Latest news with #PenskeCorporation
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Roger Penske Talks Big Indy 500 Rating, Sellout And Team Penske Moves
Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Roger Penske gives the command, 'Drivers, Start Your Engines" at ... More the 109th Indianapolis 500 on May 29, 2025 DETROIT – Last Sunday's 109th Indianapolis 500 included a grandstand sellout of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time since 2016, and FOX Sports produced the largest television audience for an Indy 500 in 17 years. With 7.01 million viewers, including a peak audience of 8.05 million from 4:15 to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time, Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Roger Penske could take a victory lap. 'Well, when it comes down to FOX, they were outstanding,' Penske told me in an exclusive interview in Detroit. 'They told me when we originally shook hands to put the relationship together that they'd take the sport to the next level. 'And when I saw some of the advertisements for the race during the Super Bowl, I told FOX Sports CEO Eric Shanks, 'You are a man of your word.' 'From that point on, you could see the momentum that we had with the race, the TV, the coverage, the celebrities, the Blackhawk helicopters on the Parade Lap. 'And guess what? 'Legitimately over 330,000 people were at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and to sell out the grandstands was just amazing.' Penske is one of the world's great businessmen and one of the top industrialists in the United States. The Penske Corporation has 77,000 employees worldwide specializing in the transportation industry. But his love is the Indianapolis 500, and the 88-year-old Penske loved what he saw last Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 'When you think about the fans themselves, the demographics and the kids and the people were there, you have to be there and look at the impact that it has for the State of Indiana,' Penske told me. 'Probably $1 billion dollars coming out of that race weekend and the rest of things we do there. 'So, I could only say FOX was a great quarterback.' The Indianapolis 500 is cool again among the younger generation and that is important because it was always deemed cool from younger fans beginning after World War, II to the mid-1990s. Then came the infamous, split between CART and the Indy 500 over the creation of the Indy Racing League. But in recent years, more younger fans are turning out at the Indianapolis 500 and that is very important to the rise of success that continues to happen at Indy in May. That is also evident by the television numbers as FOX brings a more youthful approach to its telecasts of the NTT IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500. 'I think one thing you've got to take a look at is that the 18- to 36-year-olds was up 100 percent when you looked at TV audience,' Penske said. 'I would say that we also had a tremendous amount of young people, a lot more women than we've had in the past. So, the sport I think is resonating across, many different age groups, certainly from the standpoint of the fan base. 'But more important, the fact that we were able to deliver an event like that on Memorial Day, for the men and women in our military, the first responders. 'When you look at the outcome, I think our team, Doug Boles (IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway President), Mark Miles (Penske Entertainment CEO), the whole team there did an outstanding job.' The race day experience is also bigger and better than ever. That was one of Penske's visions when he purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from the Hulman-George Family on November 4, 2019. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the 2020 Indy 500 to be held without spectators, Penske plan to improve the race day experience is his No. 1 priority. 'Well, I think it's come together very steady, and we're not done yet because what we are concerned about, how do we make the guests, the fans, have a greater experience?' Penske responded. 'And that certainly is what we're trying to do, and I think we're accomplishing that each and every race.' As the owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar and the Indianapolis 500, the Month of May was a big success for Penske. But as team owner of Team Penske, he was forced to dismiss three key members of management after the team was rocked by a second scandal in as many years. Last year, it was manipulation of the push-to-pass system in the season-opening race at St. Petersburg. Penske suspended team leadership from being at Indy in 2025. When a second scandal hit on Pole Day when the teams for the No. 2 Chevrolet for Josef Newgarden and the No. 12 Chevrolet for Will Power had modified the rear attenuator, Penske took strong and decisive action. Team Penske IndyCar President Tim Cindric, along with the team's Managing Director Ron Ruzewski and General Manager Kyle Moyer were dismissed from the team. I asked Penske how important it was to get out in front of that and regain control of what had happened at Team Penske, he gave a short, but direct, response. 'Well, I think it's all been said,' Penske said. 'I don't think I have to say it again. 'We understand the penalty. We accepted the penalty, and we're moving on.' Penske gave high praise for this year's Indianapolis 500 winner, Alex Palou of Spain. He is proving that he is a generational talent and could ultimately become one of the greatest drivers in IndyCar history. But Penske gave even higher praise to team owner Chip Ganassi. 'Remember, it takes a team to make a winner, and I'd have to say, Ganassi is a pro team,' Penske told me. 'They've had success at Indy and obviously winning a number of IndyCar Series championships, so I think the combination is first class. 'They are going to be tough to beat all year.' Penske has made a career by being tough to beat, both in business and in racing. As a team owner, he has won a record 20 Indy 500s. Penske knows a winner when he sees one and this year's Indy 500 was a big win for his organization, for FOX and for IndyCar fans. For just the third time in the last three decades, Sunday's Indianapolis 500 will be the most watched motorsports event on American television as 7.01 million viewers tuned into the FOX broadcast with a peak of 8.5 million for the climactic ending from 4:15 to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. By comparison, 6.4 million viewers watched February's Daytona 500, also on FOX. The only other times the Indy 500 has received a higher rating than the Daytona 500 was in 1995 and 2021. It was also the most-watched Indianapolis 500 in 17 years (7,245,000 viewers in 2008). This is the first year all IndyCar Series races are broadcast on FOX including the Indianapolis 500. The network has aggressively promoted the NTT IndyCar Series and interest level in this form of racing appears to be on the rise. It was also the first time since the 100th Indianapolis 500 in 2016 that all grandstand seats were sold out. Indianapolis Motor Speedway President and IndyCar Series President Doug Boles announced the attendance at 350,000 spectators during Monday night's Indianapolis 500 Victory Celebration at the JW Marriott Hotel in downtown Indianapolis. The Indianapolis 500 purse record was broken for the fourth year in a row for the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, with first-time winner Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing earning $3.8 million from a total purse of $20,283,000. It was the largest purse in the century-plus history of 'The Greatest Spectacle in Racing' on the heels of four consecutive record-breaking years. This year's average payout for NTT IndyCar Series drivers was $596,500, which also exceeds last year's average of $543,000. In 2024, the Indianapolis 500 purse was $18,456,000, and the year's winner payout was $4.3 million, which included a $440,000 roll-over bonus from BorgWarner for earning back-to-back wins. In 2023, the Indianapolis 500 purse was $17,021,500, and the winner earned $3.7 million. In 2022, the Indianapolis 500 purse was $16,000,200, and the winner earned $3.1 million. Prior to 2022, the largest Indianapolis 500 purse was $14.4 million for the 2008 Indianapolis 500.
Fox Sports
22-05-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Will Power calls Penske dismissals 'a pity,' Josef Newgarden tight-lipped
INDIANAPOLIS — Josef Newgarden wouldn't say much about the drama surrounding his attempt at a third consecutive Indianapolis 500 victory, as Newgarden and teammate Will Power attempt to rally from the rear of the field on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Newgarden views his challenge as a "mountain" that he "absolutely" can win after upheaval in the Team Penske organization. "Right now, I'm trying to remain — what's the way to put this — trying to remain happy," Newgarden said. "This is the Indy 500. I look forward to this time of year every season. "I can't wait. ... To see all the people that show up and make this what it is, I look forward to that. That's how I feel right now. I'm ready to go racing." INDYCAR officials found the Newgarden and Power cars had attenuators with the seams filled (considered an illegal modification) prior to the qualifying session Sunday for the top-12 cars from qualifying Saturday. Newgarden and Power were eventually moved to the rear of the field, their strategists were suspended for the 500 and their teams were fined $100,000. Those penalties were issued on Monday morning by INDYCAR and about 48 hours later, Roger Penske announced he had dismissed three main members of the organization's INDYCAR executive team – president Tim Cindric, managing director, Ron Ruzewski and general manager Kyle Moyer. In addition to their executive duties, they also served as team strategists for each of the Penske drivers. "I don't want to disappoint or offend anybody," Newgarden said during his Indianapolis 500 media day news conference. "I'm here to talk about the race." Newgarden will have engineer Luke Mason as his strategist. Scott McLaughlin (who starts 10th after crashing Sunday morning and never presenting a car for the final qualifying round) will have engineer Ben Bretzman as his strategist. Power will have Jonathan Diuguid as his strategist. Diuguid filled in as Newgarden's strategist last year. "It's kind of a shock and a pity," Power said about the dismissals. "They're all extremely good at their job. It was just the pressure from outside. "Roger had to make a tough decision, but I can tell you these were very credible people. They really were. The infraction was very minor. It wasn't a performance gain." The amount of performance gained could be debatable. But what's not debatable is the impact it had on the Penske brand, as Penske Corporation owns the three race teams, the INDYCAR Series and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The qualifying infraction could be characterized as significant but not major, since it's unclear if there was a performance advantage. That's different from the one last year at St. Petersburg. That's where Newgarden and McLaughlin were disqualified (Newgarden had won the race) for engaging push-to-pass on the restarts before regulations allowed them to do so closer to the end of the first lap on the restart. Power said Penske told them he didn't sleep the night before making the decision to release three lieutenants who had been with the organization for at least a decade (Cindric had been there since 1999). Tim Cindric posted on X: "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!" As far as being angry or wanting to beat anyone who might have pointed out the issue to INDYCAR officials, Power said he isn't focused on what happened. "I'm just very focused on the race. I'm not really out to get anyone," Power said. "It's the circumstance that it is, and we're all very motivated to have a good day, sort of try to put this stuff behind us. News cycles move pretty quick, so if you can throw a win in there, that would certainly be a good way to move forward." There are few who would doubt that the Penske organization can move forward. "I don't think the team is going to be affected at all, to be honest," said former Penske driver Helio Castroneves. "Those cars still are really darn fast." 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 BEST OF FOX SPORTS' INDY 500 COVERAGE: Ranking Indy 500 drivers from 33 to 1: Can anyone unseat Josef Newgarden? Got milk? 33 potential Indy 500 winners pick preferred dairy option Pato O'Ward pens letter to Indy 500: 'Had my heart broken here … but it also fuels me' No oval experience, no problem: Rookie Robert Shwartzman captures Indy 500 pole Rash of Crash: Inside a wild weekend of wrecks during Indy 500 prep From 'magical' to 'legendary': Drivers describe the Indy 500 in one word 2025 Indy 500 liveries: See the designs of all 34 cars on the track at The Brickyard Counting down the 25 most memorable moments in Indy 500 history recommended Get more from NTT INDYCAR SERIES Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Hindustan Times
21-05-2025
- Automotive
- Hindustan Times
Austin Cindric's father Tim Cindric, two other executives fired by Penske; Here's why
Roger Penske on Wednesday terminated team president Tim Cindric, IndyCar general manager Kyle Moyer, and managing director Ron Ruzewski following an Indianapolis 500 cheating incident. Tim Cindric, the father of NASCAR Cup Series driver Austin Cindric, has been a mainstay of the team for a long time. In a statement, Penske stated, 'Nothing is more important than the integrity of our sport and our race teams.' Highlighting the 'organizational failures' in the last two years, the Chairperson of the Penske Corporation said, 'We had to make necessary changes. I apologize to our fans, our partners and our organization for letting them down.'
