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When you hear the name Team Penske, several phrases immediately come to mind; attention to detail, full preparation, spare no expense, Penske Perfect – which some would interpret as a polished and professional image – not only for the cars, pits and garages; but the drivers and crew as well. Some would use the phrase always seeking an unfair advantage, while others might translate that as blatant cheaters – especially based on what has happened over the last couple of seasons.

This writing is not about assigning blame or passing judgment. I wasn’t present when the infractions occurred either of the past two seasons, and I have no inside scoop that gives me any further insight than anyone else has. But the two main infractions – the push-to-pass debacle at St. Petersburg in 2024, and the altered attenuators at Indianapolis this past May – did not present a good look for the team, to even their most ardent defenders.

Consequently, three of their top people – Team President Tim Cindric, Managing Director Ron Ruzewski and General Manager Kyle Moyer – paid the price and were made to be sacrificial lambs. After two perceived cheating scandals in fourteen months, the skepticism of the IndyCar fanbase was growing day by day. They demanded answers and these were the three individuals deemed to be ultimately responsible for the infractions, other than Roger Penske himself.

The next couple of months found the team searching for results. I can’t definitely say that the team was in disarray, but things were uncertain at the very least. Did this affect on-track performance? I’m tempted to say yes, but again – that’s just speculation. I wasn’t there.

Then again, remember that things weren’t going swimmingly at Team Penske before the Qualifying infractions for the Indianapolis 500. In the five races prior to the scandal, there were only three podiums (all third-place finishes) among their trio of drivers; Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin and Will Power. For some teams, that would be something to be proud of, but at Team Penske – that’s cause for concern.

But in the five races following the scandal, there were no podiums at all. Will Power came the closest, with a fourth-place finish at Detroit. Newgarden’s average finish in those five races was 21.6. McLaughlin was not much better, with an average finish in the same five aces of 20.2. The best was Will Power, who managed to scrape together an average finish of 17.4. None of those average finishes are what I would call Penske Perfect.

Things did improve near the end of the season. Will Power won at Portland and Josef Newgarden won the season-finale at Nashville. Even with a late resurgence, the team finished ninth (Power), tenth (McLaughlin) and twelfth (Newgarden) in the final standings for 2025. That gave the team their worst season for this century. While it was not near as bad as their 1999 season, which prompted a major housecleaning and makeover – it was beyond disappointing by Penske standards.

So where does the team go from here? Jonathan Diuguid has been named as Team President, the role occupied by Cindric for a couple of decades. Travis Law has been named as Competition Director. I don’t know a lot about Diuguid and even less about Law.

When Tim Cindric came to Team Penske in October of 1999, he oversaw a change to new drivers (Gil de Ferran and Helio Castroneves), new chassis (from Penske to Reynard), new engines (Mercedes to Honda) and tires (Goodyear to Firestone). The result was two straight CART championships (2000-01) and three straight Indianapolis 500 victories (2001-03).

The difference between these situations is the team-owner. Cindric had a very hands-on Roger Penske who was only 62 years-old. That may sound old to some, but it is five years younger than my current age – and I don’t feel that old. Diuguid comes into a situation with an owner who will be 89 years-old before the start of next season. Age notwithstanding, the bigger issue is if Roger Penske even looks at one of his cars for more than ten seconds on any given race weekend, it gives the perception that the owner of the series is playing favorites or allowing them to circumvent the rulebook.

We are all fairly certain that Penske is still very involved with the team that bears his name during the offseason, and fairly involved (at arm’s length) during the season. But he is always wary of the perception if he gets too involved, so Diuguid is much more isolated from Penske than Cindric was when he was charged with a similar turnaround in results.

Diuguid also has fewer things he can change than Cindric did. The team chose to let Will Power walk at the end of the season, but their other two drivers are under contract. There is no changing of the chassis or the tires. Chevy engines are built by Ilmor, but so were the Mercedes engines that Penske left for the 2000 season. Still, with Honda’s future uncertain – I’d say Team Penske is pretty well locked in with Chevy.

Father Time is still undefeated. Roger Penske still seems to be in relatively good health, but we all know that at that age – things can change quickly. Five years ago, my mother was in seemingly perfect health at the age of 96. One Friday, she drove herself to the bank to make a deposit. Three days later, she keeled over and died.

When that day inevitably comes, it’s assumed that Roger Penske’s son, Greg, will assume stewardship of Penske Entertainment, which controls IndyCar and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Of course, FOX now owns 30% of Penske Entertainment; but the Penske estate will still have controlling interest. I am assuming the succession plan is in place to prevent any family squabbles that would lead to FOX having controlling interest. I don’t know that for certain, but I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet.

But what of the race team? It is not owned by Penske Entertainment. Have similar provisions been put in place to ensure that Team Penske continues well into the future?

Al Dean was a prominent car-owner more than half a century ago. Drivers such as Jimmy Bryan, AJ Foyt and Eddie Sachs all drove the Dean Van Lines Special in the late 50s and early 60s. Mario Andretti won Rookie of the Year in 1965 while driving for Al Dean. In 1967, Andretti put the Dean Van Lines Special on the pole. In December of 1967, Al Dean passed away at the age of 61.

In a rush, Firestone came to the rescue and purchased the assets of Dean Van Lines Racing and re-named the team Andretti Racing Enterprises, with sponsorship from Overseas National Airways. After the unsuccessful 1968 season, Andy Granatelli assumed control of the team.

I am sure Team Penske has a much better succession plan in place than Al Dean had for his team. But we aren’t there yet. What about 2026 and the next few years after than? Was 2025 just an aberration and Team Penske will return to their previous status? Remember, Will Power was battling for the championship until the final race of 2024, and Power won the championship just two years earlier. 2024 also saw the team win their second consecutive Indianapolis 500, so they aren’t that far removed from greatness.

But so many people that were part of that success just a few years ago are now gone. Will Power was pushed out, and has been joined by Ron Ruzewski at Andretti Global. Not only are both motivated to win, but they would like nothing better than to beat their former employer. Power has 43 IndyCar wins on his resume. He is being replaced by David Malukas, who has one less win than the lead driver at Juncos Hollinger Racing (Rinus VeeKay, who has one win to his credit).

Kyle Moyer is now in a key position at Arrow McLaren. Not only has Team Penske gotten weaker, the other top teams have gotten stronger. That is not meant to diminish those that have taken new roles at Team Penske, but they are definitely unproven. Some of these hires at Penske may work out over time, but will it be soon enough to keep Team Penske as one of the top teams?

Many teams have made some significant offseason moves. Andretti Global and Arrow McLaren have both made significant personnel moves this offseason. Rahal Letterman Lanigan has added Brian Barnhart and Kyle Sagan to their staff, along with adding Jay Frye earlier this year. Juncos Hollinger Racing now has an IndyCar winner in its lineup for the first time. Even Dale Coyne has gotten a financial shot in the arm with Todd Ault and a technical alliance with Andretti Global for one of its cars.

Practically every IndyCar team has made strides to be stronger than they were this time a year ago; all except one – Team Penske.

To say that this once proud team is at a crossroads is putting it mildly. They have just signed a driver with no wins, and three and a half seasons under his belt and whose best finish in the standings is eleventh. They have another driver who regressed this past season and went winless. Their undisputed lead driver is coming off of a horrible season, which was not all his fault. Some unbelievably bad luck had a lot to do with his very forgettable season. Still, most of this past season – he looked like a driver who wanted to be doing just about anything else besides driving a race car. At the top are some qualified individuals who are unproven in their new roles. That’s a tough position to be in, when coming off of a poor season and all of your competitors just got stronger.

Was 2025 a blip in the road, or was it a sign of things to come? You tell me.

George Phillips

This entry was posted on November 12, 2025 at 4:03 am and is filed under IndyCar. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.