Larry McReynolds, Tommy Baldwin air out dirt on Penske performance at Charlotte after Indy 500 controversy

It was a brutal weekend for Team Penske, between the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600. The only person who had a worse time at both the IndyCar and NASCAR races was Kyle Larson, who wrecked out of his attempt at The Double.

On the latest episode of Door Bumper Clear, Larry McReynolds and Tommy Baldwin broke down where it all went wrong, especially on the NASCAR side of things in Charlotte. Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric were non-factors, and McReynolds believed it had something to do with their team owner, Roger Penske, not wanting any more negative press after his IndyCar team was hit with cheating allegations.

“There are several layers here,” McReynolds stated. “It’s not because Team Penske has not had speed at mile-and-a-half (tracks). Joey Logano just won the Texas race a few weeks ago. Blaney had back-to-back top fives between Kansas and Texas. So, they’ve had good speed at the mile-and-a-half (tracks). I go back to practice on Saturday. I know when qualifying was over with — Chris Buscher had a good run. Noah Gragson was probably, from green flag to checkered, the best Ford all night long. But all the Fords seemed off just a little bit.

“Again, I know qualifying — Buscher got a good run in. At the end of the day, there were some Fords that finished up front. But I’ve got to believe, in the wake of what went on up there at Indy, Roger Penske said, ‘We don’t need to make any more headlines with Team Penske. Just make sure you’re right when we get to the Coke 600.’

“… And Blaney, in fashion of the way he races, he was starting to come to life. He wasn’t going to go up there, I don’t think, and contend for the win, but he was on the verge of cracking the top ten when he got caught up in that wreck off turn four.”

Moreover, Baldwin corroborated McReynolds’ statement. He also believes the Fords as a whole were under a microscope, after Buescher’s No. 17 team was hit with a massive penalty that was upheld after an appeal.

“I would say that we — in order to get that little bit, we have to do a little bit. I mean, we’ve always had to do a little bit to get that little bit. That’s why there’s a rule book. We do always do a little bit and create different paragraphs. The rule book has been made because of us, the crew chiefs and the engineers and all the drivers doing things. I think it hurt them,” Baldwin added.

“I think what happened — RFK’s penalty, you know, during the week, affected some of the stuff that overall was happening. I think, you know, Indy hurt Penske. There was a situation there and everyone had to calm down a little bit. Everyone was probably getting a little bit further ahead than they needed to. We talked about it a couple of weeks ago. Penske is always really good, but they’re really, really, really good in the playoffs. They turn it on. Well, they had to detune this week. They probably had to detune.”

Alas, Team Penske will likely be just fine, but it must really burn their three talented wheelmen that an IndyCar issue ruined their night in Charlotte. Time will tell if they can get it right this weekend in Nashville. Joey Logano was victorious there in 2024, so there’s a precedent.