IndyCar Moves Penske Duo To Rear Of Indy 500 Grid

Josef Newgarden's car is pushed back to Gasoline Alley Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway prior to qualifying for the Fast 12. (James Black/Penske Entertainment photo)

SPEEDWAY, Ind. – In a continued twist from Sunday’s Team Penske qualifying drama at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, NTT IndyCar Series officials announced Monday morning that additional penalties have been assessed to the entries of Josef Newgarden and Will Power.

Two-time defending winner Newgarden and 2018 ‘500’ winner Power have been relegated to the rear of the starting lineup for Sunday’s 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge and will start 32nd and 33rd, respectively, ordered via their Saturday qualifying times.

The news comes after Newgarden’s No. 2 and Power’s No. 12 failed pre-qualifying technical inspection for illegal rear attenuator modifications discovered before the Fast 12 time-trial round Sunday afternoon.

“IndyCar’s focus [Sunday] was ensuring that the series had all the facts related to the discovery of the modified attenuators on the Team Penske entries of Nos. 2 and 12 to verify they were in violation of INDYCAR Rule 14.7.8.16,” series officials noted in a prepared statement. “After the series confirmed the technical infraction, by rule, the violating cars were placed in the last positions of the qualifying session for which they qualified.

“Upon further review last night and early [Monday] morning, IndyCar will be moving cars No. 2 and 12 to the 32nd and 33rd starting positions for this year’s Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. They will start in order based upon their qualifying times from Saturday.”

Scott McLaughlin, the third Team Penske driver in this year’s Indy 500 field, had a legal attenuator on his No. 3 entry Sunday prior to the practice crash that ruled him out of the Fast 12. As such, he will retain his starting position behind the Fast 12 cars that did time in Sunday afternoon.

McLaughlin starts 10th Sunday, now joined in row four by Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Conor Daly and Ed Carpenter Racing’s Alexander Rossi – the fastest two drivers from Saturday qualifying that did not originally advance into the Fast 12.

IndyCar Series and IMS track president Doug Boles added that he and the series felt the elevated penalties – given the magnitude of the event – were both warranted and necessary to preserve a fair playing field going into the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

“The integrity of the Indianapolis 500 is paramount, and this violation of the IndyCar rule against modification to this part and using it ‘as supplied’ is clear,” Boles said. “The penalty should be more than simply starting where the cars might have qualified anyway, if given the opportunity.

“The cars belong in the field as two of the fastest 33; however, starting on the tail of the field is the appropriate penalty in this instance.”

IndyCar has also suspended the strategists for the Nos. 2 and 12 teams – Tim Cindric and Ron Ruzewski, respectively – and fined the entries $100,000 each.

If that wasn’t enough, both entries will lose all of their Indy 500 qualifying points, as well as their positions in the pit selection line, choosing their race day pit stalls after the remainder of the field.

It’s a heavy blow to both squads, but the situation was somewhat unprecedented in the current era of American open wheel racing, according to Boles.

“The positive momentum around the NTT IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500 has been on a steep crescendo over the last several months, and we want it to be clear that our intent is to maintain that momentum and discourage teams from putting IndyCar in positions where it calls into the integrity of our officiating and the levelness of the playing field,” Boles noted. “As we look to the remainder of the week and the race this weekend, we will do everything we can to make it clear that this is not only the best racing on the planet, but racing where the best win under completely fair conditions.”

PREMA Racing rookie Robert Shwartzman won the Indy 500 pole ahead of the first oval race of his career. He’ll lead the field to green Sunday, May 25 at 12:45 p.m. ET live on FOX, the IndyCar Radio Network, and SiriusXM IndyCar Nation, channel 218.

Meanwhile, Newgarden and Penske will start their quests for another BorgWarner Trophy from the back row of the Field of 33. Newgarden hopes to become the first driver ever to win three consecutive Indy 500s.