Roger Penske and his IndyCar team have made headlines at the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge for the wrong reasons.

It all started Sunday during Top 12 qualifying when both Josef Newgarden and Will Power were found with modified attenuators. That brought on major penalties from the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, which Penske owns, where Newgarden and Power will be sent to the rear of the field of the 200-lap Indy 500, starting 32nd and 33rd.

Additionally, IndyCar suspended the team strategists for the Nos. 2 and 12 teams for the remainder of the Indy 500, forced Newgarden and Power to forfeit Indy 500 qualification points and each entry was fined $100,000.

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The news didn't stop there as Penske announced Wednesday he's fired IndyCar team president Tim Cindric, general manager Kyle Moyer and managing director Ron Ruzewski. Later that evening, Penske, also the owner of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, spoke out for the first time to address the whirlwind of controversy engulfing his team, which for the second straight year faces a major penalty.

Last year, Newgarden was involved in a push-to-pass scandal in the series opener at St. Petersburg where he crossed the finish line first, but ultimately fail tech.

“I would say I'm totally disappointed with the outcome, certainly on Sunday," Penske told FOX Sports' Jamie Little at the beginning of a seven-minute sitdown interview. "Really, you have to go back four-and-a-half years ago when we bought the Speedway. I said number one, that I would invest capital, get the best people, and we'd take the series and certainly Indianapolis Motor Speedway, to higher levels. I think we’ve done that.

"Then I look at my right hand and say, what about Team Penske? And what I think about Team Penske, we've really had an organization failure not once, but two times. And believe me, it hurts in my gut when you think about it. But I look at this way, there is a certain amount of credibility you have to have: It's integrity, individually and collectively, our team, the sport, and I think we let people down.

Penske expects his organization to "move on" swiftly from firing executives, namely Cindric, the IndyCar team president, with the objective remaining the same: "Our goal is to win the race this coming weekend."

A Penske win Sunday would be his 21st at the Indy 500, but it may not be the most popular among racegoers as many have criticized Penske's conflict of interest as both series owner and team owner.

EXCLUSIVE: Roger Penske, Chairman of Penske Corp, sits down with Jamie Little to address the Indy 500 qualifying rules violations that led to the dismissal of three Team Penske employees. pic.twitter.com/AyybePid10

— INDYCAR on FOX (@IndyCarOnFOX) May 21, 2025

“Well, I’ve heard the word used, 'Optics.' I would say this, as I look at my response to that, and what my M.O. has been over the last four-and-a-half years, I've not been on a pit box. I've not been in race control. I've not been in inspection. I have nothing to do with officiating, and especially nothing to do with the rules," Penske said. 

"Number one, I can look myself in a mirror and say I’ve done the right thing. Obviously, we have not done a good job at an optic for people outside this. These two violations, you would call them, certainly show the fact I need to be more diligent, and where we’re going as a team

"Certainly, yeah, I would challenge, if we go back on what we tried to accomplish, and what we have we made a lot of progress. I think independence is incredibly important for as we go forward for the credibility of the series, the teams, and everyone else, the fans, who follow IndyCar.”

Penske firmly disagrees with the notion from some observers think his teams should be withdrawn from the Indy 500.

"Number one, those cars went through inspection on Saturday, got the sticker. They performed in the Top 12 and were available to run on Sunday," Penske said. "From that point on, there was a question about our cars on Sunday. We actually pulled the cars and did not make a run because of the questions from officials. But as far as I’m concerned, they earned the right to be in the 109th running of the Indy 500.”

As far as Newgarden's race-winning 2024 Indy 500 machine having the same sealed-over attenuator that he and Power were caught with Sunday, Penske didn't deny the video and photographic evidence unearthed by various reporters that pointed out the modifications on the No. 2 car sits at the IMS Museum.

Penske said he had "nine attenuators that were modified by Dallara back at the beginning of 2024, and those have been rotated through the cars over the last 15 months."

"We also had newer ones that we bought, and those have been in the same batch," he added. "That's why you didn't see McLaughlin have an issue with his car. From my perspective, when you think about the attenuators and what happened there, my question to you is, what would we do? We know that the situation was not right from the standpoint of the officials on Sunday, but when I go back to 2024, that car was taken apart, piece by piece in detail, following the race, and it was said to be completely legal for the win.”

Would Penske be open to an independent officiating body that'd govern the IndyCar Series?

"For the last six months, we’ve talked internally as IndyCar, (CEO of IndyCar and Penske Entertainment) Mark Miles, and now of course, (IndyCar and IMS president) Doug Boles, and some outside input on how we could become more independent from the operational side of the racing, inspection, race control, etc.," he said. "So we certainly expect, and I would expect that the team at IndyCar will take a look at that and take action as you go forward."

Penske personally spoke with IndyCar team owners Wednesday to smooth over tension and concern among the paddock that's been pretty outspoken this week toward his team's infractions.

"People have come to me and said, 'You’re supposed to be a leader of this sport, and here you have these two situations.' I think the integrity of the sport, I didn’t help it any from my perspective, what I have to do," Penske said. "And I told this to the team owners, I’ve got to take the role on, along with Penske Entertainment leadership, and gain back that credibility. Because I know the Speedway here this weekend, it's world-class event, the best racing event in the world.

"The last thing I want to do is tarnish it with any kind of issues from the standpoint of inspection or any rules violation. So, you know, my thinking is we got to make it better. I have to help do that in a way that I’m not affecting anything beneficial for our team.”