Team Penske drivers Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin and Will Power shared their reactions Friday, April 26 at Barber Motorsports Park to the penalties handed down to them and the team for Push to Pass violations at this season’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES event in St. Petersburg.
Newgarden and McLaughlin were disqualified on Wednesday, April 24 from the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding on March 10 for illegal use of the Push to Pass, losing all points. Power was deemed not to have used the system illegally, but docked 10 points in the standings.
All three drivers and team president Tim Cindric insisted the violation occurred due to a software oversight in the team-controlled car management systems that also communicate with INDYCAR Race Control.
“The facts are extremely clear,” an emotional Newgarden said at a press conference in which he appeared alone. “There is no doubt that we broke the rules in St. Petersburg. I used Push to Pass at an unauthorized time twice, on two different reboots. There really isn’t much else to it. Those are the rules and we didn’t follow them.
“For me, what’s really important about it, too, is that there’s only one person sitting in the car. It’s just me. So the responsibility and correct use of Push to Pass rests entirely with me. It is my responsibility to know the rules and regulations at all points and to make sure I do it right. In that regard, I failed my team miserably. A complete failure on my part to get this right.”
Power and McLaughlin issued statements on social media about the violations earlier this week, but offered more comment at INDYCAR’s regular media bullpen Friday morning at Barber, which took place immediately after Newgarden’s press conference, the first of public comment on the situation.
“Disappointing and just a simple mistake, honestly,” Power said. “I don’t think about it anymore. We just move on.
“I feel bad for Roger (Penske) because our team, we don’t even go into the gray. We don’t cheat. It’s just not an issue. It was just an oversight, a mistake.”
McLaughlin said: “The first time I heard about it (rule violations) was the Tuesday after Long Beach. Tim (Cindric) told me I pushed it (Push to Pass button). I didn’t remember hitting it. I stand by it. I gained no advantage, no time advantage, and the data proves it. Sometimes you hit it out of habit, absolutely.”
Newgarden said the illegal use of Push to Pass was due to his belief that the rules regarding the system were changed for this season, allowing drivers to use it on starts and restarts before reaching the alternate start-finish line. The system is not active until the leaders reach that line under current INDYCAR rules. Newgarden said he believed all drivers in the St. Petersburg race could use the system before the alternate start-finish line, and added that he pushes the button out of habit on starts and restarts, like McLaughlin, even though the system is not active.
Power and McLaughlin shared with the media that they were not under the impression that the Push to Pass rules had changed this season.
“The hard thing about this whole situation is I didn’t know I did anything wrong until the Monday after Long Beach,” Newgarden said. “This is the first time I’ve heard that I broke any rules.
“You (media) can call me every name in the book. You can call me incompetent, call me stupid, call me stupid, whatever you want to call me, but I’m not a liar.”
McLaughlin said: “That’s why I wanted to release the statement. My integrity and reputation were called into question, and there will definitely be haters out there, and rightfully so. I respect that. But my statement is true.
“Look, it’s a people’s sport. Mistakes are made. I will stand by my team on this one. We are thorough. We work hard together. We win and lose together. I will stand by my team and move forward.”
Newgarden also accepted the sentence and felt the severity of the punishment was fair.
“I think the integrity of the series is absolutely paramount,” Newgarden said. “The series must hold everyone accountable, regardless of circumstance, regardless of intent. They did the right thing by trying to throw the book at us, and they should.
“It doesn’t matter what the intent was. If you broke a rule, you broke a rule and you should suffer the consequences. The series must adhere to this standard. It makes me proud to be a part of a series that does that. It’s a series I want to be a part of. I think the sentence is fair.”