Marshall Pruett: Penske Entertainment Take This More Seriously

IndyCar & IMSA Insider Marshall Pruett returned to The Freak Nation Sunday night. Very little happens in American Open Wheel or sports car racing without Pruett knowing what’s behind the headline. He talked with The Freaks about IndyCar controversies and how they might be avoided going forward. He also talked about rewriting the rules to fight cheating in the sport.
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[@Wall3658]

I work inside of the INDY CAR Series, on the engine side of things, and I have received more information about INDY CAR from Marshall Pruett, and More "Advertisement" for the INDY CAR Series, from him than anywhere else in my 40 years of being a part of this racing car Invesment...!!! You are a True Race Car enthusiast!! Thank You Marshall Pruett!

[@CrashGladys]

Yep. And it's time we all hold each other accountable to keep this public/transparent knowledge base continuing onward... fans deserve better, heck sponsors deserve so much better!

[@notboeingnotgoing5483]

I’m a former ChampCar and CART team member and it is a Catch-22, very glad that Roger bought the series because I don’t think in it’s past iteration it would not have survived Covid, I think the speedway would but not the series. Many of my former colleagues are still in IndyCar and like many of the owners they are scared to talk ill of RP or P Ent. I do think it’s time to change ownership of the series but be careful what you wish for because it would not be unheard of for other series to purchase it and purposely derail or close it for there market share. INDYCAR is on a razor edge, Im sure that Honda does not appreciate the negativity this has generated and if and when they do leave the series, we’re screwed . I have a feeling they’re gone anyway, and if that happens, the repercussions will be absolutely positively devastating.

[@thomasf.2376]

Thank you Marshall, for your thorough analysis and thoughtful suggestions for "cleaning up" the mess in IndyCar. I agree.

[@OfficialSpeedFreaks]

Such great insight. Like the rest of us is hopeful for change

[@philkaiser6025]

Your never-ending use of the subscribe & clik thingy is distracting and unneeded. WE GET IT! Once at the beginning and once at the end are enough! Don't treat us like children who have just discovered a new toy! We know what to do, and having that annoying three cliks every minute is just bush-league and smacks of desperation, you know?

[@OfficialSpeedFreaks]

Thanks for watching at least

[@stremf1]

Yeah…new listener here and I was going to comment with something similar. It’s pretty annoying.

[@125guitarmaster]

Marshall is absolutely 100% correct about the Penske issue.

[@roberthevern6169]

Adding on to Marshall's expert analysis, IMHO RP as team owner has total control, no need for transparency; as series owner, it demands policies that, for racing, RP seems reluctant to allow, at his own peril. 100+ yrs of momentum, if not nurtured slowly degrades until it's the mess we see today! RP is not a young man, and with advanced age one is less flexible to new methods, the constant evolution ceases.

[@mrgadget5845]

::scoffs:: You’re not Penske material! (Seinfeld)

[@scsmith4604]

tata Tut-tel

[@DugTheDog]

Glad the algorithm recommended this one. Hadn’t heard of you guys before but love the vibe. Subscribed! Also, Marshal is the Goat! Love him to bits. Extraordinary breakdown of all the bs going around in Indycar.

[@CrashGladys]

Welcome to the #FreakNation! If you are on other social sites, I'm more there, not here and would love to keep in touch with anything racing! BAM!!

[@OfficialSpeedFreaks]

Yup. Come on board!

[@garywilliams2188]

Penske is very respectable, he did do something about it, he suspended those responsible, he never has supported cheating, within his own teams. He has been falsely accused in the past, for example with his engine in the 90's, but that was his team going by the letter of the rules, and doing things that were Not specifically stated as being against the rules, but because he had the resources to have great engineers, other teams got butt hurt, Not because he broke any listed rules, but because he was innovative and forward thinking, in that, if it's Not in the rule book, that it's prohibited, then it's Not a rule violation, which is true.

[@tedbriscoe6649]

Marshall........Indy Car was big when CART was running............but teams were concerned about the BUDGET and what it cost to be competitive.

[@John-jl9de]

Great report, their marketing sucks and they do nothing to get the locals excited or involved in the sport. I love the racing and drivers and have been following it for 60 years. Fire the marketing team and bring in a new group of people.

[@OfficialSpeedFreaks]

Thanks for watching John!

[@johnedwards230]

Indycar's biggest problem is visibility. If it is not on the same TV channel each week, its going to be hard to grow. Marketing is so important, the schedule needs looking at, its causing major issues because you never get momentum, 6 week gap between round 1 & 2 and the season is just 6 months long. F1 runs for 9! The on track product is great despite the old old chassis! Its a good series, genuinely better to watch than f1 but it feels a bit caught in the past, if you look at the money F1 spend on the podium ceremonies etc, its just the polish and presentation is not there with indycar not that is the main issue but its definitely a bit 'stuck'.

[@ryhuck5383]

F1 did just fine not being on the “same tv channel every week” stop blaming IndyCar for halfass fans. If you’re truly a fan you’d make sure you knew how to watch your event.

[@johnedwards230]

@@ryhuck5383 The die hards will be in. Its the casuals that make the numbers up unfortunately.

[@Cypressbayou]

I remember when the Indy 500 was so huge it was Live only on radio and shown on hours later on TV

[@bjs7442]

I have the greatest respect for Marshall. A man of real knowledge and insight. However he made one error. He rightly made the point that Liberty media would not have there own team in F1. He stated because the other teams are powerful and would police it. That is wrong. The governance and policing of F1 is done not by Liberty but by the FIA who hold the rights to F1. They have the governace structure separate from the commercial and competitive side . They have the technical teams to police the cars and the legal function for contract disputes. Clearly the FIA is expensive but it already exists . They should join FIA and pay the cost. IMSA ultimately is under the FIA. It would mean that Penske would not be able to have their own team. Its bad governance. I listened to David Land saying that the F1 TV audience at Miami GP was more than for the whole of Indycar. Indycar need to sort its governance structure to have any hope of surviving in the long term.

[@CrashGladys]

Wow, joining the FIA could indeed be a great idea... never thought of that!!

[@earlybirdearlybird1371]

INDYCAR is Death

[@Angelbonilla1982]

But Indy is part of FIA!! Look all the categories that are under FIA regulations.

[@bjs7442]

@@Angelbonilla1982 IndyCar is part of ACCUS so you are most probably correct so why dont they use the FIA , thats all I am saying.

[@bjs7442]

@@Angelbonilla1982 Indy is part of ACCUS which is afiliated to the FIA . I agree so my point still stands why dont they use the FIA to police the racing who are independent.

[@lazier96]

Articulate and honest assessment Marshall as always. I’ve purchased bronze badges for years with great anticipation for the month of May however decided to pass this year. This month will be Groundhog Day with nothing new including the car unfortunately. I love this series but it’s morphed into high dollar club racing unfortunately.

[@CrashGladys]

Woa!!!! That's a serious statement!!

[@OfficialSpeedFreaks]

Oh man. That stinks

[@chrisrobson2535]

Thanks speed freaks!!, thank you MP for the insight!

[@lucascop1593]

Great interview. I just subscribed. Hadn’t seen you before. Thanks.

[@CrashGladys]

Welcome to the #FreakNation!

[@OfficialSpeedFreaks]

Thanks for watching. We cover pretty much every series so hopefully we provide content you like

[@warrenholmes3311]

Hopefully this isn't all 'pre-planned' but it would appear that MP has got some 'stones' and I hope he follows up on it.

[@steveharrigan7811]

I'd like to see the Supermodifieds on bigger tracks.......We all would.....Lots of us still like the hot rods, the techno - corporate stuff not so much......I would definitely do pay-per-view to see the supermodifieds at Daytona or Talledegga......." But you couldnt do that because blah blah blah".....Yeah, well buddy thats why the stands are empty and no one knows the names anymore....When I was a kid, even the girls knew who Mario Andretti, Richard Petty, and Don Garlitz were.......I cant name last years Indy 500 winner, Daytona 500, or NHRA top fuel drivers.........Spec racing is how people learn, like in the SCCA, etc....Everybody in the same car, with the same engine, is how they do formula ford and super vee.....We want to see different engines, different chassis/body setups, turbos, superchargers, V-8, V-12, turbines, unlimited fuels and tires, maybe a point mid season where there would be a car show and fans could vote for their favorite car, and the team would get ten points....Less Tide and Viagra, more chrome and metalflake....Maybe if you changed the game up a bit, more people would be in the stands, building models, and generally having a blast.....Maybe the heroes would come back.........

[@taylorsmith4758]

MP is the man!

[@MrBestshot33]

So you're saying the guys holding all the power wont hold themselves accountable? Sounds like our current political situation.....

[@billfunk3168]

Great interview with Marshall. I subscribed after watching.

[@CrashGladys]

Thanks! Welcome to the #FreakNation!

[@OfficialSpeedFreaks]

Thanks for watching 🤝

[@accordingtodrake]

I click three times to approve of this!

[@user-rx6eg8bl1s]

teams can all defect where there's no accountability there needs to be a will

[@jiminyhopkins]

Marshall's knowledge and passion for IndyCar is amazing. I was at the Indy GP and it was an amazing day of great racing across all the series on the Road to Indy. I wish the world knew what we know: it's some of the best racing anywhere.

[@mikecrockett3669]

I see these actions as a gesture rather than accountability.

[@mountcomfort740]

Marshall is a great reporter. But to me May will never bee th same without hearing Robin Miller's voice

[@MacNur-tu3cq]

Agreed. I just posted a similar comment before seeing this. Miss the unsers too

[@Mario_Ramirez]

I agree with Marshall, IMSA has been amazing lately, went to their race at Long Beach and decided to skip the Indycar event.

[@OfficialSpeedFreaks]

Oh yikes, Anything they could have done to keep you around for the IC race?

[@Mario_Ramirez]

@OfficialSpeedFreaks no, not really. I returned to Indycar when Tony George finally and definitely went away, but the series is stuck with a vintage ugly car (that's the standard for Dallara) there is no innovation, no variety, always having issues when putting together their calendar, excuses after excuses 🙄

[@greapsoho]

The software should be the easiest thing to check. Everything is data logged. Throw the data in a computer and see if the input was ever pressed. It should take all of 5 seconds to see as long as they have data logging enabled for inputs. The same way that cops use people's ECUs to see if they were speeding/accelerating/braking and which angle the steering wheel is at during an accident.

[@user-tq3qj2hl5i]

Standing rule when dealing with ethical questions; if it looks bad - it is bad. This looks horrible!

[@americanopenwheelracing3596]

First time I've seen Pruett with some nuts. Kudos on this.

[@peterscott1899]

If someone breaks into a house and steals some valuable items, but gets caught, how is it a penalty that all that happens is they have to give the items back? And some employees were suspended for two races? However, glaringly none of them were the employees who were in those cars doing the cheating itself. Why is that?

[@huracanmedia1661]

Window dressing by Penske at best. Hmm lets think about we are investigating ourselves and this was only discovered by an error by Race control, there is much more to it. This is a serious conflict of interest and solves exactly nothing, suspending them? really? That's an embarassment for the entire series. If Penske really wants to make a difference then sell the team or series or both. The series is serious trouble and all the team owners (Andretti/Rahal/Ganassi/Etc) have complained non stop-penske answer was putting money into the venues not the series.

[@sdsmt99]

Did you feel the same way when Fuzzy Hulman George Carpenter Vision Racing owned it all? We'd been better off if Penske bought the whole shooting match 30 years ago.

[@huracanmedia1661]

@@sdsmt99 Penske has invested corporate funds (Not penske) into the tracks themselves and there lies the rub as they say. The big team owners; Ganassi/Andretti/Rahal have been complaining non stop Penske has not invested anything in the series and thats the problem. The product is stale and in serious financial trouble, its a losing proposition for the teams and corporate america is taking their motorsport money to NHRA/NASCAR/WEC for a better value proposition and exposure. The Indy Car TV package is very weak. At the track there is a lot going nonbody sees or even knows about, there is on track activity all day all three days at most tracks-a huge miss for marketing the product. Nascar has massive interactive activities specifically for kids, same for NHRA. Indycar wants to grow they need to target the kids. When Liberty Media took over F1 they cut the medium age fan almost in half and spent massive amounts on social media and its working/ Miami GP last week was the highest American viewing audience ever for an F1 race which also has record three day ticket sales of 275K + something Indycar needs to understand the dynamics they are totally missing because or old outdated ownership-lets keep doing the same thing and expect different and better results

[@ski-two]

Is there any chance you could add a sound effect where you type out the word "Subscribe" with key strokes before you have the mouse click sound effect?

[@OfficialSpeedFreaks]

Typewriter effect is coming soon

[@willjam465]

I love Indycar. Penske has hugely disappointed me this season. Terrible conflict of interest. Penske should not be allowed to own a team if he owns the series. He should be forced to sell the team.

[@ryanclark5254]

Why would you suggest in the interview that they should’ve parked the legal cars in Long Beach?

[@donholmes4476]

Bill Cosby had a fantastic old quote: "THE BEST WAY TO FAILURE, IS TRYING TO PLEASE EVERYBODY!"

[@Cypressbayou]

Great way to reduce viewership…put races on pay tv

[@OfficialSpeedFreaks]

And that’s exactly what NASCAR is doing next season 😬

[@dcsoda1]

Putting something into AI and then asking a question about what it spat out is maybe one of the dumbest things I’ve seen in a while lol.

[@bowelrupture]

How many times do we need to subscribe? The loud clicking sounds are annoying.

[@CrashGladys]

Yea, sorry. Eek!

[@paulstough2995]

Either Roger realizes that INDY Car can no longer stand on its own,or he is more interested in making money than promoting INDY Car. This idea of getting top music acts to perform at the races has driven me away from INDY Car. I dont see any reason that I should have to pay for music acts that I am not interested in! The irony is that for the people who just come for the music, they can buy the cheapest tickets because they probably wont use them anyway, but for those of us who come for the races, we have to pay premium prices for good seats for the races.

[@willjam465]

Indycar needs a much better tv package. I can never find it.

[@OfficialSpeedFreaks]

Not a good look for the series if people don’t know where to watch

[@mrj3217]

I am sick of James hinchcliffe in Townsend Bell saying " This is how you do this in INDY CAR" or " This is how you make a pass in INDY CAR". Racing is racing and referring INDY CAR to how all racing works like making a pit stop, pass, in/out laps is some how different for INDY CAR compaired to professional racing in general is kind of ridiculous.

[@MacNur-tu3cq]

May just ain't the same withiut Robin and the unsers, Bob Jenkins and all the old fellers. Indy 500 still the best car race, but i miss the feel of days gone by

[@user-qt7ud1cl7b]

We've needed a new car in Indy car built from the ground up

[@CathNcamo2]

Haha MP has a jimmy bly hat! Anybody remember Turbo the snail?

[@RaptorV1USA]

I'm disappointed in how the announcers Diffey etc. use the most ridiculous language when they refer to this on the broadcasts " Penske was found to be outside the rules" or some ridiculous choice of words.... Just feeekin SAY IT....PENSKE was CHEATING ...there not that hard...

[@danielbowser7768]

Need to go back to a CART like show. Turbo v8s ect. Only time you drew lots of fans. Make the manufacturers understand. Nobody wants to watch v6 top tier engines. V6 are for the ladder series.

[@xSoccerxCorex]

champ car had that, and you see how that ended!

[@Marine450x]

IndyCar has V6s because that's what the engine suppliers want.

[@chrispaff1972]

Engines do not sell tickets

[@JonDoe-ln6nl]

"Make the manufacturers understand" ... tail wagging the dog, I think. Why on earth would Honda, GM, Toyota, Ford -- ANY manufacturer -- return to mid-20th century technology?? The point of racing is to develop for the future with innovations eventually ending up in the car YOU buy. And it ain't gonna be a V-8 in the future. Sad, but true.

[@alittleloose6595]

The down fall of Indy caris when they went against the short tracks . When Indy was a on top the stars came From the short tracks. House hold names any race fan heard of AJ and so on

[@chrispaff1972]

The unknown foreign road racers are never going to sell in the USA

[@JonDoe-ln6nl]

@@chrispaff1972 Well, F1 seems to be doing quite well in the USA. Wonder why?? (Especially because the racing sucks!)

[@mrj3217]

INDY CAR is not here if Roger didn't save the series.

[@americanopenwheelracing3596]

Roger has been at war with this sport since 1975. Cmon man.

[@leighadams2531]

Roger Penske has been known to use”The Unfair Advantage “ for decades!!!! That really be expected.

[@Arturo-sm1tb]

Arrow McLaren has high expectations? IWhy? Just because of reputation and supposed money? f so, they are the most overrated team in IndyCar. They are NOT good in 2024. All the drivers are underperforming. Felix is lucky to be gone. Their top guy is lucky to be Top 5 , their 2nd guy is lucky to be Top 10. This is not a great team.

[@CrashGladys]

Marketing wise was the reference in the discussion... they do have high expectations performance wise as well, but that department needs some addressing this year for sure.

[@mrj3217]

Ratings suck because the announcers on NBC are atrocious ( not Leigh Diffy ). Who knows when the race is on what channel, what time, and again the racing is just weak. You could have 50 entries per race but it still would not be good racing. The cars are not separated from each other. The spec stuff hase to go. Make the parts carry penalties for going over on certian parts. The racing is not good. . I love NASCAR, F1, and other racing but Indy today is just boring.

[@donholmes4476]

Your idealistic of hoping to please a potius pilate mentality, is irrelevant when it comes to real world business! Yes Penske is still a racing team owner, Yes Roger owns the INDYCAR SERIES, and has improved both it and the Indy500 tremendously! But snap judgements based off an emotional reaction is stupid! Look at all the problems NASCAR is having by trying to please every SM comments from people who have no idea how to run a professional racing series! Dale Jr. has no professional business background, all that is done by sister Kelly! But his comments have huge media impacts! I love PENSKE and how he operates and he will continue to be more successful going forward than all the other series or brands!

[@SnoDawg]

Marshall sure loves to hear himself talk.

[@MaximumBooger]

How much is Rodger Penske now? The last time I saw him was at the start of last years Indy 500 and he looked old. Joe Biden old. Is this a case of while Penske's mind is away the rats will play?

[@matthewkistler6199]

Are indycar grids much larger since Penske took over? Are the vast majority of races on OTA TV? Are viewership numbers double what they were before he took over? Is attendance up? Is the ladder series entries up?

[@boodew-dp5jn]

Never a fan of MP.✌

[@ILSRWY4]

Marshell you're WRONG. RP is to BLAME. You can't look in your proverbial rearview mirror and say "well this has been a problem for decades, RP is only the latest" RP has had FOUR years to fix it, he hasn't. In Fact, I would say its worse now, than when he bought it. Indycar was on the rise when he bought it. Now its on a slide. He is to Blame and directly. Also, Marshell you want to go to IMSA where its calm, stable and everyone is happy. And who owns IMSA?

[@madjack8031]

........it's Champ car time again!!!!!!........Cheers!

[@mrj3217]

Indy Car has to drop the Spec stuff and convert Indy Car to a F1 / Super Formula type of series that also does ovals. Indy car is very boring to watch.

[@DFSJR1203]

Penske's cars should not be able to run the Indy 500 and Penske should have to sell IndyCar. This is the only real penalty to use against Penske and it's teams. Penske apologizing is not enough. No owner of any sports league should be allowed to also own a team or teams in the sport owned by a person or group.

[@sdsmt99]

After years of Fuzzy Hulman George Carpenter Vision Racing now you want blood.

[@indy500tabasco8]

👽👽👽👽f1 sucks👽👽👽👽

[@earlybirdearlybird1371]

Marshall Pruett: Penske Entertainment Take This More Seriously WHAT A JOKE PRUETT !

[@cameronbutner9307]

You are talking about 1 violation in years! Give me a break!

[@chrispaff1972]

Indycar product isn't good enough to be popular.

[@JonDoe-ln6nl]

You don't enjoy good racing, then. IndyCar racing is BY FAR the most competitive formula out there -- a large problem is the complete lack of marketing the product.

[@chrispaff1972]

@@JonDoe-ln6nl LOL

[@nashidaperv2351]

@@JonDoe-ln6nl theyve been at this for a while, the product just isn't interesting enough. to the average person, what does good racing look like to them? they need to add more things to spice up the drama and possibly extend to markets outside of the US.

[@suysauce007]

@@JonDoe-ln6nlexactly. Product doesn’t sell tickets. Marketing does

[@Arturo-sm1tb]

The Elephant In The Room is the lack of DIRECT criticism of Roger Penske. Marshall did everything in his power to avoid any direct criticism of that ONE MAN. Just come out and say it- Roger Penske is a WEASEL.

[@CrashGladys]

There was direct criticism... started off with a compliment (great B to B biz man) then veered into the other reality of he is NOT great at marketing.