Indy 500: Penske’s Josef Newgarden, Will Power penalized, moved to back of field

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INDIANAPOLIS — Two-time defending Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden and Team Penske teammate Will Power became embroiled in a rules violation scandal Sunday after their cars failed technical inspection, and now their teams are suffering heavy penalties.

Cars driven by Newgarden and Power were both found to have an illegally modified piece on the rear of their cars during Sunday’s Indy 500 qualifying and were not permitted to make a run. Late Sunday night, IndyCar said the cars would keep their starting positions but would look into issuing monetary fines next week.

But the series, owned by Team Penske owner Roger Penske, reversed course on Monday morning. It sent both Newgarden and Power’s cars to the rear of the 33-car Indy 500 field, suspended both of their race strategists for Sunday’s event, stripped their qualification points for the race and docked each car $100,000.

“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,” IndyCar president Doug 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.”

Why the No. 2 and No. 12 cars were not allowed to make a Fast 12 qualifying attempt. #Indy500 pic.twitter.com/4XvyZRmq8l

— INDYCAR on FOX (@IndyCarOnFOX) May 18, 2025

“We accept the penalties issued today by the IndyCar Series,” Team Penske said in a statement. “… We are disappointed by the results and the impact it has on our organization. We will make further announcements later this week related to personnel for the upcoming Indianapolis 500.”

The news of the illegal parts modification rankled other competitors Sunday night. Arrow McLaren Racing’s Pato O’Ward said the Penske cars should not have been allowed to remain in the top 12 — where they both ended up after Saturday’s first day of qualifying — and should have been relegated to the “Last Row Shootout,” which risks one car being eliminated from the field.

“I’m not an engineer, so I can’t tell you what they were doing, how much speed that it is or if it is any speed,” O’Ward said after qualifying third. “Obviously, it’s not in regulation. The rule is pretty black and white. … They should have been brought into the (last chance qualifier) because they had that yesterday, I guarantee you, until someone pointed it out today. Those cars, if they’re disqualified today, they should have been disqualified yesterday.”

Asked late Sunday about whether the cars could have gotten through inspection with the illegal modifications on Saturday, Boles would only say, “All I can tell you is it was found (Sunday).”

Another Penske car, Scott McLaughlin, crashed hard in Sunday’s pre-qualifying practice session and was unable to qualify. IndyCar said Monday a further inspection of his wrecked car showed the illegal modification was not present, and McLaughlin was permitted to keep his No. 10 starting spot for the Indy 500.

But Penske, which had entered the month of May as the favorites to win a record 21st Indy 500 for the esteemed team owner, is suddenly overshadowed by questions about their cars’ legality and a renewed spotlight on the conflict of interest of Penske owning both the series and a team that competes in it.

“It’s a shame really, because they don’t need to be doing that stuff,” O’Ward said. “They’re a great team. They have got great drivers. Why are they doing that? It makes no sense.”

Others may feel even worse. Rookie Jacob Abel was bumped from the Indy 500 on Sunday night with a legal car. Meanwhile, 13th-place qualified Conor Daly and 14th-place Alexander Rossi could have been eligible for the top 12 — a group which notably has a separate session Sunday to run for the pole position — had Newgarden and Power been removed from their starting spots earlier than Monday.

The entire field moved up two positions after Newgarden and Power were shuffled down the lineup, but many in IndyCar still may not be satisfied. Fair or not, such rules violations in motorsports always raise questions about how long a team had been working in a certain area before the infraction was discovered.

This is also the second major violation for Team Penske in the last year. In 2024, the Penske cars were discovered to have an illegal software program that allowed them to use IndyCar’s “push to pass” engine boost at non-permitted times, with Newgarden and McLaughlin found to have used the boost in a race in St. Petersburg, Fla. They were disqualified and four major team members were suspended.

This conversation is certainly not what Boles and IndyCar wanted heading into a sold-out Indianapolis 500 with 350,000 people expected to attend and a race with storylines like NASCAR star Kyle Larson doing the “Double” and former Formula One hopeful Robert Shwartzman becoming the first rookie in 42 years to win the pole position.

Newgarden’s quest to become the first-ever driver in the race’s 109-year history to win three consecutive 500s was one of those glowing storylines as well — at least until Sunday’s violation.

“The positive momentum around the NTT IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500 has been on a steep crescendo over the last several months,” Boles said, “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. … 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.”

(Top photo of Josef Newgarden: Jeremy Hogan / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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