As Team Penske pulled Josef Newgarden and Will Power out of line ahead of the Top 12 qualifying session for the 109th running of the Indy 500 on Sunday afternoon at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar fans quickly realized that they probably weren't dealing with a typical mishap or oversight.
Of course, Team Penske being Team Penske, there is always going to be more attention when it comes to failing technical inspection, fair or not, for better or for worse.
First and foremost, "Penske Perfect" has become a farcical relic of a slogan, and secondly, this is a team that was literally caught cheating in last year's season opener, to the point where they had to forfeit a win and another podium finish because of it.
Then, of course, there's the fact that the team owner literally owns the series, and he also owns Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the host of the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing".
As the situation unfolded on Sunday, speculation intensified, and as more and more came out, it did not paint a pleasant picture for the team now associated, whether we like it or not, with doing whatever they can do to get around the rulebook.
IndyCar stated that the No. 2 Chevrolet of Newgarden and the No. 12 Chevrolet of Will Power violated Rule 14.7.8.16, regarding unapproved body fit on the rear crash structure (attenuator). These cars had seams filled to smooth the airflow going over them.
The alterations were pretty clearly made with a goal of gaining speed in mind, and the rules are clear on that part of the car.
As you'd expect, Tim Cindric, who was suspended from the Indy 500 for his role in overseeing (or, if we're being generous, totally missing) last year's cheating operation, gave a completely predictable, corporate answer when discussing the inspection failures to Fox.
When actually asked a non-scripted question about it, it was clear he was thinking on the fly and couldn't provide a confident answer without scrambling for words.
He talked about the differences between those two cars, versus Scott McLaughlin's No. 3 Chevrolet, being "arbitrary". Of course, nobody really knows about the No. 3 car, since McLaughlin destroyed it in a pre-qualifying crash.
But if the differences were arbitrary, why were such differences (a) not present on any of the other 31 cars on any of the other 10 teams at the Speedway, and (b) being addressed with the machinery we saw being feverishly used on the attenuators on the Fox broadcast?
What was even more telling was his response, or lack thereof, to a simple yes or no question regarding the team's use of the illegal filling on Saturday.
Sounds like pleading the fifth to me, though because they did pass inspection Saturday, their qualifying runs were technically legal, and they were allowed to retain their spots in the top 12 on the starting grid.
Pato O'Ward, who competes for Arrow McLaren, believes that Team Penske's three cars should have been in the Last Row Shootout, given the likelihood that they also cheated on Saturday and it simply went unnoticed.
There is speculation that today's discovery only came after another team recorded a video and pointed it out, furthering the idea that they did the same thing yesterday and it simply went undetected during the official inspection process.
Team Penske officially locked out the fourth row with average qualifying speeds of 0.000 miles per hour.
Will Buxton shreds Tim Cindric on live TV
Cindric's apparent defiance and lack of transparency, which is nothing new, given his similar response to last year's scandal, is a terrible look for the team, the series, and the Indy 500 as a whole. This is a team that, to the average onlooker, is making a mockery of a rulebook, and with no remorse whatsoever.
The real kicker is the fact that the drivers, similar to last year, are really the ones caught up in the nonsense, rather than the actual perpetrators. It was no surprise to see Newgarden out for a jog down the road that runs parallel to the back straightaway during the Last Row Shootout.
But those who despise Cindric's arrogance and general "can't touch us" attitude from that interview, which included a firm denial that Power's car failed tech (after IndyCar literally said it did) got a breath of fresh air from the man calling the action.
IndyCar on Fox lead announcer Will Buxton absolutely annihilated the Team Penske president on live television.
"Rule 14.7.8.16: bodywork fitting," Buxton said during the broadcast. "The rules are very clear. So when Tim Cindric explained to us earlier that it was 'arbitrary', I'm afraid, to the wording of the regulations, it is, in fact, black and white. That is why Penske failed technical inspection. That is why they had to remove their cars from Top 12 qualifying."
Oof.
Thankfully, the broadcast booth is doing Team Penske no favors in covering for their nonsense. It is indeed refreshing to have a voice like Buxton's calling out an obvious violation, and calling out its subsequent cover-up, with such conviction, rather than skirting around the facts to appease the series owner and not ruffling any feathers.
Not all announcers would do that. In fact, very few would.
Given how close this situation has unfolded to last year's scandal, you can't help but wonder what else they're doing to skirt around the rulebook. But it's all arbitrary. We promise.