INDIANAPOLIS (AP) As the latest round of Team Penske cheating allegations swirled through Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the president of the IndyCar team stood outside the garage to address the illegal modifications discovered on two of its cars.
Lurking over Tim Cindrics shoulder was a random race fan wearing what appeared to be a Team Penske branded shirt.
It was not: Like Josef Newgarden and Will Powers cars for the Indianapolis 500, the shirt had been modified. It read: Team Cheaters with the Penske logo bar.
Perception isnt necessarily reality, but Roger Penske has a serious perception problem now that his team has been swept up in scandal for the second time in just over a year.
The first time, it was the discovery last April that the Penske drivers had access to the push-to-pass system when they should not have been able to use the extra horsepower boost. On Sunday, during the second day of qualifying for the 109th running of The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, it was discovered that Newgarden and Powers cars had an illegally modified part.
They were disqualified from making a four-lap run, and IndyCar a day later hammered Team Penske: Newgarden, the two-time defending race winner, was dropped to 32nd in the field and Power was moved to last.
IndyCar stripped both cars of points earned in qualifying, fined both teams $100,000 and suspended the strategists for the remainder of the month. It means Cindric and team managing director Ron Ruzewski will miss the Indy 500 for a second consecutive year.
This is a nightmare for Penske, who owns the three-car team, IndyCar, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy 500 the race he values more than any other event in the world. Penske has a record 20 Indy 500 victories.
What a shame this cloud will continue to hover over our great race until everything is fully resolved, McLaren Racing boss Zak Brown told The Associated Press.
Defending Roger Penske
The penalties were decided by new IndyCar President Doug Boles, who in February was given the title in addition to his job as president of the speedway. He was the one to inform Penske, via phone call, before they were announced Monday.
Boles also tried to lessen Penskes role in what has transpired within the team.
I dont think Roger Penske understands some of the things that might be going on. I get the optics challenge, and its definitely something we should think about, Boles said. While (issues) roll up to Roger at the end of the day, I think they are certainly below him. There are things that happen that dont ever get to Roger.
I can tell you that Roger Penske would not condone this. In fact, I had a chance to talk to Roger, and I can tell that this is devastating to him, Boles continued. Nothing means more to Roger Penske than the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500. This is something that I think hes going to have to address at some point in time.
Thats what rival teams have been saying since the commotion Sunday on pit lane, when the two Penske cars were pulled off the grid and returned to the garage moments before the fast 12 shootout.
Team Penske said it accepts the penalties and was disappointed by the results and the impact it has on our organization. We will make further announcements later this week related to personnel for the upcoming Indianapolis 500.
Boles is adamant the cars were legal in Saturdays inspection and he had heard nothing about the Penske cars potentially having an illegal modification until it all unfolded. Rivals are claiming otherwise, offering photos they shows the modifications as recently as last months open test.
The AP and Indianapolis Star went to the IMS Museum on Monday and found Newgardens 2024 winning car that is on display. It had the same illegal modification.
What others are saying
The biggest problem I see is theres a bit of a theme going on here and its just a bad look, right? said six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon, who believes IndyCar needs an independent governing body without any Penske employees.
Dixons boss, Chip Ganassi, was one of many who complained to IndyCar inspectors and Penske executives that the cars were illegal on Sunday. The next day, he remained disappointed in the drama that is now overshadowing the biggest race in the world, one that is sold out for the first time since 2016.
All the teams in the sport have a responsibility to protect the integrity of the sport, none more than the Penske team, Ganassi told AP.
Newgarden is attempting to become the first driver to win the Indy 500 in three consecutive years, but no driver has won after starting on the last row. Power, meanwhile, is in a contract year and Team Penske has maintained it wouldnt begin discussions on an extension until after the 500. Asked last week about Powers future with the team, Cindric told AP: Well, if he wins the 500, that would make for a much easier conversation.
Now, Newgarden and Power are in deep holes despite having nothing to do with the situation.
What comes next
Penske, who places tremendous value on his reputation and strong belief that effort equals results, is now having his integrity questioned. Boles and Penske Entertainment CEO Mark Miles had a Monday meeting with the rest of the owners that Brown described as contentious.
Im very concerned, as are my fellow team owners, to find that Team Penske has been found with a multi-car major technical infringement for the second time in two seasons, Brown told AP. In racing you can sometimes have mechanics who make miscalculations and you can sometimes have manufacturing issues that can all lead to honest mistakes. I dont believe thats what happened here or last year, which raises questions over the integrity of the decision-making within that team.
Brown did not place blame on IndyCar technical director Kevin Blanch, who he said does an excellent job. But, he said there were questions about IndyCars ability to continue to run the series under the current set up.
Its clear IndyCar needs more depth and technical resources to examine and spot violations, flagrant or not, Brown continued. While I appreciate and support IndyCars position to move those two cars to the back of the field, there obviously remains a question mark regarding their compliance on Saturday.
Brown said it was unfair that Jacob Abel of Dale Coyne Racing was bumped from the 33-car field.
If it turns out this technical infringement was on their cars when they qualified Saturday, then its incredibly unfair that Jacob Abel and his team were bumped by non-compliant cars, Brown said. However, I have complete confidence in Roger Penskes commitment to look at that situation and to ensure that any such wrongs are righted.
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
印第安纳波利斯（美联社）——随着彭斯克车队（Team Penske）最新一轮的作弊指控在印第安纳波利斯赛车场（Indianapolis Motor Speedway）流传开来，印第安纳车队（IndyCar team）总裁站在车库外，就两辆车上发现的非法改装问题发表讲话。
在Tim Cindric的肩旁，有一个随机的赛车迷，他穿着一件看起来像是潘斯克车队（Team Penske）品牌T恤。
这并不是像约瑟夫·纽加德和威尔·鲍尔在印第安纳波利斯500赛车那样进行了修改的衬衫。它上面写着：“Team Cheaters”并附有潘氏（Penske）的标志栏。
虽然人们的看法并不一定等同于现实，但罗杰·潘斯克（Roger Penske）目前面临着严重的认知问题，因为他的车队在不到一年的时间里第二次卷入丑闻。
首次是在去年四月，发现潘氏车队（Penske）的驾驶员在不应该使用时，竟然能够访问到推到过系统（push-to-pass system）的额外马力提升。周日，在“世界上最伟大的赛车”第109届赛事的第二天资格赛中，发现纽加登（Newgarden）和波维尔（Power）的赛车有一个非法改装的部件。
他们被取消了进行四圈比赛的资格，而一天后，印地车赛对潘氏车队（Penske）进行了重拳出击：卫冕冠军纽加德（Newgarden）被降至第32位，而鲍尔（Power）则被排到了最后一位。
印地赛车协会剥夺了两辆赛车在资格赛中获得的积分，对两支车队分别处以10万美元的罚款，并对策略师进行了为期一个月的停职处罚。这意呸着Cindric和团队管理总监Ron Ruzewski将连续第二年缺席印地500大赛。
这对拥有三支车队、印地赛车、印第安纳波利斯赛车场以及印第500大赛（他比世界上任何其他赛事都更重视的比赛）的潘斯克来说，这简直是一场噩梦。潘斯克在印第500大赛中保持着20次胜利的纪录。
真是遗憾，这个阴霾将一直笼罩着我们伟大的比赛，直到一切问题都得到全面解决。
为罗杰·潘斯克辩护
新任印地赛车（IndyCar）主席道格·博尔斯（Doug Boles）决定这些处罚。他于二月被任命为这一职务，同时担任速度赛道的总裁。在周一公布这些处罚之前，他通过电话通知了彭斯克（Penske）。
波尔斯也试图减少潘斯基在团队内发生的事情中所扮演的角色。
“我不认为罗杰·潘斯克能理解一些正在发生的事情。我理解这种挑战，这确实是我们应该考虑的，”博尔斯说。“虽然（问题）在一天结束时都会汇总到罗杰那里，但我认为它们确实在他之下。有些事情是永远不会让罗杰知道的。”
我可以告诉你，罗杰·潘思（Roger Penske）不会容忍这种行为。事实上，我有机会和罗杰交谈过，我能感觉到这对他的打击是致命的。在罗杰·潘思心中，没有比印第安纳波利斯赛车场（Indianapolis Motor Speedway）和印第500（Indianapolis 500）更重要的事情了。我认为他迟早会对此事做出回应。
自从周日维修站发生的骚乱以来，对手队伍一直这样表示，当时两辆Penske赛车在12辆快车决赛之前被拉出赛道并返回车库。
潘氏车队（Penske）表示，他们接受了处罚，并对结果及其对组织的影响感到失望。我们将在本周晚些时候公布关于即将在印第安纳波利斯500大赛中参与的赛队成员的进一步消息。
Boles坚信，周六的检测中这些赛车是合法的，而且直到事情完全暴露之前，他从未听说过Penske车队可能存在非法改装的情况。然而，竞争对手却持相反观点，他们提供了照片，证明这些改装是在上个月的公开测试中进行的。
美国联合通讯社和《印第安纳波利斯星报》于周一前往IMS博物馆，发现纽加德（Newgarden）2024年夺冠的赛车正在展出，该车同样存在非法改装的情况。
其他人的观点
我看到的最大问题就是这里存在一些不太好的趋势，这看起来很糟糕，对吧？六届印地车赛冠军斯科特·迪克森（Scott Dixon）表示，他认为印地车赛需要一个没有彭斯（Penske）员工参与的独立管理机构。
迪克森的老板奇普·加纳西（Chip Ganassi）是众多向印地赛车（IndyCar）检查员和潘斯克（Penske）高管投诉车辆在周日不合规的人之一。第二天，他对于现在正在笼罩着自2016年以来首次售罄的世界最大赛事的戏剧性事件仍感到失望。
甘地西在接受美联社采访时表示：“所有车队都有责任保护该运动项目的完整性，而彭斯克车队更是首当其冲。”
纽加登正试图成为首位连续三年赢得印地500英里大赛的赛车手，但还没有车手从最后一排起跑后赢得比赛。与此同时，鲍威尔正处于合同年，Penske车队表示，他们将在印地500大赛结束后才开始讨论续约事宜。上周被问及鲍威尔与车队的未来时，辛德里克（Cindric）告诉美联社：“如果他赢得了印地500大赛，那么这将使我们的对话变得更加容易。”
尽管与情况无关，但Newgarden和Power目前处于非常困难的境地。
接下来会发生什么
彭斯克非常重视自己的声誉，并坚信“努力即成果”，但现在他的诚信却受到了质疑。博尔斯和彭斯克娱乐公司首席执行官马克·迈尔斯（Mark Miles）在周一与其余所有者进行了会面，布朗形容这次会面充满争议。
布朗向美联社表示，他非常担心，同时他的队友们也感到担忧，因为Penske车队在两个赛季内第二次被发现存在多辆车的重大技术违规行为。在赛车领域，有时会有机械师做出错误计算，有时也会存在制造问题，这些都可以导致诚实的错误。我不相信这里或去年发生了这种情况，这引发了对该队决策完整性的质疑。
布朗并没有将责任归咎于印地赛车技术总监凯文·布兰奇（Kevin Blanch），他表示“（布兰奇）做得非常出色。”然而，他表示，关于印地赛车在现有架构下继续举办系列赛的能力存在疑问。
很明显，印地车赛（IndyCar）需要更多的深度和技术资源来检查和发现违规行为，无论这些行为是否明显。布朗继续说道，虽然我理解并支持印地车赛将这两辆车移至赛道末尾的决定，但显然周六的比赛中他们是否遵守规定仍是一个疑问。
Brown表示，Dale Coyne Racing的Jacob Abel被从33辆车的比赛中淘汰出去，这是不公平的。
如果事实证明他们在周六资格赛时因技术违规而受罚，那么雅各布·阿贝尔（Jacob Abel）和他的队伍被不遵守规定的车辆所影响，这是极其不公平的。
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