Latest news with #Diuguid
Indianapolis Star
04-07-2025
- Automotive
- Indianapolis Star
Team Penske names new leadership atop IndyCar, sportscar teams after Indy 500 cheating scandal
LEXINGTON, Ohio — Team Penske has promoted a pair of veteran team members to roles atop both its IndyCar and sportscar programs in the wake of the Roger Penske firing the three most senior members atop his IndyCar program in the wake of Team Penske's second high-profile team-wide tech inspection violation in 13 months. Jonathan Diuguid, who most recently served as the managing director of Porsche Penske Motorsport and who joined Team Penske in 2005, has been named the president of Penske Racing Inc., overseeing Team Penske's programs in IndyCar, IMSA and WEC. Travis Law, who joined Team Penske in 2007 and most recently served as the competition director of Porsche Penske Motorsport, has been named the competition director of Penske Racing Inc. similarly overseeing Penske's IndyCar and sportscar programs moving forward. "The opportunity to lead the Team Penske efforts across the IndyCar series, IMSA and WEC is a tremendous responsibility, and the feeling of being trusted to lead these teams is a great honor," Diuguid said. "After two decades of working for Roger Penske, I truly know and understand what the Penske name means to the world of motorsports. "The best way I know to show my appreciation to him for his trust is to ensure our success continues well into the future." As the managing director of Porsche Penske Motorsport, Diuguid spearheaded a program that snagged consecutive wins at the 24 Hours of Daytona (2024-25), a victory in the 2025 12 Hours of Sebring, a 2024 IMSA GTP class championship and the 2024 WEC Hypercar driver's title. Diuguid first worked on Penske's Porsche RS Spyder program, followed by seven seasons as a race engineer in IndyCar before shifting into his most recent role atop the team's sportscar programs. Last year, he also served as a stand-in Indianapolis 500 strategist for race-winner Josef Newgarden, in place of Tim Cindric, the ex-Team Penske president and Newgarden strategist who was serving a suspension after the team's push-to-pass illegalities. 'We let people down': Roger Penske on Indianapolis 500, IndyCar rules violations Law joined Team Penske in 2007 as an IndyCar tire specialist before becoming a championship-winning chief mechanic and then achieving similar success in Penske's sportscar program. "Success is what is expected at Team Penske," Law said. "Roger Penske is someone that leads by example. When we get to the racetrack, we know we have the support of someone who has achieved at the highest levels. I am ready to get to work." Concurrently with its leadership announcements, Team Penske also announced the team leaders on all three IndyCar entries for the remainder of the year Friday afternoon, with Luke Mason (Newgarden's No. 2 car) and David Faustino (Will Power's No. 12 car) serving as both the race strategist and race engineers on their respective cars. For Scott McLaughlin's No. 3 car, Ben Bretzman has been named the entry's race strategist for the remainder of the year, and Malcolm Finch will serve as the car's race engineer. More: IndyCar president Doug Boles on Team Penske's violations during Indy 500 qualifying Less than a week before the 109th Indy 500, Penske fired Cindric, his longtime righthand man who for years had served as the president of the entire Team Penske empire and who at the start of this year had scaled back, solely holding onto the role of president of the Penske IndyCar team, as well as longtime Team Penske IndyCar managing director Ron Ruzewski and longtime Team Penske IndyCar general manager Kyle Moyer. Minutes before the start of Fast 12 qualifying for the Indy 500, the cars of Newgarden and Power were found by IndyCar's tech inspection team to have illegally modified attenuators that upon further review had gone undetected for well over a year. Initially, both cars were thrown out of qualifying and slated to start 11th and 12th for the race, but the following day, IndyCar president Doug Boles decided to move both cars to the back of the grid to start 32nd and 33rd, along with the suspension of Cindric and Ruzewski a handful of other monetary and points penalties. Two days later, Team Penske announced the leaders atop all three of its cars had been let go.
Fox Sports
04-07-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Roger Penske has new leadership in IndyCar team after latest cheating scandal at Indy 500
Associated Press MOORESVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Team Penske has new leadership structure atop its IndyCar and sports car programs in the wake of its latest cheating scandal that engulfed the organization at the Indianapolis 500. Jonathan Diuguid has been promoted to president of Penske Racing, and Travis Law has been named competition director for Penske Racing. Diuguid and Law have a combined 38 years of experience at Team Penske. Diuguid and Law will oversee the Team Penske teams competing in IndyCar as well as Porsche Penske Motorsport, which races in both IMSA and the World Endurance Championship series. 'After two decades working for Roger Penske, I truly know and understand what the Penske name means in the world of motorsports,' Diuguid said. 'The best way I know to show my appreciation to him for his trust is to ensure our success continues well into the future.' Roger Penske fired his top three executives at Team Penske after two of the Penske cars were found to be illegal. Team president Tim Cindric, IndyCar managing director Ron Ruzewski and IndyCar general manager Kyle Moyer were fired in May in the wake of this Indianapolis 500 cheating scandal. Penske is owner of the three-car team, IndyCar, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy 500. He has won the Indy 500 a record 20 times. Penske shook up his race team leadership after two-time Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden and teammate Will Power were found to have an illegally modified spec part on their cars ahead the final round of qualifications for the 109th running of 'The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.' Cindric and Ruzewski already had been suspended by IndyCar for the race and both teams fined $100,000. It was the second consecutive year Cindric and Ruzewski were suspended from the Indy 500. ___ AP auto racing: recommended
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘He wanted to inspire': Author educator and journalist Charles Coulter dies at 70
When Lewis Diuguid began working at The Kansas City Star as a reporter and photographer, the newsroom was a very different place. With only a few Black employees on staff, he found himself part of a small group of reporters who often had to work twice as hard to earn the respect of their white colleagues. A few months after he joined, Charles Coulter was hired as a sports reporter. Diuguid remembers his colleague and friend fondly as a dedicated, hard working, and inspiring journalist. Coulter, who worked for The Kansas City Star for many years as a sports reporter and later as a member of the editorial board, passed away on March 24 at the age of 70. Diuguid recalls the joy and excitement among the Black journalists at The Star, recognizing that Coulter would be a valuable addition — not just to the newspaper, but to local journalism as a whole. 'I was glad he was there,' said Diuguid. 'I used to joke that there were so few black staffers at the newspaper that you could count all of us on your hands and still have enough fingers to smoke a cigarette and hold a beer.' Diuguid recalls that, for the first time in his life, he saw companies making an effort to hire Black employees in the name of workplace diversity. While he was glad to see Black professionals like himself and Coulter finally getting opportunities, he believes many were hired with the unspoken expectation that they would fail. That pressure, he says, deeply influenced Coulter's approach to journalism. Driven by a sense of responsibility, Coulter dedicated decades to serving the community through his reporting. Colleagues remember Coulter as a passionate leader who used his work to uplift and inspire his community. Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, into a family that survived the Tulsa Race Massacre, Coulter's deep love and commitment to the Black community were instilled in him when he was a young child. His wife, Isabelle Abarr, recalls how his upbringing shaped the man he became. She says Coulter often told her that his path to journalism began early, when people in his community recognized his talent for writing, history, and research. 'His mother taught him to read before he even started school,' said Abarr. 'He said he always loved words and while in school he had a teacher who taught journalism so he was very encouraging. ' Coulter spent much of his early life looking up to Civil Rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. His wife says that from a young age, he felt a need to strive for excellence—to be a living example of what Black people could achieve when given the opportunity. He excelled academically at Booker T. Washington High School, graduating as valedictorian in 1972. He went on to earn a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. Later, he moved to Kansas City to pursue a master's degree in history at the University of Missouri–Kansas City, and made the metro area his home. As a journalist, Coulter worked hard to become a role model in the Black community, much like his own teachers had been for him. He believed that if young Black people could see professionals in roles they were once told were out of reach, they would be inspired to aim higher and dream bigger. Former colleagues, including Diuguid, remember Coulter's deep passion and unwavering dedication to his work. Diuguid recalls that working as a field reporter in the late 1970s came with its own risks and challenges, but Coulter never let those pressures affect the quality of his reporting or diminish his commitment to the community he served. 'You didn't become a journalist back then who was Black without carrying the responsibility of having to be very good at what you did,' said Diuguid. 'We had to do good to show that Black people really did know what we were doing.' In addition to his work as a journalist, Coulter was also an author and educator. In 2006, he published 'Take Up the Black Man's Burden: Kansas City's African American Communities, 1865–1939', a book that explores the history of Black residents in Kansas City from the end of slavery through World War II. Coulter also served as an adjunct professor at both the University of Missouri–Kansas City and the Kansas City Art Institute, where he taught courses focused on African American studies. Coulter's wife said one event that held deep meaning for her husband each year was Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Long before it became a federal holiday, Coulter was a strong advocate for honoring Dr. King's legacy and emphasizing the ongoing importance of keeping his dream of equality alive. Every year, Coulter dedicated his time to speaking at community events held in Dr. King's honor. He would share stories about his family's history in Tulsa, the mentor who first recognized his potential, and the enduring need for the community to come together in unity and purpose. 'I think he wanted to inspire people like he was,' said Abarr. 'Every year he would talk about things that King spoke about that was still relevant in today's times. Charles believed that everyone had an obligation to try to change the world.' While Diuguid acknowledges the significant increase in Black journalists in Kansas City over the past several decades, he believes that trailblazers like Coulter were essential in paving the way. He hopes that the next generation of Black journalists will learn about Coulter's legacy and recognize the impact of his contributions to local journalism. 'He was someone who was very passionate about the work,' said Diuguid. 'He always believed in doing a good job, very passionate about the people in this city and always wanting to help.' Robery Woodley Robery Woodley, business owner, died March 8. She was 82. Woodley was born on Dec. 20, 1942, in Forest, Mississippi, to Robert Tipton and Vernice Thompson. When she was 12 she and her family moved to Kansas City where Woodley lived out the rest of her life. She graduated from Central High School in 1960 and later graduated from the University of Central Missouri with a degree in dietetics. While in college, she joined Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Through her sorority and its mission of service, Woodley stayed connected to her community. In 1969 she married Jimmy Woodley and together they co-founded Woodley Building Maintenance. She is remembered by her children, Tiffany and Terry Woodley; brother, Rochester Tipton; along with a host of cousins, nieces, nephews and friends. Shelvy Lee Convert Sr. Shelvy Lee Convert Sr., retired car salesman died March 10. He was 86. Covert was born on Jan. 12, 1939, in Dumas, Arkansas to Tasge Convert and Ida Bell Pryor. Having a life-long passion for cars, Covert found a career working in the automotive field as a car salesman. He worked for several dealerships in the area for 68 years until his retirement this January. He married Shirley Convert in 1962 and the couple had two children. He is remembered by his children, Shelvy L. Convert Jr. and Anthony Convert; siblings, Benjamin Pryor, Daisy Barnes and Lorraine Moore-Smith; along with a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
Yahoo
04-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Dr. Lincoln Diuguid: Pioneer in St. Louis Science and Business
ST. LOUIS – Dr. Lincoln Diuguid, a pioneering African American scientist and businessman, made significant strides in the St. Louis area by founding one of the first Black-owned chemical companies in the country. Dr. Diuguid was the first African American to graduate with an advanced degree from Cornell University, and he established Du-Good Chemical Laboratories and Manufacturing in 1947. His company produced a range of products from cosmetics to industrial chemicals and contributed to cancer research. Despite facing racial discrimination, Dr. Diuguid refused lucrative offers from major chemical companies that required him to pass as white and not hire other Black individuals. Instead, he chose to create opportunities for young African Americans in STEM and business. Edmonds speaks out after leaving Cardinals broadcasts Dr. Diuguid also served as a professor of chemistry for nearly four decades at Harris-Stowe State University, a historically Black university in St. Louis. Dr. Diuguid's legacy is honored through several awards, including the American Chemical Society Award Salute to Excellence and Legacy in Science Awards from the Science Center of St. Louis and Harris-Stowe State University. All facts from this article were gathered by KTVI journalists. This article was converted into this format with assistance from artificial intelligence. It has been edited and approved by KTVI staff. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
