Josef Newgarden’s win in IndyCar’s season
Josef Newgarden’s win in IndyCar’s season-opening race at St. Petersburg was disqualified Wednesday because Team Penske manipulated its push-to-pass system during the race, making Pato O’Ward the winner.
O’Ward, who drives for McLaren, had originally finished second.
Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin, who finished third, was also disqualified. Will Power, the third Penske driver, was docked 10 points. Additionally, all three entries have been fined $25,000 and will forfeit all prize money associated with the race.
Roger Penske owns IndyCar.
“The integrity of the IndyCar Series championship is critical to everything we do,” IndyCar President Jay Frye said. “While the violation went undetected at St. Petersburg, IndyCar discovered the manipulation during Sunday’s warmup in Long Beach and immediately addressed it ensuring all cars were compliant for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Beginning with this week’s race at Barber Motorsports Park, new technical inspection procedures will be in place to deter this violation.”