Team Penske confirms Indy race day replacements

In the wake of the firings that took its three race strategists off their drivers’ timing stands, Team Penske will rely on its engineering strength to fill the voids for the rest of the Indianapolis 500.

Starting with Friday’s two-hour Carb Day final practice session, Josef Newgarden’s race engineer Luke Mason will shift over to the race strategist role formerly held by Team Penske’s departed president Tim Cindric. Mason will work alongside Raul Prados on the No. 2 Chevy; Prados won the race last year with Newgarden when Cindric and Mason were suspended by Roger Penske following the push-to-pass ordeal leading into May.

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On Scott McLaughlin’s No. 3 Chevy, it’s another case of the race engineer sliding over to the race strategist’s seat as Ben Bretzman, replacing the departed Kyle Moyer, will call the race while Malcolm Finch gets elevated to race engineer.

And on Will Power’s No. 12 Chevy, Porsche Penske Motorsport team principal Jonathan Diuguid, a former race engineer on Helio Castroneves’ Penske entry, returns to the strategist role at Indy, albeit with a different entry, after standing in for Cindric last year on the No. 2 Chevy that went to victory circle. Among all the changes, only Power’s race engineer David Faustino is remaining in his primary role for the race.