Michael Andretti blasts Team Penske response to push to pass scandal: 'None of the stories matched up'
Michael Andretti doesn’t know what Roger Penske knew about his team’s illegal use of push to pass in the IndyCar season opener.
But the Andretti Global owner knows how he would have dealt with the situation if he’d been unaware that his employees were breaking the rules without his knowledge.
“All I can say is if that would happen on our team, (Andretti chief operating officer) Rob Edwards would have been let go immediately, if something was going on that I didn't know about,” Andretti said during an interview on NASCAR veteran Kenny Wallace’s YouTube Channel. “Now do I think that Roger didn't know exactly about it? Yeah. Did he give the permission to do stuff maybe? I don't know. Possible. I just don't know.
“I mean, that's something that we'll always speculate on, and we just don't know for sure. I would have handled it a lot different with my employees if somebody did that purposely and didn't tell me. I wouldn't be happy about that. That's our reputation, you know. It’s Roger’s reputation. How could they do that, you know? And if you're going to do that, you should have to pay the price.”
IndyCar brought down heavy penalties after discovering the infractions during a Sunday warmup session for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. After removing the unfair advantage (which allowed Penske drivers to use the overtake button – a burst of roughly 50 horsepower – on the starts and restarts) for Long Beach, IndyCar combed through data back to last season.
Finding that Team Penske drivers had unapproved push to pass access in the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg season opener, IndyCar brought the hammer down and disqualified race winner Josef Newgarden and third-place finisher Scott McLaughlin (both of whom had used the overtake on restarts). Having not used the button illegally, Will Power retained his result but was docked 10 points for having the access.
Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin also disqualified; Will Power docked 10 points.
Andretti credited IndyCar president Jay Frye for “a gutsy move to expose it and give Roger that penalty … I applaud the for being transparent on that side of it, but it was just an unfortunate, disappointing thing.”
In addition to owning the team, Roger Penske also owns the NTT IndyCar Series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Echoing the thoughts of points leader Colton Herta (who drives for Andretti Global), Michael Andretti told Wallace (in an interview posted Wednesday to YouTube that is available at this link) he doesn’t believe explanations from Newgarden and Team Penske president Tim Cindric that the No. 2 Dallara-Chevrolet crew mistakenly thought that push to pass had been legalized on restarts this season.
‘That’s a lie': What IndyCar drivers said about Josef Newgarden’s St. Pete disqualification
Many drivers don’t feel much sympathy for the two-time series champion.
“My opinion is they knew exactly what they had,” Andretti said. “They used this, especially Josef, and it was an advantage. I mean, he blew by Colton at the start of the race. So it was noticeable and it may have made a difference in the race.
“So yeah, it, it's disappointing for sure that they went and they did that. I just wish they just would have owned it more and just said, ‘Hey, all right, we got busted. Let's go on.’ Instead, the drivers had their story, Cindric had his story, and some of the others had theirs. None of the stories matched up. They should have just went with it and been transparent about it.”
Andretti said he believed the illegal edge also would have been “a big advantage” at Long Beach if it had gone overlooked by IndyCar.
Two-time IndyCar champion says he was unaware using push to pass on restarts was illegal at the time he did it.
“So (for Team Penske) to say that it was by mistake, why would you still have it in if you knew that you used it by mistake at the first race?” Andretti said. “So yeah, that's where things they should have just not said anything and just said, ‘OK, we screwed up,’ and go on. Because they were going to use it at Long Beach, if they didn't get caught.”
Last week, Roger Penske told the Associated Press that the penalties were "very disappointing. I am embarrassed."
In trying to clear the air about the controversy, Penske also called an impromptu meeting with IndyCar team owners in his motorhome before qualifying last Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park.
The next day, Power won the race from the pole at Barber, followed by McLaughlin in second.
IndyCar owner Roger Penske meets with IndyCar team owners at Barber Motorsports Park
The 30-minute meeting was a chance to move beyond Josef Newgarden’s disqualification announcement
