Penske suspends four employees after double IndyCar disqualification · RaceFans

Penske has suspended four employees, including team president Tim Cindric (pictured center), after two of its drivers were disqualified from the opening round of the season.

All three Penske cars were found to have had changes made to the software that allowed push-to-pass mode to be enabled at times when it should be disabled, such as during startup and restart.

Josef Newgarden, who won the St. Petersburg race, and his teammate Scott McLaughlin, who finished third, were disqualified when the violations were discovered six weeks after the March race. Both were found to have used their push-to-pass systems outside of approved times. Will Power, who did not use his system when he was not allowed to, was promoted to second place by disqualification and retained his final place but received a 10 point deduction.

Penske’s IndyCar operation is owned by Roger Penske, who also owns the IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, site of its flagship race, the Indianapolis 500. In a statement today, he announced the suspension of four employees as a result of the penalties.

Those suspended include the team’s long-time president, Cindric, and general manager Ron Ruzewski. Luke Mason, a number two race engineer, and lead data engineer Robbie Atkinson received the same penalty.

All four will miss this weekend’s Indianapolis Grand Prix as well as the signature Indy 500 event at the end of the month. Newgarden won the race for Penske last year.

In a statement, Penske said: “I recognize the magnitude of what happened and the impact it continues to have on the sport to which I have dedicated so many decades.”

“Everyone at Team Penske, as well as our fans and business partners, should know that I apologize and deeply regret the mistakes made.”

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