May 21 (UPI) — Team Penske fired team president Tim Cindric, managing director Ron Ruzewski and general manager Kyle Moyer after two Penske cars were deemed illegal ahead of the 2025 Indianapolis 500, Roger Penske announced Wednesday.
“Nothing is more important than the integrity of our sport and our race teams,” Penske, whose company owns the IndyCar team, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500, said in a news release.
“We have had organizational failures during the last two years, and we had to make necessary changes. I apologize to our fans, our partners and our organization for letting them down.”
Team Penske’s Will Power and Josef Newgarden, the two-time defending champion, had their cars pulled out of line after they failed qualifying technical inspections Sunday in Indianapolis. They were found to have illegally modified spec parts on their cars.
On Monday, Newgarden and Power were later dropped to the back of the field for the 2025 Indianapolis 500. IndyCar also suspended their race strategists and fined their teams $100,000 apiece.
Why the No. 2 and No. 12 cars were not allowed to make a Fast 12 qualifying attempt. #Indy500 pic.twitter.com/4XvyZRmq8l— INDYCAR on FOX (@IndyCarOnFOX) May 18, 2025
“The integrity of the Indianapolis 500 is paramount, and this violation of the IndyCar rule against modification to this part and using it ‘as supplied’ is clear,” IndyCar president Doug Boles said.
“The cars belong in the field as two of the fastest 33; however, starting on the tail of the field is the appropriate penalty in this instance.”
The 2025 Indianapolis 500 will be held at 12:45 p.m. EDT Sunday in Indianapolis. The race will air on Fox.
