The past five days have been adventurous for all the wrong reasons for Team Penske’s IndyCar division.
The team was caught attempting to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 with an illegally modified attenuator on two cars, and were not able to take to the track on Sunday to fight for pole.
IndyCar then levied penalties onto the team, followed by Roger Penske himself releasing three of the highest ranking members of his team over the controversy.
During Thursday’s pre-race media sessions, the team’s three drivers had a chance to weigh in on their views of the past week.
Scott McLaughlin escaped all sporting penalties, but shared his thoughts on the reputation hits the team has taken recently.
“Ultimately, those three guys are friends of mine and have done a tremendous amount in my career to get me to this point,” said McLaughlin. “I guess you could say there’s a sadness from my perspective.
“At the end of the day I drive for Roger Penske. I respect the decision. I understand the decision. We move forward.
“I think I’m disappointed in some of my peers and people in this room, just how it was taken out of proportion in some ways. At the same time, I think people forget just what Roger’s done for this sport in general, and that definitely gets thrown to the side a little bit. I find a hard time not being passionate about that.
“But ultimately what’s done is done. This happened. We have to move forward. The penalties are accepted.
“Smart people in this paddock know there was no gain with that, you know? It’s frustrating that this is blown up like it has and it’s cost three people that I’m very close with their jobs.
“But overall, my view on it right now is just to focus forward and win Roger his 21st.”
A Real Pity
Will Power also opened up about the situation, and focused on the leadership members with Team Penske that were let go despite their long tenure within the organization.
“Yeah, it’s kind of a shock and a pity,” said Will Power, who will be starting 33rd.
“[The released team members] are all extremely good at their job. It was just the pressure from outside. I guess Roger had to make a tough decision, but I can tell you these were very credible people. They really were.
“As you know, the infraction was very minor. It wasn’t a performance gain. I called [Team Penske’s IndyCar Managing Director Ron Ruzewski.] Obviously he was on my car.
“But yeah, I feel bad for everyone involved in that situation. I really do. It’s just a tough — I don’t know what else to say. They’re all extremely good people, great at their job, won a lot of races, championships, created an incredible team. Yeah, a real pity.”
Josef Newgarden was also penalized due to the same modifications on his #2 entry, and he will also be starting on the last row.
The two time and defending Indy 500 champ was much more reluctant to talk about the controversy, however, and focused on the challenge ahead of him.
“Right now I’m trying to remain – what’s the way to put this – trying to remain happy,” said Newgarden. “This is the Indy 500. I just said it at the very beginning, too. I look forward to this time of year every season.
“I’m not going to comment further on the actions that have happened with the team this week.”
The 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 takes place on Sunday, with McLaughlin rolling off 10th and the other two Team Penske drivers starting on the back row.
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