Penske suspends Team President after IndyCar cheating scandal

Roger Penske has suspended Team Penske president Tim Cindric, amongst others, for two races, including the Indianapolis 500 following the recent push-to-pass cheating scandal.

Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin were disqualified from the season-opener in St. Petersburg after IndyCar officials discovered the two had illegally used the push-to-pass overtaking boost when it was not permitted on restarts and before crossing a control line.

Newgarden had won and McLaughlin was third, with the third Team Penske driver Will Power not disqualified having not used the system illegally.

In the round following news of the double disqualification on April 24th, at Barber McLaughlin won as Newgarden launched a passionate defence, insisting he was "not a liar."

Investigations from IndyCar in discussions with Penske found that software used for hybrid engine testing was not correctly removed after a test, with Newgarden's #2 team also believing that the rules had changed to allow the use of push-to-pass on restarts following the non-exhibition points race at Thermal.

Penske, who is also the owner of the IndyCar Series launched his own internal investigation, with Team president Cindric, who calls strategy for Newgarden, among those banned from the next two races on the calendar.

These are the Indianapolis road course race, leading into the Indy 500 at the end of May.

The full statement from Team Penske is available to read below.

Full Team Penske statement

“Following the penalties to the Team Penske IndyCar team and drivers after Long Beach, Team Penske has completed an internal review," read the statement.

"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, along with Tim Cindric (President of Team Penske), who has accountability for all of Team Penske’s operations."

Penske himself added that: "I recognize the magnitude of what occurred and the impact it continues to have on the sport to which I’ve dedicated so many decades.

"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."