Bob Pockrass
FOX Motorsports Insider
Roger Penske had to do something. And when Penske has to do something, it usually isn’t done in a meek way.
Penske released his top three INDYCAR race team executives — Tim Cindric (president), Ron Ruzewski (team manager) and Kyle Moyer (general manager). And not just because the team was found to have skirted the rule book twice in a 15-month period.
Certainly, that was part of it. But the firings dished out on Wednesday were necessary because these violations made people question Penske’s integrity, since he is the one whose company oversees the rules and runs the inspections of the race where his teams’ cars compete.
When Penske in 2019 decided to purchase the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and INDYCAR, he acknowledged the inherent conflict of interest and at that time said he wouldn’t sit on Team Penske pit boxes during events.
“I understand the integrity [issue], and there’s got to be a bright line,” he said at the time. “I know what my job is, and hopefully I’ve got enough credibility with everyone that we can be sure that there is not a conflict, and I’ll do my very best to be sure that isn’t.
“If you think it is, I know that you folks will tell me pretty quick. So I’ve got a lot of guys watching me.”
Despite everyone watching, for the second time in less than 15 months, Penske teams have been found to significantly violate INDYCAR rules.
Last year’s St. Petersburg issue was more egregious. Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin were disqualified (Newgarden had won the race) weeks after the event when it was discovered they had their push-to-pass engaged on restarts. INDYCAR rules require that it not be engaged until near the end of the first green-flag lap.
Few in the garage believed that it was anything other than an honest mistake, especially considering that the rule wasn’t in place for the 2024 exhibition race at Thermal, which followed St. Pete.
Then came the issue on Sunday with the Newgarden and Will Power cars, where they had a seam filled where the attenuator attaches to the rear of the car. That would be considered an illegal modification. Whether they did it to be sleek visually or intended it to potentially help a tiny bit with aero, the rule book seems pretty clear it was not allowed.
It cost Newgarden and Power a potential front-row starting spot (they’ll now start at the rear of the field). And it made people wonder how long this has been going on and why it wasn’t caught earlier — considering Newgarden’s winning car from 2024 appears to have the same seam filled.
One race win in 2024 was taken away. Another 2024 win is being questioned. The legitimacy of starting positions in the 2025 Indy 500 is also being questioned. It was more than Penske could bear.
“We have had organizational failures during the last two years, and we had to make necessary changes,” Penske said Wednesday in a statement.
Not only does it look bad for someone who prides himself on being on the up-and-up, it could also impact Honda’s decision to stay in the sport. Andretti Global owner Dan Towriss said in March that Honda wants to see costs decrease but also wanted to see something when it comes to administering the rules.
“They want to see independence in certain areas,” he said.
That independence was exactly for just this situation. If the Penske cars had the seams filled for previous events (or qualifying Saturday), did inspectors miss it? Did they see it and decide it wasn’t a big issue until Sunday? Were Penske cars treated any differently than other cars?
While the onus on this can be on the inspection side of the INDYCAR arm, it can also be taken care of on the team side. If they don’t break the rules, there’s no question.
That can be a hard thing to do and remain competitive. The adage in racing of “if you’re not cheating, you’re not trying” creates a cat-and-mouse game between the teams and inspectors. It’s a game, it could be argued, that everyone plays to some extent. But it’s a game with much higher stakes for Penske as owner of the series.
Just how much of a difference does filling the seams makes? That’s debatable. But it’s also not the point. It could be argued that if this was so egregious and blatantly out in the open, how come other teams didn’t say anything to INDYCAR President Doug Boles, who assumed that role this year? But again, that’s not the point.
The point is that Penske had to show how seriously he takes the integrity issue. Cindric, Ruzewski and Moyer didn’t get where they were without talent and being valuable pieces to the organization. Losing all three will make it challenging for Penske to achieve the same performance. Releasing one of the three probably wouldn’t have been enough to at least get the attention of other owners and stakeholders.
Team owners and other stakeholders must believe they get a fair shake. If they don’t have that belief, it could impact sponsors, future team investment and manufacturers that compete in the sport.
Penske had to prove a point this week. Point taken.
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
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