The name “Penske” stands for integrity and ethics as much as it does for absolute racing dominance. At least, it used to. In the course of a week, all the goodwill that the legendary Roger Penske earned over his long career has unraveled and faces the risk of being invalidated in the majority’s eyes. The reason? A rule infringement that Team Penske committed in the 2024 IndyCar Series season opener.
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The race in St. Petersburg, Florida on March 10 went by with all the fanfare that an opener demands and the reigning Indy 500 winner, Josef Newgarden, won the event. His Penske teammate, Scott McLaughlin, followed in third place. The season continued to progress forward without noise up until weeks later when IndyCar officials noticed some oddity during the warm up in Long Beach, California on April 21.
What was discovered was that Newgarden and McLaughlin had used the forbidden push-to-pass software during restarts to gain an advantage in St. Petersburg. On April 25, the sanctioning body disqualified the results of both drivers and imposed heavy fines on Team Penske. While the loss of money or result will not impact the legacy of Penske, the tarnished image certainly will.
Following the move coming to light, the team has tried to make amends by explaining that an error was made when switching software systems from the hybrid test sessions to the 2024 cars. Newgarden further contended that he was under the impression that the push-to-pass system had been legalized for restart usage. However, he did talk to the press on April 26 and accepted the blame.
Roger Penske’s meeting with fellow team owners and subsequent reactions
Haziness is the word when it comes to judging the intention of Team Penske over the entire issue. With team officials and drivers all presenting an alternate storyline, Roger Penske is caught up in dirty air that does him no good. “Very disappointing,” he said to the Associated Press. “I am embarrassed.” He held an emergency meeting with all IndyCar team owners on April 27 in his motorcoach.
During the discussion, the 87-year-old apologized to the lot for the damage that his team had done to the series. While there have been voices from within that motorcoach that empathize with Penske, there are more that are bent on collecting payment. Rival team owner Chip Ganassi said, “This is a blemish on his team, their organization, and the series. Very disappointing as a fellow owner and competitor in the series.”
Others including drivers Pato O’Ward and Colton Herta refused to accept Newgarden’s argument of making an innocent mistake. The latter noted, “That’s wrong. If he thought that, why didn’t he push it at the start? He didn’t push it at the start. He pushed it on the restarts. You would think when everybody is stacked up the most, you would push it. So that’s a lie.”
The road ahead will not be an easy one for Team Penske. It has taken repeated hits in 2024, the first coming in the NASCAR Arena early in the year. 2X Cup Series champion Joey Logano made life tough for Penske after wearing a glove that broke NASCAR rules during a qualifying session in Atlanta. With this late matter digging a deeper pit, how Penske reacts will make or break his dream tale.
