IndyCar penalizes two Team Penske entries for modified attenuators prior to Indy 500

Team Penske have been levied a pair of penalties for two of its three-car entries in the NTT IndyCar Series ahead of next weekend’s 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The Nos. 2 and 12 Dallara-Chevrolet entries piloted by Will Power and Josef Newgarden, respectively, were found to have violated Rule 14.7.8.16 from the IndyCar rule book. The rule pertains to the discovery of modified attenuators.

The issue between both entries were first made prior to the Top 12 qualification session on Sunday, May 18, when both entries withdrew from qualifying. According to Tim Cindric, Team Penske’s president, Power’s entry passed the pre-qualifying technical inspection procedure, but Newgarden’s No. 2 entry had inquiries. Due to both entries looking physically identical, the Penske organization opted to withdraw both from qualifying due to issues that involved the body fit on the rear attenuator.

Amid protests from their rivaled organizations and competitors to have the entries disqualified from competing, Penske’s Nos. 2 and 12 entries were initially slated to start 11th and 12th, respectively, due to both making the Top 12 qualifying session. At the conclusion of the qualifying sessions, however, IndyCar took the time to further review the violations from the entries before the penalties were announced on Monday, May 19.

As a result of the penalties for the violations, Newgarden’s No. 2 team and Power’s No. 12 team will both start this year’s Indy 500 at the rear of the field in 32nd and 33rd, respectively. In addition, the team strategists for both teams were suspended for the remainder of the event and each entry were fined $100,000 and had their qualification points revoked.

Penske’s third entry, the No. 3 Dallara-Chevrolet entry piloted by Scott McLaughlin, was not penalized. McLaughlin, the reigning Indy 500 pole winner who had also transferred to the Top 12 session, withdrew from qualifying due to being involved in an airborne accident in Turn 2 while practicing prior to qualifying. As a result, he is slated to start in 10th place for this year’s Indy 500.

Following the release of the penalty report, J. Douglas Boles, President of IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, issued the following statement:

“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. 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.”

“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. 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.”

Meanwhile, Team Penske, the reigning 20-time Indy 500 race-winning organization, have not commented or released any statement involving the penalties of its two entries.

This year, Power is striving to become the 22nd competitor to win multiple Indy 500s after he won his first in 2018. Newgarden is striving to become the first-ever competitor to win the Indy 500 for a third consecutive season after he won the previous two.