Following on from one of the main stories that shook the Indianapolis paddock yesterday afternoon, both Will Power and Josef Newgarden have been penalised! The Team Penske drivers will start at the back of the field for Sunday’s 109th running of the Indianapolis 500.
The drama comes just over a year after Team Penske were in the middle of another controversy that saw them stripped of their points from the opening round of the 2024 Season.
The start of the second day of qualifying saw Scott McLaughlin suffer from a heavy airborne crash during practice. Thankfully, McLaughlin left the incident uninjured. However, he forfeited his attempt for pole position that was scheduled for later that afternoon. But this was just the beginning of Team Penske’s woes of the day.
What Happened?
As the 12 cars geared up for an intense battle, news dropped that the remaining two Penske cars would not be participating after failing technical inspections.
Newgarden’s car was found to have contained a modified attenuator. This is an impact structure at the rear of the car which is strictly prohibited from being modified. Subsequently, he was barred from participating in the Fast 12 round of Qualifying.
Power’s car contained the same illegal modification but passed technical inspection. However, Penske opted to pull the No.12 car out of the line, knowing Power would fail the post-qualifying inspection. Penske attempted to fix the vehicle in pitlane in hopes of having a shot at qualification. However, this was not allowed.
As a result, Newgarden and Power were initially set to start 11th and 12th, respectively.
The Paddock’s Response
Some competitors found the punishment unfair. One of the notable responses came from Pato O’Ward who stated the punishment was not severe enough. The Arrow McLaren driver believed the pair should’ve been in the Last Chance Qualification as a consequence:
“They weren’t accidentally doing it because they had the blowtorch right there in order to get it out,” said O’Ward who qualified second.
“Honestly, I feel for [Jacob] Abel and for everybody that did the disqualifications or the last chance qualifying. Those (Penske) cars weren’t in regulations.”
“I’m not an engineer, so I can’t tell you what they were doing, how much speed that it is or if it is any speed,”
“Obviously it’s not in regulation. The rule is pretty black and white. Those cars should have been in the last chance qualifier. Like, those cars should have never — obviously they didn’t do anything in the Fast 12. But they should have been brought into the LCQ because they had that yesterday, I guarantee you. Until someone pointed it out today. Those cars, if they’re disqualified today, they should have been disqualified yesterday.
“It’s a shame really because they don’t need to be doing that stuff. They’re a great team. They have got great drivers. Why are they doing that? It makes no sense.”
Penske hit with more penalties
The following day, IndyCar announced the pair of Penske cars had been penalised further. Both Newgarden and Power had been relegated to the back of the field for Sunday’s race.
Additionally, both teams had been fined $100,000. The team strategists, including Penske president Tim Cindric, have also been suspended for the 500, with the two cars forfeiting their pit boxes and points from qualifying. The incident comes just a little over a year after the Push-to-Pass scandal involving Penske, where both Tim Cindric and Ron Ruzewski (Power’s engineer) were also suspended.
McLaughlin’s No.2 car was impounded by IndyCar following the news about his teammate’s cars. After inspection it was revealed that the New Zealanders car did not contain the modification and therefore would keep his position in 10th.
IndyCar issue statements
With the news of the penalties for both Power and Newgarden, IndyCar president J. Douglas Boles issued a statement explaining how vital it is to ensure the integrity of the sport is maintained:
“The integrity of the Indianapolis 500 is paramount, and this violation of the IndyCar rule against modification to this part and using it ‘as supplied’ is clear,
“The penalty should be more than simply starting where the cars might have qualified anyway, if given the opportunity. The cars belong in the field as two of the fastest 33; however, starting on the tail of the field is the appropriate penalty in this instance.”
“The positive momentum around the IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500 has been on a steep crescendo over the last several months, and we want it to be clear that our intent is to maintain that momentum and discourage teams from putting IndyCar in positions where it calls into the integrity of our officiating and the levelness of the playing field.
“As we look to the remainder of the week and the race this weekend, we will do everything we can to make it clear that this is not only the best racing on the planet but racing where the best win under completely fair conditions.” Boles concluded.
Penske speak out
Penske responded to the penalties given to Newgarden and Power with a statement:
“We accept the penalties issued today by the IndyCar Series which are due to a “body fit” violation that occurred prior to Qualifying session yesterday.
“We are disappointed by the results and the impact it has on our organisation…we will make further announcements later this week related to personnel for the upcoming Indianapolis 500.”
As a result of the penalty, Conor Daly and Alexander Rossi line up beside McLaughlin in the fourth row in 11th and 12th, respectively.
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The 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 takes place next Sunday. Rookie Robert Shwartzman startes on pole position for PREMA Racing.
Featured Image Credit: Paul Hurley
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