Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax, right, gives TV star Jay North some pointers on pitching, Feb. 22, 1962, in Los Angeles (AP Photo/David F. Smith, File)
Penske after the firings were announced held a team owner’s meeting remotely in which he took responsibility for his team’s actions. Some who dialed-in told The Associated Press the meeting lasted 20 minutes and the owners were satisfied with the outcome; no owners called for the Penske cars to be kicked out of the race, and the only questions asked were about how IndyCar moves on from the scandal ahead of the biggest race in the world.“What he did in firing three people is a big deal,” Arrow McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan told The Associated Press. “I think everyone recognized how big of a deal this is to Roger and now it’s just a question of how to move on and how to make sure tech doesn’t miss these things again.”
Neither Newgarden or Power were allowed to qualify Sunday when rivals pointed out the illegal modification. Both driversand potentially illegal cars bumped Jacob Abel of Dale Coyne Racing from the field.Newgarden is attempting to become the first driver in history to win three consecutive Indy 500s; no driver has ever won starting from the last row.
Cindric and Ruzewski had already been suspended by IndyCar for the race and both teams fined $100,000. It is the second consecutive year Cindric and Ruzewski were suspended from the Indy 500.Rivals have been calling on Penske to address the situation since Sunday while questioning if IndyCar and the Indy 500 can continue to operate without an independent governing body absent of any Penske employees.
The trouble for Team Penske began before the fast 12 shootout on Sunday, when rival team owner Chip Ganassi was among a chorus of competitors who accused it of cheating. They noticed unapproved changes had been made to the rear attenuator, a safety device designed to absorb and reduce the force of impacts, and the assumption was the modifications would have given the two Team Penske cars an aerodynamic advantage in their four-lap qualifying runs.
Further investigation showed Newgarden’s winning car from last year that is displayed in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway museum has the same illegal modification, as did the car Team Penske brought to the White House last month. Rivals claim to have photos indicating the modification has been in place for some time.“I’m just going out there and doing what I do, and everything else is kind of out of my control. So all I can do is go out there and play football and that’s what I’m doing,” Flacco said.
The Browns acquired Pickettwhen the league year opened in March. Pickett started one game last season for the Super Bowl champion Eagles while backing up Jalen Hurts. He was 14-10 as a starter in two years with Pittsburgh after being the Steelers first-round pick in 2022.
Pickett admitted that there are more similarities between the Eagles’ and Browns’ offenses than most people realize. The biggest thing he has focused on is getting up to speed with the terminology.“I think it has gone well. They’re doing a great job of getting everyone reps to get experience with the offense and get a feel for everybody,” he said.