"A clear indication, I hope, to the paddock that we take this seriously"
May 24, 2025 12:53 PM Subscribe
Tomorrow's running of the 109th Indianapolis 500 has the largest expected attendance since the centennial anniversary in 2016. Now a last-minute cheating scandal has caused a management & strategic shakeup with the presumpive frontrunner Team Penske.
Team Penske's Josef Newgarden, who won last year and the year before (and who recently attended a strangely fawning meeting at the White House) is looking to become the first three-peat in the event's history. But now Newgarden and fellow Penske driver Will Power (yes, that's his real name) have been penalized after illegal modifications were discovered in their rear attenuators after last Sunday's "fast 12".
The dominos started to fall when rival team leaders Chip Ganassi (himself no stranger to the Indy 500) demanded inspections. Newgarden and Power will start the race in the utmost rear 32nd and 33rd positions. No driver has ever won from these rows, only four drivers in the 108-year history of the race have won from lower than 22nd. Oddly, fellow Penske driver Scott McLaughlin will still begin at 10th position even though he slammed his car into the Indy track wall during practice, because a post-crash examination of his vehicle revealed a normal attenuator.
From the NY Times Athletic:
This is not the first time Team Penske (and Newgarden) has been embroiled in scandal.
Team Penske's Josef Newgarden, who won last year and the year before (and who recently attended a strangely fawning meeting at the White House) is looking to become the first three-peat in the event's history. But now Newgarden and fellow Penske driver Will Power (yes, that's his real name) have been penalized after illegal modifications were discovered in their rear attenuators after last Sunday's "fast 12".
The dominos started to fall when rival team leaders Chip Ganassi (himself no stranger to the Indy 500) demanded inspections. Newgarden and Power will start the race in the utmost rear 32nd and 33rd positions. No driver has ever won from these rows, only four drivers in the 108-year history of the race have won from lower than 22nd. Oddly, fellow Penske driver Scott McLaughlin will still begin at 10th position even though he slammed his car into the Indy track wall during practice, because a post-crash examination of his vehicle revealed a normal attenuator.
From the NY Times Athletic:
"...photographic evidence soon emerged showing the cars had been using the illegal attenuators for at least a year. To make matters worse, Newgarden’s winning 2024 car — which is on display inside the track’s museum — has a modified attenuator in plain sight. That means Newgarden crossed the finish line last year with a part that should have been ruled illegal, but wasn’t.In response, team owner Roger Penske fired multiple team officials 72 hours before the race: team president Tim Cindric, managing director Ron Ruzewski and GM Kyle Moyer. Cindric is the biggest name to fall in this scandal. He's a member of the Team Penske Hall of Fame and has been with the organization since 2000 as President of Penske Racing Inc. He's been long assumed to be Penske's successor on the racing part of Penske's empire.
This is not the first time Team Penske (and Newgarden) has been embroiled in scandal.
For anyone wondering how the rear attenuator could be illegal and/or give someone an advantage, it's a chunky narrow "bumper" that juts out the back of the vehicle and must be "fitted as supplied", meaning any modification is illegal.
The assumption is that the modification has positive performance impact, mostly through aerodynamics.
posted by krisjohn at 3:34 PM on May 24 [1 favorite]
The assumption is that the modification has positive performance impact, mostly through aerodynamics.
posted by krisjohn at 3:34 PM on May 24 [1 favorite]
For essential context, not only does the 88 year-old Penske own his unparalleled racing team, he owns the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the entire umbrella racing circuit - the IndyCar Series (formerly known as IRL).
Also, interested parties might want to watch these two videos the first in which Indycar responds to the circumstances and the second in which Penske responds himself.
At any rate, this native Hoosier and veteran of numerous Indy 500 and time trial spectacles dating back to the 60s will be glued to the tube along with my wife who's never witnessed a single second of any form of auto racing but for some reason was many years back drawn into my fascination and eventually seduced by the exhilarating adrenaline rush that is Indy @ 225mph and can't stop, won't stopat least for three hours a year.
posted by thecincinnatikid at 4:01 PM on May 24 [2 favorites]
Also, interested parties might want to watch these two videos the first in which Indycar responds to the circumstances and the second in which Penske responds himself.
At any rate, this native Hoosier and veteran of numerous Indy 500 and time trial spectacles dating back to the 60s will be glued to the tube along with my wife who's never witnessed a single second of any form of auto racing but for some reason was many years back drawn into my fascination and eventually seduced by the exhilarating adrenaline rush that is Indy @ 225mph and can't stop, won't stopat least for three hours a year.
posted by thecincinnatikid at 4:01 PM on May 24 [2 favorites]
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posted by wenestvedt at 2:46 PM on May 24 [2 favorites]