What is Team Penske accused of at the Indy 500?

After Scott McLaughlin's midday crash last Sunday, it seemed hard to imagine that Team Penske's day at the Indy 500 would get any more difficult. That was without taking into account the technical inspection preceding today's qualifying sessions. All Fast 12 cars had to go through this unmissable stage. Will Power's No. 12 Dallara-Chevrolet made it through without incident and headed to pit lane.

It was at this point that some people noticed a change to the Australian's car's rear crash box. Called an "attenuator," this part, made up of two carbon blocks, is supplied by Dallara to all teams, and its purpose is to reduce the forces felt by the driver in the event of contact with the wall from the rear. The two pieces are glued together, along an S-shaped separation.

An unexpected discovery

While teams can improve the gaps between these different separations on a good part of the car, in order to improve its penetration in the air, it is not allowed to do so on the rear crashbox, which is a safety element. It is therefore by seeing the application of a resin at the precise location of this separation that the officials of theIndyCar have become suspicious.

When Josef Newgarden's car came through for inspection, IndyCar immediately analyzed the crash box and saw the same modification on this part. The cars' two chief engineers were called in to explain, and the cars were then excluded from qualifying. Initially sent to the fourth row, they were then sent to the back of the grid, with $100 fines for each, and the exclusion of the chief engineer for both drivers.

Given Team Penske's past history, including the push-to-pass scandal at the start of the 2024 season (Penske drivers were allowed to use their push-to-pass, which provides extra power, on restarts, which is prohibited. Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin were disqualified. Editor's note), many observers were outraged by what they saw as another cheat, a new fraud.

The quest for perfection taken too far?

From a strictly regulatory standpoint, the cars do not comply with the technical regulations, and are therefore illegal. From a performance standpoint, it seems common ground in the paddock that this does not help the Team Penske cars to be faster. It seems that the modification was primarily aesthetic, so as not to leave a vulgar glue spot visible, even in a place where no one is looking. "Penske Perfect" taken to the extreme.

Because if there's one team that doesn't let any visual eccentricity pass, it's Roger Penske's. This philosophy is one of the foundations on which Team Penske relies: everything is in its place, everything looks good, everything is clean and immaculate. What might be surprising is that no one on the team bothered to read the rules before making this change. Photos from the 500 Indy 2024 (won by Josef Newgarden) show that the team was already carrying out these operations on the rear of the cars. Theoretically speaking, it is therefore very likely that the winning car of last year's Indianapolis 500 was "illegal" in the strictest sense of the term, even if no performance advantage was perceived.

Technical checks too light?

The question also arises about the rigor of IndyCar's technical checks. If it took an outside eye to notice this modification, is it possible that other "cheating" also slipped under the inspectors' radar? This affair, while anecdotal from a sporting perspective, could pose real concerns for all parties involved. IndyCar, which therefore did not find a modification that Penske never hid, but also the team, which could have inquired in the regulations or by requesting clarification from the governing bodies.

And finally, Roger Penske himself. While the octogenarian is no longer at the helm of his team on a daily basis, he remains the one to whom everything ultimately falls back. And when you consider that he also owns IndyCar and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it's difficult to accept cheating or attempted cheating by his team. This can create a "judge and jury" impression that is disturbing in both senses. If Penske can cheat with impunity, it necessarily comes from the fact that he owns the championship, while conversely, any penalty can be seen as too harsh, precisely to set an example and assure the paddock of absent collusion.

The paddock is now fully focused on the 109th edition of the Indy 500 this Sunday at 18:45 p.m., but we bet that discussions will resume in full swing the following week, in the streets of Detroit...

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