Concerns over Penske leadership run deep in IndyCar Series ahead of oval sweep

Team Penske secured a historic front-row lockout at the 2024 Indy 500 in a season of concerning dominance.

Of the five remaining races in the 2024 IndyCar Series season schedule, four will take place at oval circuits — three of them short ovals rumored to benefit Team Penske more than any others — leaving drivers like Scott Dixon to voice their concerns in the media.

Speaking to Motorsport.com, Dixon seemed to suggest that Roger Penske, owner of both the IndyCar series and of Team Penske, may have designed the schedule in such a way that it favors his team. Dixon, though, isn’t the only one.

Scott Dixon: “Definitely interesting” track selection for 2024 IndyCar season

Six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon told Motorsport.com that the final five races closing out the season are on tracks that he finds” definitely interesting.”

“We’ve got one road course left,” Dixon said, referring to the event at Portland International Raceway.

Other than that, the final events will take place on ovals, leaving Dixon to reflect, “What is it, four short tracks? Should be good for the Penskes, I guess. Whether it was tailored that way, I have no idea.”

IndyCar has faced heavy scrutiny for the evolution of its schedule over the past several years. In 2024, the early part of the calendar featured no oval-track events until the series headed to Indianapolis for the iconic 500. In the past, an oval event at Texas Motor Speedway in the build-up to the 500 offered drivers a chance to get accustomed to the sensation of oval-track racing before heading to the series’ crown jewel race.

However, the final sweep of the schedule includes a bevy of ovals: one race at Gateway, two races at the Milwaukee Mile, and one race at Nashville Superspeedway.

The Nashville finale is particularly fraught; when the initial 2024 schedule was announced, Nashville’s street circuit was pinned to play host to IndyCar’s season finale. Many teams built sponsorship packages around that big final event, only for the race to be swapped to an oval well outside of downtown Nashville just before the start of the season.

Though the change was necessary — construction on part of the projected street circuit would mean IndyCar simply could not race downtown — the handling of the rescheduling rankled. Many teams discovered the change via social media and were left to deal with the sponsor fall-out alone, without support from the series or its Penske management.

It is understandable that drivers like Dixon — a Honda driver for Chip Ganassi Racing — would be annoyed by the oval-heavy sweep. A Penske driver has won every other oval race in 2024, and there is an expectation that Penske will be dominant at the remaining events.

Dixon did admit to Motorsport.com that Chip Ganassi had provided a great car for him at Iowa’s oval double-header, but it may not be enough to combat an expected Penske onslaught.

“Milwaukee will be interesting,” he told Motorsport.com. “They’ve really got to work on the formula for those tracks because nobody wants to just follow the leader.

“Unfortunately, with the repave at Iowa, that kind of ruined the best short track we’ve had for a good five, 10 years.”

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Further, PlanetF1.com understands that Scott Dixon isn’t the only person concerned about the current trajectory of the IndyCar schedule, nor is he the only person concerned about Penske’s leadership.

In several off-the-record conversations with multiple Honda-affiliated personnel throughout the entirety of 2024, there are rising concerns that current management has failed to grasp the concerns of a majority of teams on the grid.

Those concerns are wide-ranging and include everything from the delayed introduction of hybrid powertrains, the last-minute season finale swap from the streets of downtown Nashville to an oval circuit, and the introduction of additional ovals to the calendar that favor Penske more than any other team.

Dixon’s comments seem to suggest that the dissatisfaction is ongoing, and that few of those concerns have been properly addressed.

Adding further insult to injury is the fact that Team Penske was at the heart of a cheating scandal earlier this season, where driver Josef Newgarden was found to have won the season opener at St. Pete by illegally using Push to Pass — a button that offers a boost of power designed to aid overtaking — on restarts.

PlanetF1.com learned that many in the IndyCar paddock felt that the punishment for having broken the rules — disqualifications, financial fines, and the banning of key team members for the Indy 500 — were not sufficient, and that Penske’s ownership of both the team and the series remained at the heart of that punishment’s insufficiency.

The dissatisfaction in the series is strong, and it has only been simmering as the season progresses. As we approach these next oval races, we will likely hear far more from drivers or other team personnel about their concerns regarding the schedule’s organization.

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