Roger Penske did not sleep the night before firing Team Penske's top brass over Indy 500 controversy

Roger Penske, the owner of IndyCar, IMS, and Team Penske outfit, has had sleepless nights in light of last week's Team Penske violations saga at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In line with this, AP Sports' Jenna Fryer has come up with a key update.

Fryer, via her official X handle, has shared the story of AP Sports discussing how Roger Penske was not able to sleep a night before sacking Team President Tim Cindric, IndyCar managing director Ron Ruzewski and IndyCar general manager Kyle Moyer.

This has been highlighted via a conversation with the Team Penske driver Will Power.

"I know it was very tough for him. He said that. He said he didn’t sleep the night before because he had to make a very hard decision" Power said via AP Sports.

Will Power and Josef Newgarden will start the much-awaited 2025 Indy 500 from the extreme south end of the 33-car grid. The former will start from P33, whereas Newgarden will line up alongside him in P32. Both drivers have previously won the race.

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"It hurts me in my gut" - Roger Penske

Roger Penske (who bought the sport and IMS from the Hulman family) has been the pillar around which IndyCar has revolved since 2019. Other than the recent Indy 500 controversy, Penske's outfit has also previously been involved in another controversy, and in light of everything that has happened in his tenure, he said the following via an exclusive interview.

"I would say that I'm totally disappointed with the outcome, certainly on Sunday. I really have to go back four and a half years ago when we bought the Speedway, and I said, number one, that I would invest capital, I'd get the best people, and we'd take the series, and certainly Indianapolis Motor Speedway to higher levels. I think we've done that," Penske said via FOX.

The 88-year-old added:

"Then I look at my right hand and say, what about Team Penske? And when I think about Team Penske, we really have had an organization failure two times, not once, but two times. And believe me, it hurts me in my gut when you think about it."

Roger Penske's Team Penske has proved immensely successful in the Indy 500 in recent years. The outfit's star driver, Josef Newgarden, has won the 200-lap race twice, in 2023 and 2024. This year, the 34-year-old is entering Sunday's race with the chance of becoming the first driver ever to win the Indianapolis Motor Speedway event thrice in consecutive years.

However, keeping in view that Newgarden will start the race from P32, it will be extremely tough for him to repeat his 2023 and 2024 heroics.

IndyCar rookie driver Robert Shwartzman will start the race from P1 after a shock pole in the final round of qualifying.