[autotag]Team Penske[/autotag]’s cheating scandal from St. Petersburg has taken the paddock by storm. Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin were disqualified for manipulating the Push to Pass parameters. Some owners, such as A.J. Foyt, have defended Roger Penske’s team, while others have been critical. Now, Team Penske’s manufacturer has released a statement on the situation.
On Friday morning, GM President Mark Reuss released the following regarding IndyCar’s recent announcement of the penalty from the race in St. Petersburg in March 2024.
“We respect the decision and actions of INDYCAR as well as Team Penske’s commitment to improve their processes and controls,” Reuss said. “Chevrolet engaged a third-party law firm to conduct a thorough review of the matter, and they found no evidence that any Chevrolet employee had any knowledge of involvement in the matter.”
GM president Mark Reuss says in a statement @TeamChevy enlisted a 3rd-party law firm to conduct a “thorough review” around @Team_Penske’s illegal use of push-to-pass at St. Pete.
“They found no evidence that any Chevrolet employee had any knowledge or involvement in the matter.”
— Nathan Brown (@By_NathanBrown) May 3, 2024
“Chevy looks forward to engaging with INDYCAR and our partner race teams to assist in any enhancements that further support the integrity of INDYCAR competition.”
This doesn’t mean Chevrolet is necessarily shaming Team Penske, but it appears that the organization did this without any knowledge from the manufacturer. It was important for Chevrolet to distance itself from the scandal, and they did just that on Friday. This story isn’t going away and Team Penske will need to do its best to put it behind them.
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