Imagine being at the top of the world. You're part of the most legendary team in American open-wheel racing. You’ve just dominated the opening race of the season. Then, weeks later, the floor falls out. That's basically what happened to the "Captain's" crew in a saga that left the paddock whispering about "integrity" for months.
The drama surrounding the Indy 500 Team Penske drivers disqualified from various sessions and races isn't just one story; it’s a series of technical face-plants that almost felt like a glitch in the Matrix. For a team known for "Penske Perfect" execution, the last two years have been, well, messy. Honestly, it's been a PR nightmare for Roger Penske, especially since he owns the series too.
The Push-to-Pass Scandal That Started It All
You've probably heard about the St. Petersburg mess. It was the season opener in 2024. Josef Newgarden crossed the finish line first, looking like a man on a mission to reclaim his crown. Scott McLaughlin finished third. It was a great day for the Captain. Until it wasn't.
Forty-five days later—yes, you read that right, over a month after the trophies were handed out—IndyCar dropped a nuclear bomb. Newgarden and McLaughlin were disqualified from the race results. Will Power, the third teammate, got hit with a 10-point penalty but kept his second-place finish because, while his car was illegal, he didn't actually push the forbidden button.
What happened? Basically, the team "forgot" to remove software from a hybrid testing session. This software allowed the drivers to use "Push-to-Pass"—that extra burst of horsepower—during starts and restarts. In IndyCar, you aren't allowed to touch that button until you cross the alternate start-finish line.
Newgarden admitted to using it twice on two different restarts. He was emotional at a press conference later, almost in tears, insisting he wasn't a liar but had simply convinced himself the rules had changed for the 2024 season. He thought it was legal. The data said otherwise.
The 2025 Indy 500 Qualifying Disaster
If you thought they'd learned their lesson, May 2025 had other plans. During the high-stakes qualifying for the 109th Indianapolis 500, the team hit another wall. This time, it wasn't software. It was "body-fit."
During the Top 12 qualifying session—the one that determines who gets a shot at the pole—Josef Newgarden and Will Power were essentially disqualified from the session. Their cars failed technical inspection because of a "rear attenuator" violation.
Specifically, the team had been "blending" or filling in the seams on the rear of the car to make it sleeker. More aerodynamic. Faster.
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Chip Ganassi, Penske’s arch-rival, was the one who allegedly pointed it out to officials. "They can’t do that," Ganassi reportedly said. The officials agreed. They didn't like what they saw on the No. 2 and No. 12 cars.
Because they had already passed the initial technical inspection on Saturday and made the Top 30, they weren't kicked out of the race. But they were sent to the very back of the grid. Newgarden and Power, two of the fastest guys on the planet, had to start the Greatest Spectacle in Racing from the 11th and 12th rows.
The Fallout: Firings and Suspensions
Roger Penske is not a man who enjoys being embarrassed. The "Indy 500 Team Penske drivers disqualified" headlines were too much. After the 2025 qualifying scandal, he did something almost unheard of in the Penske world: he cleaned house.
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He fired the trio that basically ran the show:
- Tim Cindric: Team President and Newgarden's strategist.
- Ron Ruzewski: Managing Director and Power's strategist.
- Kyle Moyer: General Manager.
"Nothing is more important than the integrity of our sport," Penske said in a statement that sounded like a funeral dirge. He apologized to fans. He apologized to partners. He basically admitted that the "Penske Perfect" era had a serious mold problem.
Why This Matters for the Fans
When you see the Indy 500 Team Penske drivers disqualified, it creates a weird vibe in the stands. You start wondering if the guy leading the pack is actually playing by the rules or if there's a secret bit of software or a smoothed-out piece of carbon fiber doing the work.
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For Josef Newgarden, it was a massive blow to his reputation. He's arguably the best American driver of his generation, but now there’s always an asterisk in the minds of the "haters," as McLaughlin called them.
The technical complexity of these cars is insane. We're talking about gains measured in thousandths of a second. Filling a seam on an attenuator might only give you a tiny bit of drag reduction, but at 230 mph, every tiny bit is a mile.
Actionable Insights for Racing Fans
If you're following the series and want to keep track of how these technicalities affect your favorite drivers, here is what you should look for during a race weekend:
- Watch the "Alt Start-Finish" Line: On road and street courses, keep an eye on the telemetry. If a driver’s Push-to-Pass light blinks before they hit that specific line on a restart, they’re in trouble.
- Monitor Post-Qualifying Tech: The drama usually happens in the "tech shed." If a big name suddenly drops to the back of the grid 30 minutes after qualifying ends, it’s almost always a "body-fit" or "under-weight" issue.
- Read the Stewards' Reports: IndyCar is actually pretty transparent with their penalty notices. They post the specific rulebook numbers (like Rule 14.19.15 for the software mess) so you can see exactly where the team pushed the envelope too far.
- Listen to Rival Owners: In a tight-knit paddock, guys like Chip Ganassi or Michael Andretti are the first to spot when a competitor’s car looks "too sleek." The rivalries are real, and they are the best "policemen" in the sport.
The disqualifications proved that no one is too big to fail—not even the man who owns the track. While Team Penske has had to rebuild its leadership from the ground up, the drivers are still there, trying to prove they can win without the "gray area" help. It’s a long road back to being "Penske Perfect," but in racing, the only way to fix a reputation is to keep winning—cleanly.