The Indy 500, Rocked by Penske Cheating Scandal, Struggles To Shift Focus to Racing

By the end of the 109th Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, organizers hope fans and media will be talking more about the race’s outcome than the scandal that has devastated Roger Penske and his racing team with allegations of cheating.That might be difficult to accomplish after Mr. Penske — one of the most powerful figures in American motorsports and the owner of the Indy 500 track and the IndyCar series — announced the departure of several high-level leaders of Team Penske in the wake of a second major technical violation in 13 months.“Nothing is more important than the integrity of our sport and our race teams,” Mr. Penske, nicknamed “The Captain,” said in announcing the departures of team president Tim Cindric, IndyCar managing Director Ron Ruzewski, and IndyCar general manager Kyle Moyer. “We have had organizational failures during the last two years, and we had to make necessary changes. I apologize to our fans, our partners, and our organization for letting them down.”Robert Schwartzman (Prema Racing) is the first rookie pole winner, with a four-lap average of 232.790 mph during qualifying. Takuma Sato (RLL), a two-time Indy 500 winner, will start second, while Pato O’Ward (McLaren) will start third. But the Penske’s No. 2 and No. 12 cars were moved to the rear of the 33-car field and each entry was fined $100,000 after IndyCar officials found the cars of two-time Indy 500 defending champion Josef Newgarden and of teammate Will Power had the seams filled in at the connection with the attenuator at the rear of the car. The violations were found during the pre-qualifying inspection. Penske’s No. 3 car driven by Scott McLaughlin did not attempt to qualify and was found to have a legal and unmodified attenuator and will start 10th.The Penske name, considered racing royalty, is becoming stained. At the season-opening race last year in St. Petersburg, Florida, two Penske entries were disqualified for violating the “Push to Pass” parameters, which allows drivers to temporarily boost their horsepower at key points in a race. A third entry received a 10-point penalty.In the wake of these recent violations, Mr. Penske is cleaning house. Mr. Cindric, a highly regarded figure in the sport, had served as president since 2005, the same year Mr. Ruzewski joined the team before being promoted to managing director in 2019. Mr. Moyer became general manager in 2019.Rival owner Chip Ganassi of Chip Ganassi Racing voiced his concerns over the Penske violations. “All teams have a certain responsibility to uphold the integrity of the sport in any series,” Mr. Ganassi said, adding, “Team Penske, they’ve had so much success over the years…It’s certainly a problem when the pursuit of winning compromises integrity and sportsmanship.”Mr. Penske is said to be devastated by the week’s events. “Nothing means more to Roger Penske than the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500,” IndyCar President J. Douglas Boles said. “He certainly loves racing across the board.”Last year, Mr. Newgarden passed Mr. O’Ward on the final lap of the 2.5-mile oval to give Team Penske its 20th Indy 500 victory. But the first back-to-back winner in 22 years will be hard-pressed to make it a three-peat, having to start in the last row. The native of Nashville had higher expectations before being penalized.“Always such an honor to be in this field,” he said. “We have some great potential, so let’s see what we can do.”Mr. O’Ward, series points leader Alex Palou (Ganassi), six-time IndyCar champ Scott Dixon (Ganassi), and Mr. McLaughlin are among the betting favorites to win the race, expected to attract 350,000 to the storied Brickyard.Mr. Boles is hoping the scandal around Team Penske doesn’t mar the integrity of the race. “As we look to the remainder of the week and the race this weekend, we will do everything we can to make it clear that this is not only the best racing on the planet, but racing where the best win under completely fair conditions,” he said.

The Indy 500, Rocked by Penske Cheating Scandal, Struggles To Shift Focus to Racing

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