Roger Penske's key staff member opens up on his downshift from operations

Team Penske's president Tim Cindric, recently took a surprising decision. He has officially stepped down from overseeing all of the team's sporting activities.

Cindric, has, however, come up with a detailed explanation behind his decision. The 56-year-old wants to focus more on improving Roger Penske's IndyCar operation. In light of this, Cindric shed light on the tough conversation he had with Roger Penske.

"I think initially, he thought I had other plans (to join another team) and, and I’m like, ‘Oh, no, Roger, just so you understand, I’ve only ever talked to my wife about this. I haven’t talked to anybody else. Nobody’s asking me to go work somewhere else. I’m not. There’s no other agenda other than what I’m telling you.’ And he’s like, ‘OK, I get it. Come up to Detroit and you and I will talk about it.’ And it was a great conversation between him and I for a few hours," Cindric said via Racer.

He added:

"I said, ‘Look, with the IndyCar schedule, and, yeah, I have a minority interest in the team; I’m not looking for you to buy me out or anything like that, but if you want to go business as usual there, relative to the IndyCar team, I’ll give it a shot.’ I think I can find the balance with 17-20 weekends on the schedule there."

Despite the shake-up in Tim Cindric's role, he will retain his position as head coach and strategist for Josef Newgarden’s No. 2 Chevy. His teams have previously won the coveted IndyCar championship in the 2014, 2017 and 2019 seasons.

---

Roger Penske's Tim Cindric open to enjoying 'sport and life' in his mid-50s

While Tim Cindric will have significantly less workload in 2025, he has some plans made up. Going forward, he wants to experience everything that life has to offer, be it via sport or outside of it.

"I might actually get to go to Amelia Island or Goodwood. Or go see and experience some of the other things in life that are out there," Cindric added (via the Racer).

Cindric has been working in American motorsports since 1994 and has played his part in making it popular. His contributions are tremendous and because of this, he holds a great reputation within Roger Penske's team and the whole American motorsports fraternity.

When it comes to the 56-year-old's family, his son Austin, triumphed in the 2022 Daytona 500 and also previously raced in competitions like the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, Pirelli World Challenge, ARCA and several NASCAR events.

With Tim Cindric giving more attention to Team Penske's IndyCar project, the upcoming 2025 season will be a fascinating watch from the viewpoint of the fans of the Mooresville-based outfit.