Team Penske suspends four key employees ahead of the Indianapolis 500

INDIANAPOLIS – Four key members of Team Penske have been suspended ahead of the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500.

Penske’s No. 2 engineer Luke Mason, senior data engineer Robbie Atkinson, general manager Ron Ruzewski and president Tim Cindric have all been suspended for the next two IndyCar races – the Sonsio Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and the Indy 500.

Atkinson, Mason, Ruzewski and Cindric were penalized by Team Penske for their involvement in manipulating push-to-pass systems during the Firestone Grand Prix in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden crossed the finish line first in the NTT IndyCar Series’ opening race of the year. However, he was not officially declared the winner of the race.

Newgarden was disqualified and disqualified from winning for tampering with his push-to-pass system. His Penske teammates Scott McLaughlin and Will Power were also penalized after the season-opening race.

McLaughlin finished third and was disqualified, while Power, who finished fourth, was deducted 10 points.

All three Penske participants in the race were fined $25,000. The racers also lost all prize money associated with the race.

Newgarden’s disqualification paved the way for Pato O’Ward, who technically finished one sport behind Newgarden, to win the race. O’Ward’s victory was the first for McLaren’s IndyCar team since 2022.

Previous reports indicate that Team Penske manipulated overtaking systems and allowed its three drivers to use push-to-pass on starts and restarts. IndyCar rules dictate that an overtaking system cannot be used until a driver crosses the alternate finish line.

At the time of Newgarden’s disqualification, Cindric said that the push-to-pass software had not been removed from Penske’s vehicles following recent hybrid testing the team had conducted.

“This software allowed the use of push-to-pass on restarts at the St. Petersburg Grand Prix when it should not have been allowed,” Cindric said after the Firestone Grand Prix. “The No. 2 car of Josef Newgarden and the No. 3 car of Scott McLaughlin both used push-to-pass on a restart, violating IndyCar rules. Team Penske accepts the penalties imposed by IndyCar.”

In a statement released on XOn Twitter, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, Team Penske said it had conducted a comprehensive internal review of the situation. The team’s investigation found “that there were significant failures in its processes and internal communications.”

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

Team Penske’s violations allegedly occurred in Florida but were not discovered until drivers were warming up for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach in California more than a month later.

Penske’s NASCAR team was also penalized earlier this year. Driver Joey Logano was fined $10,000 and stripped of his second starting spot for a race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

A black glove made of unspecified material was found on his left hand. Some claimed that Logano had the glove redesigned so that he could stick his hand out the window as an aerodynamic blocker during qualifying.

The Sonsio Grand Prix starts on Saturday at 3 p.m. Indy NXT racing takes place before the series event on Friday at 6:10 p.m. and Saturday at 1:00 p.m.