The Penske Cheating Scandal

The Penske cheating scandal, boy those are not words I ever thought I would have been typing out. This is and isn’t a cut and dry rules infraction. It is just blatant cheating. Penske drivers Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin were disqualified from their first and third place finishes at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. They were found guilty of using the push to pass illegally. Pato O’Ward was announced as the new winner. Was the push to pass enabled by accident or not? That’s the million dollar question.

In the forty plus years I have been following Indycar racing there is nothing that compares. I barely remember the 1981 Indy 500 argument that led to Bobby Unser having his Indy 500 win taken away only for it to be reinstated some months later (I still say Unser cheated, but it was USAC so that explains a lot). Second, Al. Unser Jr. had his win taken away at Portland in 1995, but that was due to something being found in post-race inspection. That too was reversed, and Unser Jr. kept the win. This one? This one is different.

Team Penske engineers changed the code on the push to pass allowing it to be used when it wasn’t allowed, which is on the start and restarts. That is a major violation. Here is the thing though, It seems that everyone involved has a different story. Let’s start with the drivers. Will Power states he didn’t know that it was activated, and he didn’t use it. We know that much is true. So Power is essentially guilty by association. Scott McLaughlin’s explanation though? I’m just not buying it. His explanation seemed very hollow with “yeah, I used it, and it didn’t help me, I accept the punishment so let’s move on” explanation. I do feel those two don’t have to face the same consequences that Josef Newgarden has in front of him.

In a tearful press conference before track action for the Grand Prix weekend in Birmingham, Newgarden took full responsibility. He admitted that he used it. He gained an advantage from it and that is cheating. But admitting it and taking responsibility doesn’t make it magically go away. Newgarden, in turn, has lost a lot of respect from race fans, and fellow race car drivers. He realizes that. He has to rebuild all that because some aren’t buying into his story. I don’t blame them. Did they know if they were cheating or not?

Team President Tim Cindric has told the press that the didn’t know. They just simply “forgot” to change the coding. He forgot? The team forgot. He reminded me of the bit off of the 1979 Steve Martin comedy album “Comedy is Not Pretty”. Martin explains that there are two simple words which are…..I forgot. He says, “How many times have we let ourselves get into terrible situations because we don’t say I forgot. Let’s say you are on trial for armed robbery. You say to the judge, I forgot armed robbery was illegal.” Sounds a little familiar to me but I digress.

I have heard different time periods as well. Anywhere from pre-season testing of the hybrid motors to changes made in August of 2023. Which one is it? What do the race engineers have to say about it? Chevrolet has washed their hands of the situation. This won’t something that is going to be put to bed quickly that’s for sure. Was it used in the races from late last year? Had Indycar not had a glitch in their system during race warmup in Long Beach how long would this have gone on?

Let’s be honest though, cheating in auto racing has been around for as long as there has been car racing. Many of the legends tell outrageous stories regarding their cheating escapades. From Indycar to Formula One to NASCAR. A.J. Foyt is quoted as saying “Cheatin’ ain’t cheatin’ unless you get caught.” Well, Penske got caught cheating. It looks bad. It’s bad because the person that owns the series has a racing team that is cheating in said racing series. Is it a black eye on the sport? No, because like they say any publicity is good publicity. It’s been talked about from social media to ESPN News to The Pat McAfee Show. It will, however, put Team Penske under the microscope. Which should be the case. They have been caught cheating in IMSA and NASCAR most recently. 

Does the punishment fit the crime? No, it doesn’t. Fining Penske was silly. Andretti Global driver Colton Herta has said what is Penske going to do move money from his checking account to his savings account. The points taken away and the disqualification. Moreover, does fit the crime, but they should really have to face the music on this one. Looking at this as a racing fan I want to see more. If I was race control, I’d have done more. Indycar should show that cheating isn’t tolerated. Additionally, I wouldn’t have let Penske race in Birmingham. Make them miss a race. Secondly, I would have suspended Tim Cindric for the rest of the year.

It boils down to this. Yes, the Team Penske drivers are great people. They are some of the best drivers on the grid right now, and they are all extremely fan friendly. Unfortunately that is not enough because the team cheated. They can deny all they want, but the fact remains that they cheated. They cheated and they won. As a race fan I’ve never rooted for Team Penske. It’s like rooting for the Yankees or the Cowboys. Indycar can capitalize on this if they play it right. Don’t sweep it under the rug. Let it play out. Indycar needs some controversy and animosity. This could be a good thing for them. Embrace it, and it could be a gold mine. Overall, it will be a while before this is all said and done. For that we can be sure.