From scandal to strategy: Kyle Moyer's new role at Arrow McLaren Racing
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kyle Moyer, one of the three Team Penske executives fired during an Indianapolis 500 scandal, has been hired by Arrow McLaren Racing and will be with the IndyCar team this coming week for a test session at Iowa Speedway.
Moyer was hand-selected to join McLaren by team principal Tony Kanaan. The two won the 2004 IndyCar championship together at Andretti Global. Moyer was Kanaan's team manager at the time.
At McLaren, Moyer will be the director of competition and assist Scott Harner, who is the director of race operations. He will also replace Kanaan as strategist for Nolan Siegel, freeing Kanaan to work on race day with all three McLaren drivers.
Moyer's official start date is June 30. Kanaan said almost the entire industry tried to hire Moyer after his May firing at Penske, but the previous relationship between Moyer and Kanaan gave McLaren the edge.
'Kyle is one of the best strategists in the paddock, so talking about his qualities, not just about him as a human being, he knows a lot about racing,' Kanaan told The Associated Press. 'Kyle probably is one of the top guys of knowledge of IndyCar — he's been around it his entire life.
'And Kyle is a people person, he's that kind of guy that captivates people and people want to work for Kyle,' Kanaan continued. 'At the same time, he is very direct and he will call you out and he makes it so every person I've ever seen working for Kyle wanted to work for Kyle. That's something that I experienced in my career and that is probably the biggest thing. The respect that I have for the guy is unbelievable.'
Moyer's popularity was evident when Penske driver Scott McLaughlin lashed out after the trio of firings ahead of the Indy 500. Moyer was let go along with team president Tim Cindric, a 25-year Penske employee, and managing director Ron Ruzewski.
Moyer was Penske's general manager of the IndyCar program and the strategist for McLaughlin's car.
The firings followed the discovery that the cars of Josef Newgarden and Will Power had illegally modified rear attenuators; Cindric said seams on the safety part had been sealed for aesthetic purposes, but the rulebook clearly stated no alterations could be made to the part.
It was the second major technical violation for Penske cars in just over a year and team owner Roger Penske was left with no choice but to fire his top three executives. Penske owns the three-car race team, the IndyCar Series, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500.
'Ultimately, those three guys are friends of mine and have done a tremendous amount in my career to get me to this point,' McLaughlin said in May after the firings. 'I guess you could say there's a sadness from my perspective. At the end of the day I drive for Roger Penske. I respect the decision. I understand the decision. We move forward.'
Kanaan said he was shocked that Moyer did not have a non-compete clause and was available to McLaren immediately. He believes Moyer will be a help to Siegel, the 20-year-old in his first full season of IndyCar.
Siegel heads into Sunday's race at Road America in Wisconsin ranked 21st in the standings.
Moyer will eventually relocate from North Carolina, where Penske is based, to Indianapolis for his role with McLaren.
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