Team Penske drivers Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin and Will Power shared their reactions Friday, April 26 at Barber Motorsports Park to the penalties levied on them and the team for Push to Pass violations at the NTT INDYCAR SERIES event this season at St. Petersburg.
Newgarden and McLaughlin were disqualified Wednesday, April 24 from the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding on March 10 for illegal use of Push to Pass, losing all points. Power was deemed to have not used the system illegally but was docked 10 points in the standings.
All three drivers and team president Tim Cindric have insisted the violation occurred due to an oversight with software 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's no doubt that we were in breach of the rules at St. Petersburg. I used Push to Pass at an unauthorized time twice, on two different restarts. There's really nothing else to it other than that. Those are the rules, and we did not adhere to them.
“For me, what's really important about that, too, is there's only one person sitting in the car. It's just me. So that responsibility and the use of the Push to Pass in the correct manner falls completely on me. It's my responsibility to know the rules and regulations at all points and make sure I get that right. With that regard, I failed my team miserably. A complete failure on my side to get that right.”
Power and McLaughlin issued statements on social media about the violations earlier this week but offered more comments in INDYCAR’s regular media “bullpen” Friday morning at Barber, which took place immediately after Newgarden’s press conference, his first public commentary on the situation.
“Disappointing and just a simple mistake, honestly,” Power said. “I’m not thinking about it anymore. Just moving forward.
“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 a thing. It was just an oversight, a mistake.”
Said McLaughlin: “The first time I heard about it (rules violations) was Tuesday after Long Beach. Tim (Cindric) told me I hit it (Push to Pass button); I had no recollection of hitting it. I stand by that. I gained no advantage, no time advantage, and the data proves that. Sometimes you just hit it out of habit, absolutely.”
Newgarden said his illegal use of Push to Pass came down to his belief 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 thought all drivers in the St. Petersburg race could use the system before the alternate start-finish line and added he presses the button out of habit on starts and restarts, like McLaughlin, even though the system isn’t active.
Power and McLaughlin shared in their media debriefs they were not under the impression the Push to Pass rules had changed this season.
“The tricky thing about this whole situation is I didn't know I did anything wrong until Monday after Long Beach,” Newgarden said. “It's the first time I heard that I broke rules.
“You guys (media) can call me every name in the book. You can call me incompetent, call me an idiot, call me an a**hole, call me stupid, whatever you want to call me, but I'm not a liar.”
Said McLaughlin: “That’s why I wanted to put out the statement. My integrity and reputation were put into question, and absolutely there are going to be haters out there, and that’s the way it is. I respect that. But my statement is true.
“Look, it’s a people sport. Mistakes are made. I’ll stand by my team on that. We are thorough. We work hard together. We win and lose together. I’ll stand by my team and move forward.”
Newgarden also accepted the penalty and thought the severity of the sanctions was fair.
“I do believe the integrity of the series is absolutely paramount,” Newgarden said. “The series has to hold everybody accountable regardless of the circumstance, regardless of the intent. They've done the right thing by trying to throw the book at us, and they should.
“It just doesn't matter what the intent was. If you broke a rule, you broke a rule, and you should suffer the consequences. The series has to uphold that standard. It makes me proud that I'm part of a series that does that. That's a series I want to be a part of. I think the penalty is fair.”