IndyCar
Penske penalties overshadow Monday practice and pole day follow-up
SPEEDWAY, IN (May 19, 2025) – The entrepreneurs along 16th Street and Georgetown Road were handed a gift in 1995 when Team Penske failed to make the field for the Indianapolis 500. T-shirts that said “Look Ma, No Penske’s” were quickly printed and sold to countless fans who relished the fact the team didn’t make the race.
Fast forward 30-years later and Team Penske is making headlines again, this time for all the wrong reasons. The cars of Josef Newgarden and Will Power, the No. 2 and No. 12 Chevrolet’s respectively, on Sunday were found to have illegally modified attenuators at the rear of the car leaving INDYCAR officials no choice but to act.
The Series gave the team the option to withdraw from qualifying on Sunday or be disqualified during post-qualifying inspection. The team chose to withdraw the cars, leaving them in the 11th and 12th starting position. That changed on Monday when officials dropped the hammer on the team.
“INDYCAR has the authority to impose any or all or any combination of the following penalties against any member for any violation of the rules at any time,” explained J. Douglas Boles, INDYCAR President. “We believed that allowing the two cars, the 2 and the 12, to start in 12th and 11th, which is a place that they might have actually qualified in had they been allowed to qualify, was not a sufficient enough penalty and did not present an appropriate enough result for the violation. Therefore, we have decided to move the 2 and the 12 car to the back of the grid. They will start in 32nd and 33rd position.”
The Penske infractions and subsequent discipline have detracted from what Monday morning’s storyline should have been, the incredible pole winning performance by rookie driver Robert Shwartzman and PREMA Racing, who is in their first year of NTT INDYCAR SERIES competition.
Robert Shwartzman of PREMA Racing poses with the NTT P1 Pole Award for winning the pole position for the 109th Indianapolis 500 (Photo: Joe Skibinski Penske Entertainment)
“The last thing I want to be doing right now is talking about penalties,” said Boles. “I want to be talking about what a great event this is, how we have an unbelievably cool story, and a rookie with a rookie team on the pole, and Pato O’Ward up front. I would much rather be talking about how great the Indianapolis 500 is and how our ticket sales are and how we had our biggest qualifying weekend in terms of attendance since 2016, but it felt to me like the most important thing for us to do today was set the field of the Indianapolis 500.”
This is the second time in two-years that Team Penske has been caught afoul of the rule book. In 2024 Newgarden and teammate Scott McLaughlin were penalized for illegally using the ‘push-to-pass’ feature in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Now the team is caught circumventing the rules before ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing’.
“I had a chance to talk to Roger, and I can tell that this is devastating to him,” said Boles. “Nothing means more to Roger Penske than the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500.”
Penske has some work to do to in order to win-back the trust of the team owners and those in the paddock.
Pittsburgh’s Chip Ganassi told ‘Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour’ “I think all teams have a certain responsibility to uphold the integrity of the sport, in any series, and no team more than team Penske,” Ganassi said on an episode that is set to be released Thursday.
Ganassi’s driver Alex Palou posted the fastest speed, a 226.765 mph in the No. 10 DHL Honda, in Monday’s final full day of practice. before Friday’s two-hour ‘Carb Day’ practice.
MARKHAM, ONTARIO (August 15, 2026) – The NTT IndyCar Series is making it’s first visit to a new street circuit in Markham, Ontario but a familiar face topped the speed charts after the first practice.
Four-time Series Champion Alex Palou turned the fastest lap around the 12-turn, 2.19-mile temporary street course, a 1-minute, 14.9915-seconds (100.811 mph) lap in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
A.J. Foyt Racing rookie Caio Collett was second quick with a 1-minute, 15.0454-seconds (100.739) in the No. 4 Chevrolet.
Louis Foster was third quick in the No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda at 1:15.0278 (100.702) followed by Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin 1:15.2981 (100.401). Will Power rounded out the Top 5 at 1:15.3152 (100.378).
Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammates were not as strong. Six-time Series Champion Scott Dixon was 20th at 1:16.4583 (98.877) in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda. Kyffin Simpson was 24th at 1.17.3893 (97.688) in the No. 8 Sunoco Honda. Simpson made contact with the wall at Turn 6, causing damage to the rear suspension. Simpson limped to pits for repair and returned to action later in the session.
Practice 2 is set for 2:30 p.m. as delayed track construction forced officials to cancel Friday’s activities and condense Saturday’s schedule. NTT P1 Pole Qualifying is set for 6:30 p.m. ET
MARKHAM, ONTARIO (August 14, 2026) – Issues with the completion of the temporary street circuit in Markham Ontario has forced the NTT INDYCAR SERIES first practice to be moved to Saturday as all of Friday’s on-track activity had to be scrubbed from the schedule.
“INDYCAR is incredibly disappointed that our promoter was not able to complete the track build on time, despite significant support from our team on site,” INDYCAR President J. Douglas Boles said. “Ontario has always been a magnificent market for our sport and the number of spectators that attended today is a shining example of that. New events can always pose logistical challenges and we join in the frustration of our loyal fans and apologize.”
Green Savoree Promotions also issued a statement.
“Ensuring the safety of the drivers and the completion of the certification process of competing on a brand-new racetrack delayed all on-track activities today. Today’s sessions have been rescheduled to Saturday, August 15, to allow for further track preparations.”
“We greatly appreciate all the fans who made it out to the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham today and chose to spend the day with us. The attendance and support were overwhelming.”
The revamped schedule calls for the first practice to take place at 10:00 a.m. followed by a second practice at 2:30 p.m. and P1 Pole Qualifying at 6:30 p.m.
PORTLAND, OR (August 9, 2026) – Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing are closing in on another NTT IndyCar Series Championship after winning Sunday’s Only Bulls Portland Grand Prix.
Palou started second and passed Felix Rosenqvist during the first round of pit stops by staying out an extra lap and using the ‘overcut’ to get the lead and then dominated, leading 60 of 110-laps to grab his sixth victory of 2026.
“Everybody at CGR and Honda did an incredible job,” said Palou, who started second. “I had an absolute rocket ship today. It was very, very nice to drive every single lap.”
“We had to do something different than Felix,” said Barry Wanser, team manager for the No. 10 Honda. “We had to go longer than him. It takes a lot of performance by Alex and certainly the Honda engine to give us the fuel mileage to jump in one more and do the overcut. That helped us. We had a pretty smooth pit stop and got the jump there.”
Rosenqvist, who started on the pole in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Grateful Dead Honda, closed to within a second late but couldn’t get back to the front.
“He got us in a sequence,” said Rosenqvist, the 2026 Indianapolis 500 winner. “I got kind of twisted up leaving my box because I was so close to the Schumacher crew. I think between the overcut and that, we kind of lost the position. From there on we just sat in second.”
Andretti Global’s Will Power finished third in the No. 26 TWG Honda to lockout the podium for the manufacturer.
“Great day for us,” said Power. “Great day for Andretti. Didn’t quite have the pace I think the top two guys. Probably about a tenth off. Just seriously fast pace all day. Qualifying laps, really good quality. Such a quality field now.”
The victory for Palou increased his Championship lead to 110 points over Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global, a gap of more than two races with just five races remaining this season.
“Chip puts the best guys around me, but then also everybody is just executing,” said Palou. “That car is a rocket ship, and I’m just lucky enough to drive it.”
The next NTT IndyCar Series race is the inaugural Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham on Sunday, Aug. 16 on the streets of Markham, Ontario.
Newlywed Reft Wins At PPMS
Logano Wins at Richmond as Chase Picture Takes Shape
Honeycutt Dominates Richmond for Second Career Truck Series Win
Palou quickest in first Markham practice
Troutman Gets First Win For Foster In Schaltenbrand Memorial At Lernerville; Cipriano, Flick, and Schneider Also Win.
Michael Norris wins his 5th Jook George Steel City Classic
Kvapil Hangs On To Win Pennzoil 250 in Top-Four Sweep by JR Motorsports
Marks Magnificent in Hodnett Classic at Port Royal
Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing win Portland Grand Prix
