Team Penske’s Tim Cindric steps back from his day-to-day leadership role

Tim Cindric, long considered the right hand of Roger Penske, will step back from day-to-day duties leading racing operations for the organization. Cindric, who was inducted into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame just days ago, will remain as president of the team’s IndyCar’s efforts, and will also have oversight to the team’s racing archives and historical assets.

Cindric first joined Team Penske in 1999, and took over the role of president in 2006. He served as an IndyCar race strategist for both Will Power and Josef Newgarden in recent years, and will continue in that role, the team confirmed. Cindric was suspended, along with three other executives at Penske, as part of the push-to-pass cheating scandal last year.

“I have lived my dream job for the past 25 years as the overall leader of the Penske Racing organization,” said Cindric in a statement released on Friday. He went on to note that this was his own decision. “I’ve had the opportunity to work with some of the best people in the business while achieving many milestones together. I’ve decided I need to make a change that provides me with the flexibility I need at this stage of my career. I appreciate the understanding Roger has provided throughout our conversations and I’m confident this team will continue to succeed as we have a proven leadership team in all areas.”

Elsewhere in the organization, key members will now report directly to Roger Penske for the start of the 2025 season, including Ron Ruzewski (managing director of the IndyCar program), Michael Nelson (president on the NASCAR side), and Jonathan Diuguid (managing director of Porsche Penske Motorsport, which just won the Rolex 24 at Daytona).