Roger Penske Confirms Positive Talks With Third Engine Manufacturer for IndyCar After Ferrari’s Rejection

IndyCar is seeing somewhat of a resurgence in terms of popularity and a climb to ‘the place to be’ title in the global car racing landscape. At the forefront of this new era is Roger Penske, who took on IndyCar in 2020.

With a diverse lineup of drivers and circuits, the next objective Penske has is to find a third manufacturer. Earlier, it was reported that IndyCar might see an entry of Italian giants and, in many ways, the biggest brand in the history of motorsports, Ferrari. However, that didn’t work out.

This meant the next manufacturer in their sight is another historic brand, but one with completely different values and background as the Italians. That brand is Toyota, with which Penske suggests the talks are progressing well. “They have not said no or go away,” Penske said of Toyota.

“I think what they are trying to do is see how it fits in their own total motorsports package on a worldwide basis. But there’s definitely interest there and it would be a home run to get a third manufacturer here, someone we could announce over the next season.”

Scott McLaughlin’s situation “no different” than Jimmie Johnson – Roger Penske

Scott McLaughlin, the 28-year-old driver from New Zealand, is entering his second IndyCar season with Team Penske in which he showed glimpses of ‘what could be’, but those were only glimpses.

Especially when comparing that to Penske’s NASCAR rookie Austin Cindric, who recently won the Daytona 500.

But despite that, McLaughlin has his boss on his side. “I think he did a did a great job last year and we’ll look for him to grow,” Penske said in an interview with Racer.

“It’s no different than Jimmie Johnson. Jimmie hadn’t driven an IndyCar either, and both of them got better as the season went on,” he added.”In fact, McLaughlin finished second at Texas last year and he was running very well at Indy and had some very good finishes.”

“We’re 150 percent behind him.”

Also Read: Jimmie Johnson’s Mentor Recalls an Incident That Traces His Commitment to Racing Back to His Childhood as He Prepares for His First Full-Time IndyCar Season