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No team has won the legendary Indy 500 more than the iconic Team Penske.
Penske has lifted the Borg-Warner Trophy 19 times, including in 2023 with superstar driving Josef Newgarden.
But winning the 2024 race just got a lot harder after team owner Roger Penske announced several suspensions for the racing, including team president Tim Cindric, after a recent cheating scandal.
Statement from Team Penske, Roger Penske on team’s response to recent INDYCAR penalties: pic.twitter.com/KpAfOMLfm3
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) May 7, 2024
“Following the penalties to the Team Penske IndyCar team and drivers after Long Beach, Team Penske has completed an internal review,” a press release on social media read.”After a full and comprehensive analysis of the information, Team Penske has determined that there were significant failures in our processes and internal communications.
“As a result, Luke Mason (No. 2 race engineer) and Robbie Atkinson (senior data engineer) will be suspended from Team Penske for the next two IndyCar races, including the Indianapolis 500.
“In addition, Ron Ruzewski (managing director, Team Penske Indycar) will also be suspended for these two races also with Tim Cindric (President of Team Penske), who has accountability for all of Team Penske’s operations.”
The move comes after two of Penske’s three drivers were found to have used illegal software to gain an advantage in the season-opening race at St. Petersburg. Both Newgarden and teammate Scott McLaughlin were disqualified from the race retroactively.
A third teammate, Will Power, was docked 10 points for having the software installed but not using it.
Roger Penske Issues Apologies Alongside Suspensions For Indy 500
“I recognize the magnitude of what has occurred and the impact it continues to have on the sport to which I’ve dedicated so many decades,” Roger Penske said in a statement. “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.”
To make matters worse, Penske also owns the IndyCar series, having acquired it before the 2020 season.