“We have gone beyond what our rules say”: Doug Boles explains IndyCar’s ruling on Team Penske’ for the Indy 500 offense

Team Penske is one of the most successful teams when it comes to the Indianapolis 500, having won the event for two years in a row with their driver Josef Newgarden. However, on Sunday, May 18, two out of the three drivers of the team failed the post-race inspection. The IMS and IndyCar president, Doug Boles, recently spoke about this issue.

The team was handed over a $200,000 fine for cars #2 and #12, along with the suspension of their team personnel. Team Penske was found violating the IndyCar rule 14.7.8.16 for illegal modifications of the car, possibly for an aerodynamic advantage by modifying the attenuator.

Monday, May 19, Doug Boles spoke about the scandal. He also highlighted why Team Penske was handed a fine and the cars were moved to the rear of the field. He said,

"As far as I know, everything was correct on Saturday. So to remove them from the event for something that happened inside of of the top 12 just didn't seem like the right result. Like I said we have gone beyond what our rules say and have moved them to the back of the grid taken away their points. Fined them."

"We are suspending two of their personnel......We are going to make sure that the cars on the race. Track are evenly prepared and fall within our rules."

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The car #2 and #12 of Team Penske will be starting at the rear end of the grid after it was protested by the fans and many of the drivers, including Pato O'Ward. The scandal has also raised questions about the integrity and sportsmanship of the sport.

For the second year in a row, Team Penske has been involved in a scandal. During the 2024 season, the team was found using the push-to-pass button at a non-permitted time. The #2 car of Josef Newgarden and the #3 car of Scott McLaughlin were disqualified, along with a suspension for their personnel.

Pato O'Ward reacts to Team Penske's disqualification at the Indy 500

Team Penske's disqualification took the paddock by storm. It gained a lot of reaction from various drivers and fans. Arrow McLaren driver Pato O'Ward shared his thoughts about the incident and IndyCar's decision.

The 26-year-old driver highlighted how it was not fair to the drivers who took part in the last chance qualifying. He also said that the cars should have faced disqualification on Saturday, May 17. He said,

"They weren't accidentally doing it because they had the blowtorch right there in order to get it out. Honestly, I feel for Abel and for everybody that did the disqualifications or the LCQ. Those cars weren't in regulations.I'm not an engineer, so I can't tell you what they were doing, how much speed that it is or if it is any speed. Obviously it's not in regulation. The rule is pretty black and white. Those cars should have been in the last chance qualifier."