The 2018 Indy 500 winner Will Power will start the 109th running of the iconic race from 33rd place, last on the grid. He is the most senior driver at Team Penske, having competed with the team since the start of the 2009 season.
Sunday will be a unique challenge for him, as he's only started from the back row for the 500 once before in his entire career, and he will do it without his chief strategist Ron Ruzewski, who was among three executives dismissed from the organization earlier this week in reaction to the modified attenuator controversy.
"Yeah, it's kind of a shock and a pity," said Power when asked about the departures in a Thursday press conference. "They're all extremely good at their job. Yeah, it was just the pressure from outside. I guess Roger [Penske] had to make a tough decision, but I can tell you these were very credible people. They really were. As you know, the infraction was very minor. It wasn't a performance gain. Yeah.
"I called Ron [Ruzewski]. Obviously he's on my car. I didn't get him. But yeah, I feel bad for everyone involved in that situation. I really do. It's just a tough -- I don't know what else to say. They're all extremely good people, great at their job, won a lot of races, championships, created an incredible team. Yeah, a real pity."
Talking to Roger Penske
Both Tim Cindric and Ruzewski were critical members of the Team Penske organization for two over two decades, while Kyle Moyer had been with the organization for over a decade.
Speaking about Penske himself, Power said, "I know it was very tough for him. He said that. It's obviously a very tough decision to make. He said he didn't sleep the night before because he had to make a very hard decision.
"I feel bad for him. He's in a very tough spot in that situation. Yeah, it wasn't really a long conversation with us. He just explained what happened. You could tell it was heavy on him. Tough, tough for him to have to do that."
Power also said Roger isn't the type of man to dwell on things and he believes Roger will be able to "move forward very quickly. I've know him over the years, he makes decisions. He moves forward. Doesn't dwell on it. Starts looking at what is absolutely best for the team and everyone to move forward. That's Roger. That's why he's so successful.
"He's not going to sit and spend a month worrying about what happened. I think he's how can we fix this and let's move forward and make sure it doesn't happen again."
No anger, only focused on the task at hand
There is no anger or resentment from Power's end with the way this all played out either, as like his boss, he is only looking forward at the task ahead of of him, noting that he's "not really out to get anyone."
He continued: "It's the circumstance that it is, and we're all very motivated to have a good day, sort of try to put this stuff behind us. Yeah, you know, news cycles move pretty quick, so if you can throw a win in there, that would certainly be a good way to move forward, yeah."
A situation like this can make or break any organization, even one as mighty as Team Penske. In last year's push-to-pass scandal, they went to Indianapolis and won the day with Josef Newgarden. Power said that this sort of thing "just kind of makes you lock in" when the green flag drops for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
"Tough situation, but we still got a job to do." Jonathan Diuguid will lead Power's efforts this weekend as his new race strategist for the 500.
