Scott Dixon takes aim at Penske after Indy 500 controversy: I’m here to race legally

Chip Ganassi Racing driver Scott Dixon has taken aim at Team Penske after two of its three cars failed to clear technical inspection during qualifying for the Indianapolis 500.

With Penske having been caught modifying the rear accentuator on two of its three Chevrolet-powered cars, a number of rival drivers and teams have given their thoughts on the scandal.

Arrow McLaren chief Zak Brown said the saga raises questions over the “integrity” of the decision-makers at Penske, while claiming that the changes to the spec part were made deliberately.

Former Indy 500 winner Dixon has now chipped in with his opinion, saying the whole controversy is not a good look for the series, which is owned by Roger Penske himself.

“It’s not my problem, I’m here to race legally,” he said. “It’s just a bad look, right? It’s (owner) Roger’s (Penske) series and his track. 

“It’s not anything any of us wants to see. But it is what it is. It’s kinda sad.”

CGR managing director Mike Hull emphasises the importance of protecting the “integrity” of a race the scale of the Indy 500 when askedfor his thoughts about the incident.

“The Indianapolis 500 is a global event. It’s not a domestic event,” he said. “It’s not an inside [Interstate] 465 event. It’s a global event and it needs to be handled with integrity. Integrity by the teams that are represented on the grid.”

IndyCar found an illegally modified rear accentuator on the cars of both Josef Newgarden and Will Power ahead of the final part of qualifying on Sunday.

Both drivers were subsequently sent to the back of the grid on Monday, while Penske has been fined $100,000 for each entry.

Scott McLaughlin is the only Penske driver not to have been affected by the chaos, as IndyCar did not find any modifications after impounding his car on Sunday.

Meyer Shank’s Helio Castroneves defended his former team in the wake of the drama, saying Penske doesn’t “need anything like that to go fast.”

“I believe they did something to look good. I don’t think that little lip is going to make them 3 mph faster,” he said.

“To be honest, I know how Roger operates. He wants to make everything beautiful, perfect, shiny. And I believe it was for that, touching that area you’re not supposed to."

“They don’t need anything like that to go fast,” Castroneves said. “I don’t see this as a situation that people are creating and making a big deal.”

NASCAR Cup Series star Kyle Larson, who will compete in the Indy 500 with Arrow McLaren, said he’d prefer to stay away from the saga and focus his efforts on completing double duty on the Memorial Day weekend.

“I don’t have an opinion on it. I stay out of it,” Larson said. “Even on the NASCAR side, when [Chris] Buescher got his penalty, I didn’t know what it was and didn't really care. It doesn’t affect me and our team, so I don’t get involved with other teams.”