Newgarden became emotional while 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 to have violated 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, forfeiting their podium finishes, points, and prize money. Additionally, the team received a fine.
Team Penske acknowledged that a software error on their part enabled the use of the system during the initial restart laps, emphasizing that it should not have been active on the car.
Newgarden addressed the gathered media ahead of this weekend’s race at Barber Motorsports Park, displaying a determined attitude despite his frustration.
“The challenging aspect of this situation is that I was unaware of any wrongdoing until Monday after Long Beach,” said Newgarden, his expression serious. “It was the first time I learned that I had broken the rules.
“The story I know, which is the truth, almost seems too convenient to believe. So, to answer your question, no, I did not leave St. Pete thinking we had deceived anyone. I only discovered our mistake this week.
“I have been consumed by this for the past 48 hours. I woke up at 3AM this morning and couldn’t fall back asleep. I knew I had to be well-rested to address these individuals.
“The truth is simple. It’s incredibly easy to tell the truth. I wanted to do that today. I have left some room for this weekend. I have tried to study and maintain my normal routine, so… I hope I will be prepared.
“I sincerely apologize to our fans, partners, teammates, and competitors within our community.
“I have dedicated my entire career to upholding an exceptionally high standard for myself. Clearly, I have fallen far short of that in this instance. Once again, I cannot emphasize enough how challenging it is to grapple with this. It is an incredibly embarrassing process to endure. I hope we can move forward after this. That is all we can do at this point.”
Newgarden, visibly emotional while recounting his thoughts, was pressed for more details regarding his use of the Push to Pass system. His responses revealed that he believed the rules had changed prior to this season, allowing for additional usage.
Not only did he deliberately activate the boost by pressing the button on his steering wheel, but he also expected the system to function because he and his crew operated under the belief that it was now permitted from the first lap of a restart.
Newgarden explained that this belief was unique to him and his specific crew. 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 nearly a full lap after the restart.
“The crucial distinction with the #2 car, which is important to understand, is that somehow, we convinced ourselves that there had been a rule change regarding restarts and the usage of the overtake feature,” stated Newgarden.
“You may wonder, ‘How did you come up with this? It has never happened before.’ The only time this was introduced was during the Thermal exhibition race. 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.
“It was even permitted during qualifying. There were extensive discussions about it. We genuinely believed and convinced ourselves that at 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 right away.’
“I even requested the team to remind me of this so I wouldn’t forget. When a driver encounters something new, it is vital to have a reminder. It’s easy for me to overlook things amidst everything happening inside the car.
“I specifically asked for that reminder. We were all aware of it.
“The most astonishing part of the story is that the previously unknown software issue only reinforced that belief further. Then we went through St. Pete, we went through Thermal, where it was an actual change and everyone was using it. Then we arrived at Long Beach, and it was still present in the car.”
Newgarden’s account differs slightly from Team Penske’s official statement earlier in the week, which suggested that the main source of the problem was a specific testing software that should have been removed from the car prior to the race.
Now it appears that at least some members of the team believed the change was intentional, and even the driver expected to be able to utilize the boost during a time frame that was ultimately disallowed.
Given that Newgarden has been the de-facto 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.