Team Penske president Tim Cindric says that the team’s for IMSA drivers have been advised to search for other opportunities for 2021 and beyond now that the DPi partnership between Acura and Team Penske will come to an end at the conclusion of the 2020 season.
The team currently employs Juan Pablo Montoya, Dane Cameron, Ricky Taylor and Helio Castroneves as part of its full-time IMSA program, which will not be extended beyond 2020.
With Team Penske’s future in IMSA unclear, the four drivers have been advised to look for other options, according to Cindric.
“It’s a real difficult thing for us because all those guys mean a lot to us,” Cindric told RACER. “We think the world of all of them, and we’ve been very upfront with them throughout this process with Acura.
And we’ve told them all that, ‘Hey, going forward, you really need to look for what is in your best interests.’”
“With the uncertainty that’s out there right now, it’s very difficult to plan very far ahead, because those that you work with, whether they be the OEMs, the sponsors, or what have you, even the series in some cases, don’t have the answers either,” Cindric added.
“So, it’s very difficult to put programs or plans in place that ordinarily we’d maybe be working on.”
Out of the four drivers, Castroneves is the only one who has driving duties with Team Penske outside of IMSA competition. The Brazilian is part of the team’s four-car effort in this year’s Indianapolis 500, joining Simon Pagenaud, Will Power and. Josef Newgarden.
“So, we’ve said to each of them, ‘Look, don’t wait for us, but we’ll certainly keep you abreast of what potential we have or whatever else,’ because we’d love to continue working with those guys or work with them again at some point,” Cindric concluded. “So, I can’t say that it’s a no, but I can’t say it’s a yes.”
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