IndyCar president dreaded calling Roger Penske to notify about Team Penske's Indy 500 controversy

IndyCar president Doug Boles recently disclosed what was the toughest part of handling Team Penske's Indy 500 scandal. The Roger Penske-owned team became the center of controversy on qualifying weekend in mid-May after two of its three cars were found to have an illegal part.

The No. 2 and No. 12 Chevrolets of Josef Newgarden and Will Power had illegally modified rear attenuators, a spec part supposed to be left untouched. IndyCar's technical inspection team found the fault just before Fast 12 on May 18th, and Team Penske withdrew both drivers from the session.

The next morning, the series announced penalties for both entries, pushing Newgarden and Power to the back of the 33-driver grid. On a recent episode of the IBJ podcast with Mason King, Doug Boles spoke about that Monday morning phone call to Roger Penske, who is also the owner of IndyCar and his boss, and not just the owner of Team Penske.

"The most challenging thing I did all month was pick the phone up on the morning after qualifying and call my boss (Roger Penske) who at that time, I'm not calling because he's my boss, I'm calling because he's a team owner to say, 'Hey, by the way, we are taking your two cars from yesterday and putting them at the back of the grid.' Those are not fun conversations," Boles admitted. [18:39 onwards]

IndyCar also penalized each entry $100,000 and suspended the race strategists of Josef Newgarden and Will Power. Roger Penske issued a public apology to the fans of the series for his team getting caught in such a controversy for the second time in over a year.

In the race, Newgarden was on a sensational run and made it from P32 to P6 before he had to retire with a fuel pump issue on his car. Will Power gained 17 positions to finish in P16. Penske's third driver, Scott McLaughlin, heartbreakingly crashed out on the pre-race pace lap.

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Doug Boles gets real about IndyCar clamping down on Andretti Global and AJ Foyt Racing

The quota of penalties for the Indy 500 grid didn't conclude after qualifying. A day after the 109th running of the race on May 25, IndyCar penalized three drivers. It included runner-up Marcus Ericsson, his Andretti Global teammate Kyle Kirkwood and PREMA's Callum Ilott, who were sent to the back of the grid in the last three spots.

A week later, another runner-up finisher was slapped with a post-race penalty. After the Detroit GP, Santino Ferrucci's car was found to be underweight in the driver compartment. Though he retained his P2 finish, he had to forfeit 25 points and also lost the additional point for leading a lap. Moreover, AJ Foyt Racing had to pay a $25,000 fine.

Santino Ferrucci at the 109th Running Of The Indianapolis 500 - Carb Day - Source: Getty

For Doug Boles, this string of penalties within a span of two weeks came with additional challenges.

"I grew up with AJ Foyt was my racing hero. So I had to penalize... in the course of a couple of weeks, you penalize one of the most famous names in racing at Andretti, you penalize your boss and most famous names in racing, Penske. And then have to call your racing hero and say, 'Hey, by the way...' So yeah, it's been a tough time," Boles said on the aforementioned podcast. [19:30 onwards]

IndyCar now heads to Madison, Illinois, for the Bommarito Automotive Group 500. The race at World Wide Technology Raceway will host the first and only night race of the 2025 calendar, with Penske's Josef Newgarden as the defending winner.