Moving on from Tim Cindric

MADISON, Ill. — Overcast skies with humid heat and drizzling rain covered World Wide Technology Raceway. The driver interview area inside the garage area, however, was dry as could be. Will Power strolled into the room with his clean pressed, red Team Penske shirt and black pants.

He and teammate Josef Newgarden showed no sign of reeling from Tim Cindric’s dismissal from the team.

“Obviously, people have had to step up, obviously not the best situation,” Power said.

Roger Penske fired Cindric, along with two other top officials of Team Penske’s IndyCar operations, on May 21, in the wake of a second cheating scandal in the span of a year.

At press time, Team Penske hasn’t tapped anyone to replace Cindric or Ron Ruzewski and Kyle Moyer to take over the INDYCAR operations, but it’s motivated others at the team to show they can move into those higher positions.

“So, you know, I think in the off season, obviously start to fill from the bottom, very deep talent there, so people are able to take up the slack,” Power said.

It’s probably too early to judge whether or not Cindric’s dismissal affected the performance of Team Penske, as two races is too small a sample size. In that time, however, Power finished 16th in the Indianapolis 500 and fourth in the Detroit Grand Prix (where he led his first lap of the season).

Power followed Friday’s interview by taking pole position for Sunday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 with a two-lap average speed of 180.329 mph.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

Tucker White
Tucker White
I've followed NASCAR for well over 20 years of my life, both as a fan and now as a member of the media. As of 2024, I'm on my ninth season as a traveling NASCAR beat writer. For all its flaws and dumb moments, NASCAR at its best produces some of the best action you'll ever see in the sport of auto racing. Case in point: Kyle Larson's threading the needle pass at Darlington Raceway on May 9, 2021. On used-up tires, racing on a worn surface and an aero package that put his car on the razor's edge of control, Larson demonstrated why he's a generational talent. Those are the stories I want to capture and break down. In addition to NASCAR, I also follow IndyCar and Formula 1. As a native of Knoxville, Tennessee, and a graduate of the University of Tennessee, I'm a diehard Tennessee Volunteers fan (especially in regards to Tennessee football). If covering NASCAR doesn't kill me, down the road, watching Tennessee football will. I'm also a diehard fan of the Atlanta Braves, and I lived long enough to see them win a World Series for the first time since 1995 (when I was just a year old). I've also sworn my fan allegiance to the Nashville Predators, though that's not paid out as much as the Braves. Furthermore, as a massive sports dork, I follow the NFL on a weekly basis. Though it's more out of an obligation than genuine passion (for sports dorks, following the NFL is basically an unwritten rule). Outside of sports, I'm a major cinema buff and a weeb. My favorite film is "Blazing Saddles" and my favorite anime is "Black Lagoon."

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