IndyCar has “no imminent” plans for independent officiating

Penske Corporation has no “imminent” plan to outsource officiating in IndyCar to an independent body despite a potential conflict of interest arising from its participation in the series.

The IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway were purchased by Penske Corporation in 2019 and placed under its subsidiary Penske Entertainment.

The US conglomerate also competes in the championship it owns via Team Penske and currently fields three Chevrolet-powered cars for Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin and Will Power.

IndyCar - and hence Penske Corporation - is directly responsible for officiating its series, unlike Formula 1 or MotoGP, where commercial and regulatory matters are handled by different organisations.

There has been a general desire from various quarters to introduce a separate body that manages the on-track action.

However, Penske Corporation president Bud Denker has suggested that the organisation will continue to have full control over officiating the series for the foreseeable future.

“It’s been tossed around since we bought bought the series,” Denker, who is Roger Penske’s right-hand man, 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.”

There has been no unease over Penske’s ownership of IndyCar in recent months. However, at the Indianapolis 500 in 2023, the race control waved the green flag without a full warm-up lap. This played into the hands of Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden, who was able to overtake Chip Ganassi rival Marcus Ericsson and score his maiden Indy 500 win.