From scandal to strategy: Kyle Moyer's new role at Arrow McLaren Racing
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kyle Moyer, one of the three Team Penske executives fired during an Indianapolis 500 scandal, has been hired by Arrow McLaren Racing and will be with the IndyCar team this coming week for a test session at Iowa Speedway.
Moyer was hand-selected to join McLaren by team principal Tony Kanaan. The two won the 2004 IndyCar championship together at Andretti Global. Moyer was Kanaan's team manager at the time.
At McLaren, Moyer will be the director of competition and assist Scott Harner, who is the director of race operations. He will also replace Kanaan as strategist for Nolan Siegel, freeing Kanaan to work on race day with all three McLaren drivers.
Moyer's official start date is June 30. Kanaan said almost the entire industry tried to hire Moyer after his May firing at Penske, but the previous relationship between Moyer and Kanaan gave McLaren the edge.
'Kyle is one of the best strategists in the paddock, so talking about his qualities, not just about him as a human being, he knows a lot about racing,' Kanaan told The Associated Press. 'Kyle probably is one of the top guys of knowledge of IndyCar — he's been around it his entire life.
'And Kyle is a people person, he's that kind of guy that captivates people and people want to work for Kyle,' Kanaan continued. 'At the same time, he is very direct and he will call you out and he makes it so every person I've ever seen working for Kyle wanted to work for Kyle. That's something that I experienced in my career and that is probably the biggest thing. The respect that I have for the guy is unbelievable.'
Moyer's popularity was evident when Penske driver Scott McLaughlin lashed out after the trio of firings ahead of the Indy 500. Moyer was let go along with team president Tim Cindric, a 25-year Penske employee, and managing director Ron Ruzewski.
Moyer was Penske's general manager of the IndyCar program and the strategist for McLaughlin's car.
The firings followed the discovery that the cars of Josef Newgarden and Will Power had illegally modified rear attenuators; Cindric said seams on the safety part had been sealed for aesthetic purposes, but the rulebook clearly stated no alterations could be made to the part.
It was the second major technical violation for Penske cars in just over a year and team owner Roger Penske was left with no choice but to fire his top three executives. Penske owns the three-car race team, the IndyCar Series, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500.
'Ultimately, those three guys are friends of mine and have done a tremendous amount in my career to get me to this point,' McLaughlin said in May after the firings. 'I guess you could say there's a sadness from my perspective. At the end of the day I drive for Roger Penske. I respect the decision. I understand the decision. We move forward.'
Kanaan said he was shocked that Moyer did not have a non-compete clause and was available to McLaren immediately. He believes Moyer will be a help to Siegel, the 20-year-old in his first full season of IndyCar.
Siegel heads into Sunday's race at Road America in Wisconsin ranked 21st in the standings.
Moyer will eventually relocate from North Carolina, where Penske is based, to Indianapolis for his role with McLaren.
___
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
44 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Yankees RHP Luis Gil faces hitters for 1st time since straining his right lat
NEW YORK (AP) — Luis Gil faced hitters for the first time since straining his right lat in spring training, throwing about 20 pitches in a session New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone described on Saturday as 'free and easy.' About two hours before the Yankees continued their three-game series with Baltimore, Gil notched four strikeouts — three swinging. Since several of the backups who would take part in live sessions were in the lineup, Gil threw to bullpen catcher Peter Serruto and information coordinator Ryan McLaughlin. 'I felt it looked really good,' Boone said. 'I think he was 95, 96. It looked every bit of that, looked like it. Just the metrics on the four-seam were really good and I thought he was in control of himself. So free and easy.' The Yankees are unsure of how many more times Gil will face hitters before progressing to a rehab game. Boone is hopeful the 2024 AL Rookie of the Year can return by the end of July. 'I felt really good out there,' Gil said through a translator. 'It's been a long process. You heal little by little. It felt good to get on the mound to face some hitters.' Gil stopped a bullpen session on Feb. 28 because of tightness in his pitching shoulder. He went to New York for a second MRI that revealed a high-grade lat strain on March 3. Gil was shut down from throwing for at least six weeks after receiving the original diagnosis, and at the time the Yankees said he would not return until June at the earliest. On April 16, the Yankees said Gil's throwing program would be delayed for about 10 days. 'It's important. Fortunately, after the setback, it's been a slow build up, but it's gone well,' Boone said. 'It feels like kind of every step of the way. So that's been encouraging and now we start to build. We start to build lives, pitch counts and then eventually getting into rehab games. So definitely another important box to check.' The 26-year-old Gil went 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA in 29 starts for the AL East champions last year, striking out 171 and walking a major league-high 77 in 151 2/3 innings. Acquired from the Minnesota Twins in a 2018 trade, Gil made a successful return from Tommy John surgery and threw eight more innings in a pair of postseason starts as the Yankees reached the World Series for the first time since 2009. ___ AP MLB:
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Vondrousova stuns Sabalenka 6-2, 6-4 for Berlin Open final against Wang
BERLIN (AP) — Marketa Vondrousova upset top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 6-4 in their semifinal Saturday to set up a showdown with Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu in the final of the Berlin Open. Vondrousova, the 2023 Wimbledon champion, needed 1 hour and 21 minutes for her first win over a reigning No. 1. Sabalenka staged a comeback Friday by saving four match points against Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals. She had won all seven semifinals she played in this year but couldn't find a response against the 164th-ranked Vondrousova, who missed three months of the season with a shoulder injury. Sunday's final will be Vondrousova's first since she won at Wimbledon. Wang beat Liudmila Samsonova 6-4, 6-1 in their semifinal earlier Saturday to move into her first final. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. ___ AP tennis:
Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
From scandal to strategy: Kyle Moyer's new role at Arrow McLaren Racing
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kyle Moyer, one of the three Team Penske executives fired during an Indianapolis 500 scandal, has been hired by Arrow McLaren Racing and will be with the IndyCar team this coming week for a test session at Iowa Speedway. Moyer was hand-selected to join McLaren by team principal Tony Kanaan. The two won the 2004 IndyCar championship together at Andretti Global. Moyer was Kanaan's team manager at the time. At McLaren, Moyer will be the director of competition and assist Scott Harner, who is the director of race operations. He will also replace Kanaan as strategist for Nolan Siegel, freeing Kanaan to work on race day with all three McLaren drivers. Moyer's official start date is June 30. Kanaan said almost the entire industry tried to hire Moyer after his May firing at Penske, but the previous relationship between Moyer and Kanaan gave McLaren the edge. 'Kyle is one of the best strategists in the paddock, so talking about his qualities, not just about him as a human being, he knows a lot about racing,' Kanaan told The Associated Press. 'Kyle probably is one of the top guys of knowledge of IndyCar — he's been around it his entire life. 'And Kyle is a people person, he's that kind of guy that captivates people and people want to work for Kyle,' Kanaan continued. 'At the same time, he is very direct and he will call you out and he makes it so every person I've ever seen working for Kyle wanted to work for Kyle. That's something that I experienced in my career and that is probably the biggest thing. The respect that I have for the guy is unbelievable.' Moyer's popularity was evident when Penske driver Scott McLaughlin lashed out after the trio of firings ahead of the Indy 500. Moyer was let go along with team president Tim Cindric, a 25-year Penske employee, and managing director Ron Ruzewski. Moyer was Penske's general manager of the IndyCar program and the strategist for McLaughlin's car. The firings followed the discovery that the cars of Josef Newgarden and Will Power had illegally modified rear attenuators; Cindric said seams on the safety part had been sealed for aesthetic purposes, but the rulebook clearly stated no alterations could be made to the part. It was the second major technical violation for Penske cars in just over a year and team owner Roger Penske was left with no choice but to fire his top three executives. Penske owns the three-car race team, the IndyCar Series, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500. 'Ultimately, those three guys are friends of mine and have done a tremendous amount in my career to get me to this point,' McLaughlin said in May after the firings. 'I guess you could say there's a sadness from my perspective. At the end of the day I drive for Roger Penske. I respect the decision. I understand the decision. We move forward.' Kanaan said he was shocked that Moyer did not have a non-compete clause and was available to McLaren immediately. He believes Moyer will be a help to Siegel, the 20-year-old in his first full season of IndyCar. Siegel heads into Sunday's race at Road America in Wisconsin ranked 21st in the standings. Moyer will eventually relocate from North Carolina, where Penske is based, to Indianapolis for his role with McLaren. ___ AP auto racing:
