Will Power breaks his silence on Roger Penske's 'shocking' decision after Indy 500 controversy

Will Power has commented on Roger Penske's decision to fire the senior leaders of Team Penske's IndyCar arm in the wake of the team's Indy 500 controversy. The team's No. 2 and No. 12 cars of Josef Newgarden and Power were found guilty of a technical infringement during Indy 500 qualifying.

The two (of three) Penske cars had modified rear attenuators, which is against IndyCar's rule book. Consequently, the series penalized the two entries $100,000 each and pushed them to the last row, with Newgarden set to start the 109th Indy 500 in P32, followed by Power in P33.

On Wednesday (May 21), Roger Penske struck the hammer at Team Penske, axing president Tim Cindric, general manager Kyle Moyer and managing director Ron Ruzewski. IndyCar had already suspended Cindric and Ruzewski for the Indy 500.

Will Power, who will start the Indy 500 in last position, has addressed his team owner's harsh decision.

"It's kind of a shock and a pity. They're all extremely good at their jobs. There was pressure from the outside, and I guess Roger had to make a tough decision. I can tell you, these were very credible people."

Cindric and Ruzewski had been working with Team Penske for over 20 years, while Moyer started his 11th season with the team in 2025. Roger Penske's decision to part ways with them has sent shockwaves in the IndyCar world. The 88-year-old also issued a public apology for the team being involved in such a scandal.

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Team Penske gives Will Power a new race strategist for the 2025 Indy 500

Will Power at the 109th Running of The Indianapolis 500 - Source: Getty

Tim Cindric, Ron Ruzewski and Kyle Moyer served as the race strategists for Josef Newgarden, Will Power and Scott McLaughlin, in addition to their management roles at Team Penske. With Roger Penske letting the trio go, the drivers needed new strategists for the Indy 500 and beyond.

On Thursday morning, Team Penske announced the replacements via a post on social media platform X. Here's what the new pit wall line-up looks like:

No. 2 (Josef Newgarden): Luke Mason (Strategist) + Raul Prados (Lead Engineer)

No. 3 (Scott McLaughlin): Ben Bretzman (Strategist) + Malcolm Finch (Lead Engineer)

No. 12 (Will Power): Jonathan Diuguid (Strategist) + David Faustino (Lead Engineer)

Scott McLaughlin might be Penske's only hope of winning the 109th Indy 500 this Sunday. A crash before the Fast 12 qualifying session meant he couldn't make his qualifying runs. However, the demotions of his teammates mean he will start 10th on the grid instead of 12th, and the most probable among them to be in a winning position.