Tim Cindric speaks out after Indy 500 qualifying scandal, Team Penske firing: ‘Conscience remains clear’

Tim Cindric broke his silence about being fired from Team Penske. On X/Twitter, the former president of the team’s IndyCar program said he’s “standing tall” after the firing.

“It’s been an amazing ride!” Tim Cindric wrote. “While my conscience remains clear through all of the noise and accusations, I’m grateful to have so many great people to draw strength from in times like this. Still standing tall!”

Cindric stepped back as the head of day-to-day Penske operations after being involved in an IndyCar scandal where their two drivers, Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin, were found to have illegally used the push-to-pass boost system during the season-opening race when it should not have been programmed to work in 2024, per ESPN. The incident led to Newgarden and McLaughlin being stripped of their first and second-place finishes, while Cindric and Ron Ruzewski, the team’s managing director for the IndyCar team, were suspended for two races. 

2025 Indy 500, Tim Cindric, and Team Penske

Another incident occurred during qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 this past weekend. The aforementioned Newgarden and teammate Will Power will have to start from the final two spots on the grid Sunday after their teams were penalized for violating the rules during the qualifying weekend.

Additionally, IndyCar announced that the team strategists for the Nos. 2 and 12 will be suspended for the race. The cars will forfeit their qualification points and pit box selections, and each of the entries has been fined $100,000. This led to Cindric, Ruzewski, and IndyCar general manager Kyle Moyer being dismissed from the team.

“Team Penske announced today the departures of INDYCAR Team President, Tim Cindric, INDYCAR Managing Director, Ron Ruzewski and INDYCAR General Manager Kyle Moyer from the organization,” a statement from the organization read. “Team Penske will have further announcements this week related to personnel and replacements for this weekend’s Indianapolis 500.”

Tim Cindric has been with Team Penske since 1999. He’s a member of the Team Penske Hall of Fame and was long assumed to be Roger Penske’s successor. Cindric was promoted to president of Penske Performance in 2005 and ran day-to-day operations of all of Penske’s racing properties.

On3’s Steve Samra contributed to this story