Team Penske is suspending four of its team members for both the Sonsio Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Road Course and also the Indianapolis 500 following an investigation conducted after Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden were disqualified from the season opener for using push-to-pass on starts and restarts.
The team released this statement, announcing the suspension of Team Penske President Tim Cindric, Managing Director Ron Ruzewski, No. 2 team race engineer Luke Mason, and senior data engineer Robbie Atkinson:
“Following the penalties to the Team Penske INDYCAR team and drivers after Long Beach, Team Penske has completed an internal review. 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 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.”
Team Penske & INDYCAR series owner Roger Penske also released a statement:
“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.”
Saturday’s Sonsio Grand Prix can be seen on Saturday (3:00 p.m. NBC) with practice and qualifying set for Friday.
Leave a comment
