Penske suspends key personnel at Indy 500 for St. Pete scandal: 'I apologize for errors; deeply regret them'
MOORESVILLE, North Carolina – Josef Newgarden will go into this year’s Indianapolis 500 without one of the leading race strategists on pit lane as team owner Roger Penske has suspended several top management members of his IndyCar Series.
The move was announced at 7:30 a.m. Eastern Time and is in response to the push-to-pass scandal from the March 10 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
According to the team, an internal review was held and after a full and comprehensive analysis of information, there were “significant failures in our processes and internal communications.
Team Penske President Tim Cindric and managing director Ron Ruzewski have been suspended for the next two IndyCar races including this weekend’s Sonsio Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and the May 26 108th Indianapolis 500.
Also, Luke Mason (No. 2 Race Engineer) and Robbie Atkinson (Senior Data Engineer) will be suspended from Team Penske for the next two IndyCar races.
“I recognize the magnitude of what occurred and the impact it continues to have on the sport to which I’ve dedicated so many decades,” team owner Roger Penske said. “Everyone at Team Penske along with our fans and business partners should know that I apologize for the errors that were made and I deeply regret them.”
Penske also owns IndyCar, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the Indianapolis 500.
Newgarden was disqualified after winning the March 10 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg when IndyCar officials discovered six weeks later his push-to-pass system had been manipulated and was used on starts and restarts. Also, third-place finisher Scott McLaughlin was disqualified with both drivers’ entries losing all prize money and IndyCar points.
Will Power was penalized, but not disqualified, because he did not use the push-to-pass system illegally.
