field, and Power was moved to last.

IndyCar stripped both cars of points earned in qualifying, fined both teams $100,000 and suspended the strategists for the remainder of the month. It means Cindric and team managing director Ron Ruzewski will miss the Indy 500 for a second consecutive year.

This is a nightmare for Penske, who owns the three-car team, IndyCar, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy 500—the race he values more than any other event in the world. Penske has a record 20 Indy 500 victories.

“What a shame this cloud will continue to hover over our great race until everything is fully resolved,” McLaren Racing boss Zak Brown told The Associated Press.

Defending Roger Penske

The penalties were decided by new IndyCar President Doug Boles, who in February was given the title in addition to his job as president of the speedway. He was the one to inform Penske, via phone call, before they were announced Monday.

Boles also tried to lessen Penske’s role in what has transpired within the team.

“I don’t think Roger Penske understands some of the things that might be going on. I get the optics challenge, and it’s definitely something we should think about,” Boles said. “While (issues) roll up to Roger at the end of the day, I think they are certainly below him. There are things that happen that don’t ever get to Roger.

“I can tell you that Roger Penske would not condone this. In fact, I had a chance to talk to Roger, and I can tell that this is devastating to him,” Boles continued. “Nothing means more to Roger Penske than the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500. This is something that I think he’s going to have to address at some point in time.”

That’s what rival teams have been saying since the commotion Sunday on pit lane, when the two Penske cars were pulled off the grid and returned to the garage moments before the fast 12 shootout.

Team Penske said it accepts the penalties and was “disappointed by the results and the impact it has on our organization. We will make further announcements later this week related to personnel for the upcoming Indianapolis 500.”

Boles is adamant the cars were legal in Saturday’s inspection and he had heard nothing about the Penske cars potentially having an illegal modification until it all unfolded. Rivals are claiming otherwise, offering photos that they say show the modifications as recently as last month’s open test.

The AP and Indianapolis Star went to the IMS Museum on Monday and found Newgarden’s 2024 winning car that is on display. It had the same illegal modification.

What others are saying

“The biggest problem I see is there’s a bit of a theme going on here, and it’s just a bad look, right?” said six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon, who believes IndyCar needs an independent governing body without any Penske employees.

Dixon’s boss, Chip Ganassi, was one of many who complained to IndyCar inspectors and Penske executives that the cars were illegal on Sunday. The next day, he remained disappointed in the drama that is now overshadowing the biggest race in the world, one that is sold out for the first time since 2016.

“All the teams in the sport have a responsibility to protect the integrity of the sport, none more than the Penske team,” Ganassi told AP.

Newgarden is attempting to become the first driver to win the Indy 500 in three consecutive years, but no driver has won after starting on the last row. Power, meanwhile, is in a contract year, and Team Penske has maintained it wouldn’t begin discussions on an extension until after the 500. Asked last week about Power’s future with the team, Cindric told AP: “Well, if he wins the 500, that would make for a much easier conversation.”

Now, Newgarden and Power are in deep holes despite having nothing to do with the situation.

What comes next?

Penske, who places tremendous value on his reputation and strong belief that “effort equals results,” is now having his integrity questioned. Boles and Penske Entertainment CEO Mark Miles had a Monday meeting with the rest of the owners that Brown described as contentious.

“I’m very concerned, as are my fellow team owners, to find that Team Penske has been found with a multi-car major technical infringement for the second time in two seasons,” Brown told AP. “In racing you can sometimes have mechanics who make miscalculations and you can sometimes have manufacturing issues that can all lead to honest mistakes. I don’t believe that’s what happened here or last year, which raises questions over the integrity of the decision-making within that team.”

Brown did not place blame on IndyCar technical director Kevin Blanch, who he said “does an excellent job.” But, he said there were questions about IndyCar’s ability to continue to run the series under the current set-up.

“It’s clear IndyCar needs more depth and technical resources to examine and spot violations, flagrant or not,” Brown continued. “While I appreciate and support IndyCar’s position to move those two cars to the back of the field, there obviously remains a question mark regarding their compliance on Saturday.”

Brown said it was unfair that Jacob Abel of Dale Coyne Racing was bumped from the 33-car field.

“If it turns out this technical infringement was on their cars when they qualified Saturday, then it’s incredibly unfair that Jacob Abel and his team were bumped by non-compliant cars,” Brown said. “However, I have complete confidence in Roger Penske’s commitment to look at that situation and to ensure that any such wrongs are righted.”

Monday’s practice

Power and Newgarden were among the fastest cars in Indianapolis 500 practice Monday, while Team Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin was searching for speed in a car built up following his practice crash.

IndyCar champion Alex Palou paced the two-hour session—the last before Carb Day on Friday, when drivers get on the track one last time before Sunday’s race—with a lap of 226.765 mph. Palou was followed by Helio Castroneves and Takuma Sato, and Jack Harvey, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Nolan Siegel were next, raising some eyebrows throughout the paddock.

Power was seventh on the speed chart. Newgarden was eighth.

Robert Shwartzman, the first rookie to win the pole in 42 years, was 26th among the 33 cars with a best lap of 222.561 mph. And while 2008 winner Scott Dixon showed plenty of speed, he managed only six laps before warning lights went off to signal an overheating problem, and he spent the last 90 minutes of the practice session in the garage.

The only incident in practice involved Christian Rasmussen, who touched the wall for the second time in five days. The impact sent him across the track and bumping into the inner wall, though his car appeared to escape significant damage.

Rasmussen had just run a lap of 225.247 mph, which wound up being the ninth-quickest on the day.