Team Penske Suspends President Tim Cindric, 3 Others over St. Petersburg IndyCar DQs

As a result of IndyCar Series penalties that cost Team Penske a victory in the season-opening race at St. Petersburg, Florida, the team has suspended four team members, including president and race strategist Tim Cindric.

After IndyCar officials discovered Team Penske drivers violating the use of the push-to-pass system, St. Petersburg winner Josef Newgarden was disqualified, along with Scott McLaughlin. Will Power, the third Penske driver, was penalized 10 points, and all three teams were fined.

Penske announced Tuesday that Cindric, Penske IndyCar managing director Ron Ruzewski and engineers Luke Mason and Robbie Atkinson have been suspended by the team for the next two IndyCar races—Saturday’s road course event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the May 26 Indianapolis 500.

The team said it had conducted a “full and comprehensive analysis” of the push-to-pass violations and determined that there were “significant failures in our processes and internal communications.”

In a statement released by the team, owner Roger Penske said, “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.”

Penske owns both the race team and the IndyCar Series.

The violations were discovered during warmup laps for the IndyCar race at Long Beach, California, and the penalties were announced the week of the race at Birmingham, Alabama. Penske drivers apologized for the violations, which generated considerable criticism in the IndyCar paddock.