Newgarden & McLaughlin disqualified from IndyCar Grand Prix of St Petersburg

Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin have been excluded from IndyCar’s Grand Prix of St. Petersburg results for violating ‘Push to Pass’ parameters.

The disqualifications for winner Newgarden and third-placed McLaughlin elevate McLaren’s Pato O’Ward to the win from Will Power and Colton Herta.

Scott Dixon has been reclassified seventh, which gives him the lead in the Driver’s Championship following his strategic victory in last weekend’s Grand Prix of Long Beach.

In a press release issued early this morning, IndyCar revealed an extensive review of data from the season opener in Florida. It showed the overtake system was manipulated, allowing Newgarden, McLaughlin and Power to use ‘Push to Pass’ on starts and restarts.

The use of overtake is not permitted until the car reaches the alternate start-finish line.

It was determined McLaughlin and Newgarden gained a competitive advantage by using ‘Push to Pass’ on restarts, while Power did not.

The Australian driver, therefore, keeps his podium but receives a 10-point penalty.

Additionally, all three entries have been fined $25,000 and will forfeit all prize money associated with the Streets of St. Petersburg race.

“The integrity of the INDYCAR SERIES championship is critical to everything we do,” said INDYCAR President Jay Frye. “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.”

Penske issued a statement to coincide with IndyCar’s release, blaming the violation on a recent testing session.

“Unfortunately, the Push to Pass software was not removed as it should have been, following recently completed hybrid testing in the Team Penske Indy car,” President Tim Cindric said.

“This software allowed for Push to Pass to be deployed during restarts at the St. Petersburg Grand Prix race when it should not have been permitted. The No. 2 car driven by Josef Newgarden and the No. 3 car driven by Scott McLaughlin both deployed Push to Pass on a restart, which violated IndyCar rules. Team Penske accepts the penalties applied by IndyCar.”

Rival team owner Chip Ganassi, the owner of CGR of whom Dixon and Marcus Armstrong race, spoke to the AP after the news was announced.

“I’ve emulated Roger Penske for many years on and off the track, so today’s news is quite a disappointment for me,” Ganassi said. “This is a blemish on his team, their organization, and the series. Very disappointing as a fellow owner and competitor in the series.”

Team Penske was in violation of the following “Push to Pass” parameters:

Rule 14.19.15. An indicator to enable Push to Pass will be sent via CAN communication from the timing and scoring beacon on board the Car to the team data logger. This signal must be passed on to the ECU unmodified and uninterrupted during all Road and Street Course Events.
Rule 14.19.16. Race Starts, and any Race Restart that occurs before the lap prior to the white flag or prior to three minutes remaining in a timed Race Event will have the Push to Pass system disabled and will be enabled for a given Car once that Car reaches the alternate Start/Finish line.
According to the rulebook, the violation is considered a Race Procedure Penalty (9.2.2.), which includes the right to reposition the Driver/Car in the posting or results, with a disqualification(9.2.2.6.) that includes the forfeiture of points and awards.

Dixon now holds a two-point advantage over Colton Herta in the Championship standings, with McLaughlin and Newgarden 74 points and 45 points behind, respectively.

IndyCar returns at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama this weekend.