Penske and ECR reshuffle Engineering

Although they’re not alone in the pursuit of the “Unfair Advantage!”

 

Laying dormant over thoust winter slumber, thru the new year and first four races. I’ve finally been able to track down the results of the significant engineering reshuffle at Team Penske this season. With the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle being Tim Cindric’s re-hiring.

 

Following last May’s firing of Cindric, Ron Ruzewski and Kyle Moyer, Porsche Penske Motorsport major domo Jonathan Diuguid assumed Cindric’s role and is in charge of the IndyCar and IMSA GTP programs. With Travis Law serving as Competition Director.

 

David Faustino, Will Power’s engineer and 16 year Penske veteran has been appointed as Technical Director, overseeing R&D and technical aspects of the IndyCar program.

 

Ben Bretzman, who’s served as Simon Pagenaud’s and Scott McLaughlin’s race engineer. Was promoted to Engineering Manager of Competition, overseeing all three Team Penske IndyCar’s engineering efforts.

 

Josef Schlick’ Newgarden retains His Indianapolis 500 winning race engineer Luke Mason and team boss Jonathan Diuguid as race strategist.

 

ScottyMac’, ergo Scott McLaughlin has new race engineer Raul Brados. And on the timing stand, Tim Cindric as strategist.

 

David Malukas continues with James Schnadel as race engineer, the pair working together at Foyt last year. While Travis Law steps up to being a first time race strategist.

 

Matt Johnsson, a former chief mechanic becomes the new Assembly Manager. While Robbie Atikson becomes the new Team Manager.

 

Another IndyCar team making significant changes over winter was Ed Carpenter Racing. (ECR) With Matt Barnes being elevated to Vice President of Competition.

 

Thus relative newcomer Quentin Montigaud, who becomes Alexander Rossi’s new strategist. As the former Formula E employee will also engineer Rossi’s car, after serving as performance engineer last year on the No. 20 ECR entry. While Christian Rasmussen’s No. 21 entry retains Peter Craik.

 

Robert Gue, former Arrow Mclaren and Prema Racing employee joins ECR as Special Projects Manager. Derek Davidson, former Rahal Letterman Lanigan (RLL) chief mechanic and team manager becomes ECR’s new team manager. And Chase Campbell has been hired as the team’s first ever Stregth and Conditioning coach; also overseeing pit stop practice for both entries, and serve as pit stop coach.

 

On an unrelated note. Ryan Briscoe, former sporting director of Prema Racing, has taken up a similar role for RLL, working with its three drivers, primarily newcomer Mick Schumacher. While veteran engineer Mike Pawlowski who recently worked with Kyle Larson, becomes Schumacher’s race engineer.

 

Then after finishing this story. I spotted news that Pawlowski will shift to an R&D engineering role at RLL, since the chemistry between Him and Mick wasn’t panning out.

 

Veteran engineer Ed Jones will fill-in at Barber, and remain with Schumacher thru Long Beach. Then shifts over to Takuma Sato’s No. 75 entry for theIMS Open test and Indianapolis 500. With the team using this time to determine who Schumacher’s next race engineer for the remainder of the season will be. 

Another NASCAR Lawsuit

As a rival team accuses Spire Motorsports of putting the Spy into NASCAR!

 

Oh yeah, in my riveting, elongated St Pete weekend recap. As typical, I ran outta room to scribble about the current lawsuit in NASCAR.

 

As Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) has added Spire Motorsports to its lawsuit against former JGR employee Chris Gabehart.

 

JGR alleges that Gabehart, its former Competition Director has illegally taken proprietary information with Him to His new employer Spire Motorsports, where He’s been named their Chief Motorsports Officer. Presumably tabbed with improving Spire’s ontrack performance.

 

Over the St Pete weekend, Gabehart made His first official appearance as an Spire employee, albeit supposedly just chillin’ in their suite.

 

As the Judge presiding in the case, ruled in JGR’s restraint lawsuit that Gabehart could work for Spire, as long as He didn’t perform any of His previous JGR duties. And that Gabehart needed to return any and all “illegal” matrrials in His possession to JGR. With the Judge imploring both parties to come to a settlement before March 15th.

 

Joe Gibbs Racing adds Spire Motorsports to Chris Gabehart lawsuit 

More Belated Driver news

Since Der Wurld de Motorsporten never Sleeps!

 

Yeah, its been strange for Mwah the past few months. Waiting and waiting to get my ‘Ol Desktop Confuzer’ upgraded to Windows 11 specification before the enforced October 14th deadline. Which I’ll scribble about in another riveting No Fenders post, albeit, its been very liberating not madly poondin’ away on thoust keyboard…

 

Naturally, this has caused me to try poondin’ out copious stories for future consumption, like this one. Hence my prose is somewhat outdated.

 

Case-in-point was after having finished scribblin’ about some Belated Driver news. We got another IndyCar Driver’s confirmation along with several teams testing.

 

Be still my beating Heart! Did Dale Coyne actually announce His second IndyCar driver and assign car numbers before Halloween. Trick or Treat?

 

Thus Arse-sumedly everyone knows about Dale Coyne Racing (DCR) having confirmed reigning Indy NXT Champion Dennis Hauger as one of its two drivers for next year.

 

Along with their new technical alliance with Andretti Global. Which sees DCR receiving componentry and engineering set-up advice. Guessing that means Dampers, i.e.; Shocks from Andretti?

 

Whilst Coyne will rely upon its own in-house Engineering staff, most notably noted engineer Michael Cannon. With Dale Coyne noting how Cannon and Craig Hansen, now at Andretti, have worked together in the past. And have a good relationship.

 

And speaking of Andretti Global. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that former Team Penske Managing Director Ron Ruzewski has now become Andretti’s new IndyCar Team Principal, and will begin in January. With Rob Edwards, the previous Chief Operating Officer, (COO) moving into a new role at TWG Motorsports. Becoming its new Chief Performance officer . (CPO)  overseeing all of their vast motorsports portfolio, i.e.; Formula 1, IndyCar, NASCAR, Sports Cars, Formula E and Indy NXT. Although Ruzewski will be in charge of both IndyCar and Indy NXT’s day-to-day operations.

 

Team Penske “rented” Mid-Ohio back on October 1st, with a total of five teams attending. As Penske ran Sports Car Ace Felipe Nasr, who finished quickest of all. Just slightly ahead of countryman Caio Collet, with the Indy NXT driver piloting the No. 14 A.J. Foyt Enterprises car.

 

Fellow Indy NXT Chip Ganassi Racing driver Niels Koolen sampled the team’s No. 8 entry. Kakunoshin Kaku’ Ohta drove one of Meyer Shank Racing’s Honda’s, along with the aforementioned Hauger driving for Coyne. With everyone making their respective IndyCar debuts, with the exception of Nasr., who’s tested multiple times for Penske

 

Then there was the “Big” test at Mother Speedway. With Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing testing Mick Schumacher on the 2.439-mile, 14 turns permanent road course on October 13th. Although it was expected that at least Andretti Global would join the IMS test and give Andretti Global Indy NXT driver Lochie Hughes His debut IndyCar outing.

 

Whilst presumably other IndyCar teams would show up at IMS. As according to The Pit Window, Schumacher and Hughes were slated to be joined by Caio Collet for A.J. Foyt Enterprises. Dennis Hauger for DCR. Both of Ed Carpenter Racing’s (ECR) regular drivers Alexander Rossi and Christian Rasmussen. Plus Juncos Hollinger Racing (JHR) with Indy NXT driver James Roe.

 

Then according to Marshall Pruett, Enzo Fittipaldi would test again for Arrow McLaren on Sebring’s Short Course later in October. As once again , would other teams join the party?

 

As Enzo, younger brother of Pietro Fittipaldi made His IndyCar debut testing alongside His brother at Sebring in 2023. Then tested for Arrow McLaren last November at the Thermal Club for Arrow McLaren.

 

Also according to Pruett, Enzo is rumoured to be moving to Indy NXT next season, driving for HMD Motorsports.

 

Interestingly, and I totally missed the memo. The Cadillac Formula 1 Team announced Pietro Fittipaldi as its Development Driver on October 1st.

 

One other item that tripped my No. 4 wire, albeit just pure speculation upon my part. Especially with Dale Coyne saying they needed to Walk before running with the Andretti Global partnership. Yet mentioning how Andretti global had other Indy NXT drivers in its pipeline they’d like to advance to IndyCar…

 

I immediately thought of Lochie Hughes, who presumably will run a sophomore campaign in Indy NXT next year. And then He could take over Dennis Hauger’s IndyCar seat at Coyne, apprentice for a year and then replace fellow Aussie’ DJ WillyP’, aka Will Power’s seat? With Hauger presumably taking over Marcus Ericsson’s No. 28 ride?

 

But that’s just plain speculating upon my part, and only time will tell…

 

Meanwhile, Hughes has just officially hired Michael Patrizi as His manager. As the pair have worked together over the years unofficially, with Hughes saying it seemed time to have a manager.

 

Having also missed the memo of Lochie being announced as Andretti global IndyCar reserve driver on October 8th, when I was preoccupied with my Confuzers Windoughz’ 11 Arse-similation, Yuck!

 

And that Hughes will indeed contest a second year in Indy NXT with Andretti Global for 2026.

 

Whilst previously, I know I heard somebody saying they’d seen Romain Grosjean in conversation with Andretti global during the Battle on The Bricks weekend, which I think was Marshall Pruett.

 

Thus, Grosjean joining Coyne with potentially past engineer Olivier Boissan makes perfect sense for the No. 18 DCR entry…