Moyer, who was Scott McLaughlin’s strategist, was one of three high-profile Team Penske members to be axed in the wake of the attenuator scandal that rocked the Indianapolis 500.
His hire by McLaren marks a reunion of sorts.
Moyer was approached by McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan. Together, they won the 2004 IndyCar Series at Andretti Global (then Andretti Green) when Moyer was the team manager.
Moyer will be the director of competition at McLaren and will assist its director of race operations, Scott Harner.
“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.
“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.”
Team Penske president Tim Cindric and managing director Ron Ruzewski were also axed by Roger Penske. Cindric and Ruzewski were strategists for Josef Newgarden and Will Power respectively.
The trio were fired after it was found their cars had illegally modified attenuators, which IndyCar said could have compromised their safety.
A seam on the attenuator was sealed for aesthetic purposes. However, the part must be run as supplied by Dallara without modification.
Cindric and Ruzewski have not yet emerged in new roles, but their experience would make them prime candidates for any team in the IndyCar Series or elsewhere.
Discussion about this post