Penske Told Power of Firings; More Trouble Headed Their Way?

• The Team Penske cars of Josef Newgarden and Will Power were unable to qualify for the Indy 500 as it was found their cars failed inspection, due to a modified part.
• Newgarden and Power will start at the back of the field, making their challenge much more difficult.
• Power said Penske notified him of his decision to fire three top executives before he did it, claiming Penske “didn’t sleep the night before”.

No team is more successful at the Indy 500 than Team Penske, which has 20 wins at the Brickyard. The team with the second-most wins after Penske is Andretti Autosport, with six.

However, the team has been hit with a cheating scandal ahead of the 2025 Indy 500. That has led to two cars being sent to the back of the pack, and Roger Penske having to let go of his top three executives. It has caused him some sleepless nights, says Penske driver Will Power.

Team Penske was notified of the illegal modifications on May 19. On May 21, Penske fired team president Tim Cindric, IndyCar general manager Kyle Moyer, and IndyCar managing director Ron Ruzewski. The trio were the highest-ranking executives under Penske.

Driver Will Power said Penske told him of the firings before they happened, and that his boss was having a hard time with it.

“I know it was very tough for him. He said that. He said he didn’t sleep the night before because he had to make a very hard decision.

I feel bad for him. He’s in a very tough spot in that situation. You could tell it was heavy on him. Tough, tough for him to have to do that. I think Roger moves forward very quickly. He makes decisions. He moves forward. Doesn’t dwell on it.”

Fellow Penske driver Josef Newgarden didn’t want to talk about the scandal, only about the race itself.

“I don’t want to disappoint or offend anybody. I’m here to talk about the race. I’m here with my team. I’m ready to go racing. I love this race. My goodness, I’ve been enjoying being here this whole time. I look forward to it every year, as we all do. Ready to go to work with our group. Proud of everything that we have done up to this point. Ready to go racing. So, that’s what I got to say.”

It should also be noted this was the second violation for Penske in over a year. Newgarden won the 2024 season opener in St. Petersburg last year. But he was stripped of the win after it was found his car had push-to-pass violations. Newgarden went on to win his second consective Indy 500 five races later.

What Does This Mean for Newgarden, Power, and Team Penske?

Indy 500 odds still have Newgarden behind only Àlex Palou, Pato O’Ward, and Scott Dixon. Will Power is one of the Indy 500 sleepers a bit further down the board, but both have had success at the Brickyard.

Newgarden is going for his third straight win in the Indy 500, which hasn’t been done before. Power won back in 2018. This will be much more difficult as the two will start at the back of the field, meaning they’ll have to work their way to the front, but carefully as to avoid potential accidents.

On a larger scale, this could be even more disastrous for Penske, which holds a lot of power in IndyCar. The organization is looking into a new governing body that doesn’t include any Penske employees. Penske also purchased Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2020, and rival teams believe he gets preferential treatment.

Penske appears to be taking this very seriously, as seen by the firing of his top executives. But the team has a long way to go to get back in the good graces of IndyCar, and the fans. All eyes will be on the Penske cars on Sunday at the Brickyard!