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The discussion of the NTT IndyCar Series championship shifting to independent officiating has become hot again after being a hot topic back in 2023. However, Roger Penske's second-in-command, Bud Denker, has denied it.
IndyCar and Penske Corporation CEO and owner Roger Penske leads Team Penske, which has three cars competing in the 2025 season.
The Indy 500 race of 2023 saw a red flag waved after a late crash, prompting a rapid return to green flag racing without the traditional warmup lap. Amidst the confusion, the drivers had to swiftly resume racing. The controversial decision allowed Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden to snatch victory from Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Ericsson at the greatest spectacle of motor racing.
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There have been no calls from race control that generated accusations of favoritism so far this year, and the debate's emergence is understood to be based on a more general desire. According to Penske Corporation president Bud Denker, the company doesn't have any plans to shift to independent officiating any time soon. (via racer)
“It’s been tossed around since we bought the series,” Denker told RACER. “You’re not going to see anything that’s imminent regarding that at all, because we trust what’s going on with [race director] Kyle [Novak] and race control and all they do and the rules they make and the stewarding they make. There’s nothing imminent on the horizon.”
All three drivers of Team Penske are in the top 10 of the championship standings, with Scott McLaughlin at P8 (69 pts), Will Power at P9 (63 pts), and Josef Newgarden at P10 (58 pts).
When Roger Penske shut down rumors of Formula 1 owners buying IndyCar
Roger Penske has branches in almost every racing series in the world, but his primary focus remains IndyCar, as he owns both the championship and the most prestigious track on the calendar, i.e., Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
In the early 2000s, Formula 1 failed to establish its roots in the United States. The otherwise popular discipline of motorsport did not return to the States for a span of five years, from 2008 to 2011. However, the scenario changed when Liberty Media took over, and F1 witnessed exponential growth.
Following that, in 2022, IndyCar's paddock was engulfed in the rumor that Liberty Media made an offer to buy the American series out. However, Penske vehemently denied it (via Racer):
"That’s the dumbest thing I’ve heard. Let me tell you this, it doesn’t make any sense to me. You cannot own the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and not have the ability to support IndyCar, or vice versa."
"IndyCar is nothing without Indianapolis, and we’re all-in. There’s not enough money that would even tempt me to sell it. I don’t need to; I’m not in it for the money," Roger Penske added.
The next race, the fourth round of the NTT IndyCar Series Championship, will be the Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, on May 5.
