Team Penske walked into the 2025 Indy 500 with a legacy on its shoulders and horsepower in its veins. With Josef Newgarden gearing up for a possible Indy 500 three-peat, the team did not lack firepower. On paper, it looked like another classic year for the captain’s empire. But beneath the surface, the cracks were forming—and they’re not just on the racetrack.
When the news broke that two of Team Penske’s 2025 Indy 500 cars, Josef Newgarden and Will Power, were equipped with an illegal rear attenuator and sent to the back of the grid, the scandal lit the fuse. It came just a year after Penske’s ‘push-to-pass’ scandal at St. Petersburg last year, adding fuel to the fire. Now, it’s a fuse that’s burning straight toward Roger Penske’s boardroom.
As calls grow for a clean, independent officiating body ahead of 2026—one that stripped away any trace of internal bias—the heat is on. And in the middle of it all stands one question; the paddock is now whispering out loud: Can Roger Penske still own the series he races in?
IndyCar moves to cut Penske ties
Roger Penske isn’t just racing cars – he owns the Indy car series, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and shapes the future of open-wheel racing in America. It’s a 300 million dollar stake in legacy, pride, and total control. But with great power comes a spotlight—recently, that spotlight has turned searing. After months of controversy, finger-pointing, and a whole lot of awkward silence, IndyCar’s finally biting the bullet. The series has announced plans to launch a brand-new, independent officiating board, and it’s not waiting around for 2027 anymore. The cleanup crews will roll in by 2026. And yes, this is happening smack in the middle of Roger Penske’s worst PR storm yet.
IndyCar president Doug Boles told RACER during Indy 500 weekend, “Our commitment is to have it in place by 2026. There’s obviously a variety of directions you could go to make it clearly independent and disconnected from any influence from the series or Penske Entertainment. We have worked through a couple of different scenarios that we’ll begin to share with the paddock. In fact, some of the folks I’ve talked to [in] the last couple days [and hopefully more] in the next couple of weeks, and then we’ll start seeing where we go. We’re 100 percent committed to making sure that it’s implemented by the ’26 season.”
NASCAR account on X, nascarman had something to suggest to the IndyCar board. “Now would be an excellent time for IMSA to purchase the IndyCar series. Let Roger keep the Indy 500 and his events, but these conflict of interests would be gone if IMSA was in control of the series. There’s already synergy between teams running in both series.”
“Now would be an excellent time for IMSA to purchase the IndyCar series. Let Roger keep the Indy 500 and his events, but these conflict of interests would be gone if IMSA was in control of the series. There’s already synergy between teams running in both series.” https://t.co/zCGYSIbADl pic.twitter.com/HawcoAp6jo
— nascarman (@nascarman_rr) May 31, 2025
That’s one year earlier than originally planned—a clear signal that the brass knows the pressure is on. And with Team Penske at the center of a rule-breaking scandal that’s shaken fan confidence, the timing couldn’t be more crucial. Unlike other sanctioning models that borrow officials from the FIA or USAC, this new board will flip a full 180 degrees.
This one’s homegrown—custom-built for IndyCar and stripped of all the politics. It’ll be lean, mean, and totally hands-off from Penske’s camp. Sure, Penske Entertainment will cover the costs (flights, hotels, the works), but this crew won’t report to the captain or anyone in his chain of command anymore. No passes. No favors. Just straight-up officiating—with input from teams and manufacturers to keep things balanced.
This is the bold move IndyCar’s made since the scandal hit—the group is being structured to operate at an arm’s length from Penske Entertainment. It won’t answer to Penske. It won’t be staffed by Penske. Whether that’s enough to extinguish the scandal-smoldering embers, though, remains to be seen.
Zak Brown challenges Roger Penske to bet big on IndyCar
Fresh off delivering McLaren’s first Monaco Grand Prix win this season, Zak Brown showed up at the Detroit Grand Prix with more than just F1 glory on his mind. The McLaren racing CEO sat down with the top brass from Penske Entertainment—Roger Penske, Bud Denker, Doug Boles, and the rest of the power circle—and came away impressed. “One of the best meetings I’ve had with IndyCar,” Brown called it. But make no mistake—he wasn’t there to sugarcoat things.
As the boss of the reigning F1 Constructors’ Championship team, Brown has seen firsthand how Liberty Media turned Formula One into a global entertainment juggernaut. And he thinks IndyCar, under the stewardship of Roger Penske, is leaving too much money—and momentum—on the table. Brown said, “Sometimes, we’re playing too much defence, cost savings, cost saving… at some point – you’ve got to say, ‘ I want to spend more to take more.’ “
He’s calling on Penske to bet big on IndyCar, not just balance the books. He sees billion-dollar potential—but only if Penske is willing to double down with bold moves, major market races, and real investment in the show. Brown then just tossed out ideas from the sidelines—he walked right into the lion’s den and set it directly to the captain.
From suggesting a true franchise model that gives long-term equity to pointing out how IndyCar’s bloated grid might be slowing growth, Brown laid it all out. And while some team owners play nice in public, only to grumble behind closed doors, Brown says he’s done playing politics. “Everyone smiles when Roger’s around. Then he leaves and it’s ‘grrrr’ again,” he laughed. “And I actually think that does a disservice when you don’t give him real feedback.”
For a team that is built on power and precision, Team Penske now finds itself navigating the one track it can’t control anymore. As 2026 approaches, the question isn’t just whether Penske can lead but whether he’s willing to lose the grip on the very sport his empire helped build.
The post Pressure Mounts on Roger Penske to Give Up on His $300M Property Amidst Cheating Scandal appeared first on EssentiallySports.
