Due to their involvement in an IndyCar cheating incident, Roger Penske suspended Team Penske president Tim Cindric and three other personnel for two races, including the Indianapolis 500. He made this announcement on Tuesday.
In addition to owning IndyCar and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Penske also owns the team. According to an internal study, “significant failures” occurred in Team Penske’s “processes and internal communications.”
“I recognise the magnitude of what occurred and the impact it continues to have on the sport to which I’ve dedicated so many decades,” Penske stated.
“Everyone at Team Penske, along with our fans and business partners, should know that I apologise for the errors that were made and I deeply regret them.”
On April 24, IndyCar issued severe disciplinary actions against three drivers from Team Penske for their involvement in going against “push-to-pass parameters.”
With the push-to-pass system, a motorist can activate a turbo boost in their car to increase power by simply pushing a button. Only within the specified time of a race is it permitted to use the system.
The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg docked Will Power ten points and disqualified Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin. At first, the race was won by Newgarden. Power finished fourth and McLaughlin third at the season’s first race on March 10 in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Along with Cindric, Penske suspended No. 2 race engineer Luke Mason, senior data engineer Robbie Atkinson, and managing director of Team Penske Ron Ruzewski for two races on Tuesday.
Team Penske’s “possible rules violation” was uncovered by IndyCar during the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach warm-up on April 21, the racing series reported.
The crew “manipulated the overtake system” to allow the Nos. 2 (Newgarden), 3 (McLaughlin), and 12 (Power) to employ the push-to-pass system on starts and restarts, according to IndyCar’s in-depth analysis of the St. Petersburg event.
According to the assessment, Power did not use the system during starts or restarts, whereas Newgarden and McLaughlin “gained a competitive advantage” from it. Each of the three drivers lost all of the race’s prize money in addition to a $25,000 punishment.
After it was taken away from Newgarden, Pato O’Ward was given credit for the victory.
According to Newgarden, “the facts are extremely clear,” as he stated to reporters last month. “We definitely broke the rules when we were in St. Petersburg. I restarted twice and utilised push-to-pass at an unauthorised period. Other than that, there’s not really anything else to it. We didn’t follow the rules; those are the guidelines.”
McLaughlin claimed he had “no recollection of hitting” the button, although Newgarden claimed he “knew exactly when” he touched it.
On April 28 in Birmingham, Alabama, McLaughlin went on to win the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix. Linus Lundqvist finished second, and Power third. Newgarden came in sixteenth.
Newgarden placed fourth at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 21 and second in the $1 Million Challenge All-Star Race on March 24.
For his championship defence, the defending Indianapolis 500 winner will suddenly be missing a number of important team members. Power, the 2018 Indianapolis 500 winner, came in 12th and McLaughlin was in second position in the previous year’s race.
Leading the driver rankings is Colton Herta, who finished in the top three of two of the championship events this season. He placed among the top 10 in every competition.
One point behind Herta in second position is Power (100 points). Newgarden (48) is ranked sixteenth, and McLaughlin (59) is in ninth position.
The NTT IndyCar Series’ next event is the Sonsio Grand Prix. That event will take place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday at 3 p.m. EDT and air on NBC.
On May 26, the 108th Indianapolis 500 will take place in Indianapolis at 11 a.m. will be broadcast on NBC.