Here's the thing about a powerhouse like Team Penske: when they slip, people notice immediately. Entering the 2027 NTT IndyCar SERIES season, the Inside Line panel has turned its attention to Roger Penske's organization to figure out what went wrong and how they fix it.
Let's start with Josef Newgarden. Questions linger regarding his future with the team, driven by the intense privacy of both the driver and the organization. Yes, the man has a streak of 12 consecutive winning seasons—including 10 in the No. 2 car—and a pair of championships from 2017 and 2019. But he dealt with significant drama in 2025, and his past two years brought his two lowest season finishes with the team. Newgarden finished eighth in the standings for 2026, and his last road course victory dates all the way back to Road America in 2022. Three of the team's past five victories have come from Newgarden on short ovals, and both he and teammate David Malukas dealt with injuries that affected their performances.
Looking at the broader picture, Eric Smith points out that Penske could arguably be considered the fourth-best team in 2026. They trailed champions Chip Ganassi Racing, Andretti Global (which took the second-place points finisher and combined for three wins between Kyle Kirkwood and Marcus Ericsson), and Chevrolet rival Arrow McLaren, which put two drivers in the top four in points and collected five combined victories. For the second consecutive season, Penske did win the season finale, but the real question is whether that victory at Laguna Seca can serve as a springboard toward a stronger overall campaign across all track types. Meanwhile, Scott McLaughlin finally snapped a 35-race winless drought and finished 2026 as hot as anyone with three consecutive top-five finishes.
Arni Sribhen notes the sheer pressure resting on team leadership Jonathan Diuguid and Travis Law. Team Penske simply isn't used to trailing anyone, finishing 2026 second among Chevrolet teams and fourth overall based on the results. Managing three wins—two on ovals by Newgarden—is not what Roger Penske expects, meaning leadership must elevate everyone while getting David Malukas fully up to speed in his second season with the squad.
Speaking of Malukas, Paul Kelly highlights him as the biggest surprise of 2026 by emerging as the team's highest-ranked driver in fifth place in the standings, though he remains winless in his IndyCar SERIES career. Can Malukas continue to prevail over his teammates in 2027 and turn into a true championship contender? To lift the Astor Challenge Cup, he has to fix two clear weak spots: converting at least one or two of his four runner-up finishes from 2026 into wins, and drastically improving on street circuits. All six of his podium finishes last season came on ovals or road courses, while his street-race results included a best finish of sixth at Arlington followed by a fade to 17th at Markham and 24th at Washington. Continued healing of his lingering wrist injury should help, but he has to clean up those concrete jungles to stay in the title fight.
