Newgarden gets emotional discussing his penalty in front of the media. Photo: Kevin Dejewski
Following his disqualification from the opening race of the 2024 IndyCar season earlier this week, Josef Newgarden held a press conference on Friday morning to share his perspective.
The two-time series champion was found guilty of violating IndyCar regulations by using his Push to Pass boost system at prohibited times during the race in St. Petersburg in March.
As a result, Newgarden and his teammate Scott McLaughlin were disqualified from the race, losing their podium positions, points, and prize money. Additionally, the team received a fine.
Team Penske acknowledged that a software error on their part allowed the system to be used during the early restart laps, emphasizing that it should not have been active on the car.
Newgarden addressed the gathered press before this weekend’s race at Barber Motorsports Park, displaying a determined attitude despite his frustration.
“The challenging aspect of this situation is that I had no knowledge of any wrongdoing until Monday after Long Beach,” said Newgarden, with a serious expression. “It was the first time I found out that I had broken the rules.
“The story I know, which is the truth, seems almost too convenient to believe. So, to answer your question, no, I did not leave St. Pete thinking we had fooled anyone. I discovered our mistake only this week.
“I’ve been consumed by it in the last 48 hours. I woke up at 3 a.m. today and couldn’t go back to sleep. I knew I needed to be well-rested to deal with these people.
“The truth is simple. It’s incredibly easy to tell the truth. I wanted to do that today. I left a space for this weekend. I tried to study and keep my normal routine, so… I hope to be prepared.
“I sincerely apologize to our fans, partners, teammates, and competitors within our community.
“I have dedicated my entire career to maintaining an exceptionally high standard for myself. Clearly, I fell far short of that in this case. Once again, I cannot emphasize enough how challenging it is to deal with this. It is an incredibly embarrassing process to go through. I hope we can move forward after this. It’s all we can do at this time.”
Newgarden, visibly emotional while sharing his thoughts, was pressed to provide more details about the use of the Push to Pass system. His responses revealed that he believed the rules had changed before this season, allowing for additional usage.
He not only deliberately activated the boost by pressing the button on his steering wheel, but also expected the system to work because he and his team operated under the belief that it was now allowed from the first lap of a restart.
Newgarden explained that this belief was unique to him and his specific team. Even his teammates, who had the same software and technical capability to use the system on the first lap, knew that it remained prohibited until almost a full lap after the restart.
“The crucial distinction with car #2, which is important to understand, is that somehow, we convinced ourselves that there was a rule change regarding restarts and the use of the overtaking feature,” Newgarden stated.
“You might wonder: ‘How did you come to this conclusion? This has never happened before.’ The only time this was introduced was during the exhibition race in Thermal. It is the only instance, in my experience in IndyCar, where a legitimate and official change was made to the push to pass system, allowing it to be operational at a different time than the alternate start/finish line.
“Even during qualifying, this was allowed. There were extensive discussions about it. We genuinely believed and convinced ourselves that in St. Pete, the rule was now ‘You can use it immediately on restarts, you don’t have to wait until the alternate start/finish line. It’s available immediately.’
“I even asked the team to remind me of this so I wouldn’t forget. When a driver encounters something new, it’s vital to have a reminder. It’s easy for me to overlook things amidst everything happening inside the car.
“I specifically asked for this reminder. We were all aware of it.
“The most surprising part of the story is that the previously unknown software issue only further reinforced this belief. So we went through St. Pete, went through Thermal, where there was a real change and everyone was using it. Then we got to Long Beach, and it was still present in the car.”
Newgarden’s version differs slightly from the official statement from Team Penske earlier in the week, which suggested that the main source of the problem was a specific test software that should have been removed from the car before the race.
Now it seems that at least some team members believed the change was intentional, and even the driver expected to be able to use the boost during a time period that ended up being prohibited.
Given that Newgarden has been the face of the IndyCar Series in recent years and one of the most prominent personalities in the paddock, the infractions will undoubtedly be a topic of discussion for some time.
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