Latest news with #Ilmor
Fox Sports
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Ram to enter trucks in 2026 with possible future move to Cup for Dodge
BROOKLYN, Mich. — Dodge parent company Stellantis will enter NASCAR racing in 2026 with its Ram brand competing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with an eye toward going Cup racing in the years beyond. Whether that's 2027 or later — 2027 is possible but would be an aggressive timeline — remains to be seen as the announcement Sunday focused primarily on the truck, a much easier lift than going Cup racing. With all trucks in the series using an Ilmor engine and several common body elements, Ram just needed to design a nose, a hood, front fenders and a tail for its racing vehicle. Ram did not announce who will drive its trucks nor the teams that will field its trucks. Ram CEO Tim Kinuskis said he hopes to have somewhere between four and six trucks for the 2026 season opener at Daytona. "We're looking for a date to the prom right now [for trucks]," Kinuskis said. "So how am I going to get the Cup? That's going to depend on how I get to truck. So however we get to truck is going will obviously weigh heavily on do I have a path to Cup? "Our intention is not to do a one-hit wonder and go to truck and not to Cup. That's not our plan." Ram does not have cars so what brand of car — Dodge? Plymouth's possible rebirth? — is still to be determined although Dodge has a lengthy history in the sport and motorsports as a whole. "Ram is coming back to the truck series," Kinuskis said. "It has nothing to do with Dodge, despite the fact that everyone in the world calls it Dodge Ram. ... If we go back to Cup, which is our intention, Ram doesn't have a car, so obviously that would have to be Dodge coming back. "But I'm not making that announcement. I'm not saying Dodge is back. Don't put that headline. But when we get to that point, it wouldn't be Ram, obviously." There is speculation in the industry that GMS, which has competed in all three national series over the last decade and was eventually bought out by Jimmie Johnson in the rebranding to Legacy Motor Club, will be involved in building chassis and/or fielding trucks for Ram. Kinuskis promised a program that will elevate fan engagement, and YouTube star Cleetus McFarland, who has competed in some ARCA races, has been linked to the Ram program. Dodge had Cup teams from 2001-12 before exiting the sport on a high note with Brad Keselowski winning a Cup title at Team Penske. When Penske left for Ford, Dodge had trouble landing a premier team and opted to leave the sport. No new manufacturer has entered the sport since Toyota did so in 2004 in trucks and 2007 in Cup. Kinuskis also said when he returned to Ram earlier this year, his two goals were to reintroduce the Hemi engine and get into NASCAR, where 50 percent of its fan base own trucks. "It's always bothered me," Kinuskis said. "We've always been looking for a way to get back. It took us a long time to find the absolute right time." To re-enter Cup would take some engine development and significant body design, a process that would take at least 18 months, NASCAR Chief Racing Development Officer John Probst said. "The last time that engine ran was 2012 — the core components of the block, the head, the manifold, are all still relevant," Probst said. "Our existing engine builders develop their engines every year. There's been a gap there, so there'd be some development of that engine needed. "But from the basic building blocks they could start from that and do some catch-up development." Kinuskis wouldn't talk about a timeline Sunday for going to Cup racing. "Our full intention is to be back in Cup," Kinuskis said. "But right now we're on a path for Daytona next year with truck, with our eye on when we can be in Cup after that. TBD. "We're a fly with no net right now trying to get to Daytona. That's our focus right now." Keselowski, currently a driver and co-owner at RFK Racing, said the trucks are the right entry point for a manufacturer as it doesn't have to immediately get an engine available and because of the parity in the series. "[The truck series] is a great place for an OEM [original equipment manufacturer] to enter NASCAR and really kind of get that appetite going for the Cup Series," Keselowski said. "It's a big jump from the truck series to the Cup Series, but nonetheless it's a great entry point for OEMs, and hopefully they aren't the only one that will enter the truck series." Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and IndyCar for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass. recommended Get more from NASCAR Cup Series Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more in this topic
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Newgarden, Team Penske teammate Power fail Indy 500 qualifying inspection. What we know
Editor's note: Additional information became available late Sunday night. Here's a full story on what happened with Penske and unrest in the paddock. INDIANAPOLIS — As discontent continues to swirl throughout corners of the IndyCar paddock regarding Roger Penske's perceived conflict of interest in owning Team Penske, long the most dominant team in IndyCar and in the Indianapolis 500, as well as IndyCar, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Ilmor, which manufacturers engines for Chevrolet, his team was dealt a seismic blow Sunday moments before the kickoff to the Fast 12 for Indy 500 qualifying. Advertisement There remain pivotal questions unanswered and details that remain opaque, but what we do know is this: After 2024 Indy 500 polesitter Scott McLaughlin crashed during early afternoon practice for the Fast 12, rendering him and his team eliminated from the run for pole, both his sister entries at Team Penske, the No. 2 of Josef Newgarden and the No. 12 of Will Power, found themselves enveloped in a technical inspection snafu that led to at least one heated exchange on pit lane among a Penske Corp. executive and the owner of Team Penske's fiercest rivals. According to IndyCar's statements on the matter, both the Nos. 2 and 12 cars failed pre-qualifying technical inspection, forfeiting their guaranteed attempts for a shot at the Fast Six and ultimately the pole. The issue at hand: an unapproved body fit on the rear attenuator on both cars, where Team Penske employees filled two different pieces of the attenuator with something akin to glue or putty, which could potentially serve as an aerodynamic advantage. But ahead of the Fast 12, Power's passed inspection without issue, and it wasn't until Newgarden's car rolled through afterwards that IndyCar's tech inspection crew raised a red flag. Upon further review, Power's car had been prepared the same way as Newgarden's, leaving Team Penske IndyCar president Tim Cindric with a decision to make. Though IndyCar's verbiage is that Power passed inspection and could freely make his Fast 12 attempt, Cindric and Co. were of the belief that the violation on Power's car would be caught in post-qualifying inspection, and so they went to work on both cars on pit lane with a variety of tools — blow torches and grinders among them — to try and remedy the issue. Advertisement Sunday's eventful action: Rookie Robert Shwartzman wins pole for Prema Racing Fixing that issue is not permitted after tech inspection, as opposed to wing adjustments and tire pressure changes. How Newgarden's car made it to pit lane despite having failed inspection, and why IndyCar has referred to Power's car as having failed its tech inspection, despite Cindric saying it passed and rolled onto pitlane, is unclear. "At the end of the day, we didn't do it right," Cindric said. McLaughlin, who won the 2024 pole position, was second fastest in Saturday's qualifying; two-time defending race champ Newgarden was third, and Power 10th. Advertisement They will start the race on Row 4, lined up by Saturday's qualifying speeds. Josef Newgarden goes for a run Newgarden couldn't drive his car, but he kept moving. This story will be updated. Get IndyStar's motorsports coverage sent directly to your inbox with the Motorsports newsletter. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Why Will Power, Josef Newgarden failed Indy 500 qualifying tech inspection
Indianapolis Star
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- Indianapolis Star
Unrest in paddock, fan mocks Penske, Boles speaks: What happened with Indy 500 tech inspections?
INDIANAPOLIS — As discontentment continues to swirl throughout corners of the IndyCar paddock regarding Roger Penske's perceived conflict of interest in owning Team Penske, long the most dominant team in IndyCar and in the Indianapolis 500, as well as IndyCar, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Ilmor, which manufacturers engines for one of the series' two engine manufacturers, Chevrolet, his team was dealt a seismic blow Sunday moments before the kickoff to the Fast 12 for Indy 500 qualifying. There remain pivotal questions unanswered and some details still opaque, but what we do know is this: After 2024 Indy 500 polesitter Scott McLaughlin crashed during early afternoon practice for the Fast 12 — rendering him and his team eliminated from the run for pole due to the tight timeframe, the slim margins and risks of rushing a car build — both his sister entries at Team Penske, the No. 2 of Josef Newgarden and the No. 12 of Will Power, found themselves enveloped in a technical inspection snafu that led to at least one heated exchange on pitlane among a Penske Corp. executive and the owner of Team Penske's fiercest rivals. According to IndyCar's statements on the matter, both the Nos. 2 and 12 cars failed pre-qualifying technical inspection, forfeiting their guaranteed attempts for a shot at the Fast Six and ultimately the pole. The issue at hand: an unapproved body fit on the rear attenuator on both cars, where Team Penske employees filled two different pieces of the attenuator with something akin to glue or putty, which could potentially serve as an aerodynamic advantage. 'It's an unfortunate day for us in a lot of ways,' Team Penske IndyCar president Tim Cindric told assembled media after the team's offending cars were rolled back to its garages in Gasoline Alley. The team's three entries that swept the front row of last year's Indy 500 will start 10th (McLaughlin), 11th (Newgarden) and 12th (Power) off of qualifying times from Saturday. 'Internally, we need to have a bit better process. 'You can win from the fourth row. It isn't the first row, but we'll give it a shot, and we're certainly confident in the cars that we have and the team we have. It's unfortunate that we didn't give our drivers a chance to do it or the fans a show, but we'll pick up and move forward.' A somewhat muddied timeline of events was largely cleared up Sunday evening when IndyCar president Doug Boles met with reporters for an eight-minute scrum outside IndyCar's admin truck near its technical inspection tent. Among the revelations from Boles: Doyel: Team Penske dumbest cheaters of all time or haplessly innocent? Before that decision was made, Team Penske mechanics and crew members thrashed around both cars, taking a variety of tools to the back ends of both the Nos. 2 and 12 cars in an apparent attempt to remove the filled-in seams in hope that doing so might allow them to be admitted to make a run, even as Cindric admitted knowing that IndyCar's rules plainly state that once cars pass through tech ahead of Indy 500 qualifying, they may only receive adjustments to tire pressures and wing angles. 'When we asked if we could modify or change that before we ran, it was understood at least initially that we might be able to do that,' Cindric said. 'We'd been told we could possibly change the attenuator or do something else, and we were willing to do whatever.' It was at this time that multiple sources say Chip Ganassi, longtime owner of his namesake team which has won four of the last five IndyCar titles as well as the 2022 Indy 500, engaged in a heated exchange on pit lane with Jonathan Gibson, Penske Corp. executive vice president of marketing and business development, where Ganassi was heard saying, 'Don't make me (expletive) say something. They think they can just go through tech and do whatever they want out there.' 'If I was one of the competitors, I'd have the same argument,' Cindric said. 'We were obviously willing to fix that and do something basically that conformed in the eyes of the officials. Internally, we need to have a bit better process, but yeah, if you don't pass inspection at that point in time, you don't get the chance to go. There was no use really in putting one or both of our cars out there and doing a qualifying run and putting our drivers at risk if we knew it essentially hadn't passed inspection on the way through. 'At the end of the day, we didn't do it right.' Cindric said he went into the team's garages to survey the mangled parts of the No. 3 and determined after inspecting the wreckage that McLaughlin's car had not been modified in the same manner. 'In our eyes, it's not a performance advantage, but at the end of the day, if they don't like the seam being filled, they don't like the seam being filled,' Cindric said. 'It's not a safety issue whatsoever. You would argue whether it is or isn't (a performance advantage), but it's no different than what you see in NASCAR or whatever else. Everyone's trying to make the cars as sleek as you can. In house, we've got to look at ourselves and ask why we're doing certain things one way or another, but at the end of the day, I think they're just trying to make the cars look nice. 'But you've got to do what the inspection process is and conform to that, and we'll live with it and start on the fourth row. I guess I'd rather know it doesn't conform now rather than arguing about it after qualifying or during the race or whenever else. I'd rather just move on.' The paddock, on the other hand, isn't about to. He said it: Pato O'Ward doesn't mince words after Penske's mishap As some teams pour over photos and videos of the weekend in an attempt to uncover any evidence that the illegally filled in seams were present on the Team Penske cars for Saturday's qualifying action, there are other paddock members frankly disappointed for the series that these lightning rod issues continue to crop up that create doubt and dissension in the product and the process of American open-wheel racing. As IndyStar reported this spring, Penske Entertainment officials have held discussions regarding the possibility of adopting an independent race control arm — either via seeking out an already created racing governing body like USAC or the FIA to rule over it, or creating some wholly new organization that sits outside the purview of IndyCar, Penske Entertainment and Penske Corp.— as conflict of interest concerns, or rather the perception of such, seep into the series' negotiations with current and future manufacturers who aren't satisfied with the status quo. No one has come out and said they whole heartedly believe anyone within Penske Entertainment or IndyCar has made any attempts to favor Team Penske in any way, but on days like Sunday when some crucially important questions remain unanswered — namely, why were those parts tampered with; were the tampered attenuators on the Team Penske cars on Saturday; and if so, why weren't they discovered? — a dark cloud on the sport gains another dimension entirely. An Andretti Global car with a missing piece, or a Prema Racing car without its fire extinguishing system properly setup — both issues discovered at Thermal — become hours-long news cycles easily brushed off by varying levels of accident or ineptitude. Violations of the on-track product by the team whose ultimate boss also lords over those who run the sport will never be easy for many in the paddock to swallow. 'They weren't accidentally doing it, because they had a blowtorch right there in order to get it out,' front-row qualifier Pato O'Ward said. 'Honestly, I feel for (bumped 500 driver) Jacob Abel and for everybody that did the Last Chance Shootout. Because (the Team Penske cars) weren't in regulation. 'I'm not an engineer, so I can't tell you what they were doing or how much speed that's (worth) or if it is any speed. But obviously, it's not in regulations. The rule is pretty black and white.' Said team manager from a separate organization: '(Not) modifying a stock part is a golden rule in this sport. Certainly, McLaughlin was prepared the same way.' Said another: 'I don't believe a single bit that the No. 3 was unlike the other two.' Boles said he'd yet to speak with Cindric, and neither had he gotten his own eyes on the attenuator of the No. 3 car to confirm the Team Penske IndyCar president's assertions that McLaughlin's car had been in compliance before his crash. When he was prompted by the concerns of others in the paddock, his response was simply, 'All I can tell you ... it was found today.' Additionally, Boles said nothing in IndyCar's rulebook would allow the series to send cars that had theoretically qualified for the 500 via their Day 1 times — times that some will believe were set with with legally prepared cars — be erased and sent to Last Chance Qualifying. When asked by IndyStar whether he could confirm that the changes that ran afoul of IndyCar's rules were made in the time between Saturday's action and Sunday's, or if they'd been on the car all weekend, Cindric replied in a text message to IndyStar: 'I'm done responding to all of this.' Standing a few feet away from Cindric as he held his media availability outside the team's garages was a fan sporting a white T-shirt with a large logo mocked up in an identical style to that of Team Penske with the black, bold, all-caps, italic letters, two lines and a red line running horizontally through the two lines of text. That person's shirt read, "Team Cheaters," and immediately after Cindric's scrum interview was complete, the bystander could be heard saying loud enough for Cindric to hear, 'You're living up to your reputation.'
