Michael Andretti declared in St Petersburg that Roger Penske should sell IndyCar if he is not willing to invest more in the series after team owners were asked to pay USD 1 million per entry under an early proposal for a charter system.

That came after several teams reportedly met during the off-season, initially in a group which did not include Team Penske, to discuss their concerns.

Among those concerns were the cost of the again-delayed hybrid system, after Honda made a public threat to walk away from the category, while IndyCar had to announce during the off-season that its much-hyped Nashville season finale would now be moving from the city streets to the oval 40 minutes’ drive away.

Lack of promotion has also been cited as a criticism of series management, but Andretti took umbrage at the idea, as he claims it was put to teams, that the charter money would be invested in the growth of IndyCar.

“First of all, $20 million isn’t going to do anything,” he said, reports IndyStar.

“You’ve got to have five times that number, at least. And it’s like, ‘Don’t take our money, Roger. You bought the series. We don’t own the series.'”

If Penske is not willing to make that nine-figure investment then it should “sell the series,” according to Andretti.

“There’s people out there willing to do it,” he added.

“I think there’s a lot of people on the sidelines thinking, ‘This is a diamond in the rough if you do it right.’

“But what you need is big money behind it to get it to that level, and if he’s not willing to do it, I think he should step aside and let someone else buy it.”

However, Chip Ganassi, another outspoken character in the paddock, came to Penske’s defence, citing the impacts of the COVID pandemic.

“Anybody that can run the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with no fans in the stands? He’s got my vote,” said Ganassi.

“He coughed up the money to buy the place, and he coughed it up during COVID and kept the series running.

“I’m going to give him a pass for a couple years, yeah? Let him get back on his feet.

“I’m not going to sharp-shoot him. I don’t want to forget about COVID so quickly and all the effects that had.”

McLaughlin, who drives for Penske’s race team, was queried about the noise around series management after driving his #3 Chevrolet to a podium finish.

He did not address specific criticisms of IndyCar but, after racing in front of a record St Petersburg crowd, he had only positive things to say about the series.

“I think any press is good press, but unfortunately you’ve just got to cop the good with the bad, like everything,” said the New Zealander.

“I’m a pretty big supporter of IndyCar on my Twitter account – or X, whatever you want to call it – but we have the greatest series in the world, and I’ll stand by that.”

IndyCar has established a group of three owners to represent the teams in ongoing meetings following the off-season talks.