Josef Newgarden shakes off Penske suspensions, qualifies fourth at Indy: 'We're not changing from who we are'
INDIANAPOLIS – Josef Newgarden arrived at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway looking to rebound from two weeks of adversity from the IndyCar push-to-pass scandal that has muddied Team Penske’s otherwise spotless image.
On Tuesday, team owner Roger Penske suspended Newgarden’s race strategist, Team Penske president Tim Cindric, and engineer Luke Mason, for their role in the push-to-pass scandal from Newgarden's March 10 victory in the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
Also suspended were managing director Ron Ruzewski and engineer Robbie Atkinson, who both work for teammate Will Power, because of their role in team management.
All four were suspended for the rest of the month, which includes Saturday’s Sonsio Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and the 108th Indianapolis 500 on May 26.
Newgarden is the reigning Indy 500 winner.
Newgarden’s win at St. Petersburg was wiped from the books as he was disqualified. Third-place finisher and teammate Scott McLaughlin was also disqualified.
Power was penalized, but not suspended, because he did not violate push-to-pass regulations, but the faulty software that allowed the drivers to use it on starts and restarts was also installed on Power’s No. 12 Chevrolet.
Friday’s two practice sessions and qualifications on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was the first time Newgarden had been in the race car since the suspensions.
He had a different voice calling race strategy as Jon Bouslog is filling in for Cindric and Raul Prados is filling in as engineer for Lambert.
In true Team Penske fashion, Newgarden and his new crew never missed a beat.
He qualified fourth in Friday’s Firestone “Fast Six” with a lap at 1:09.2528 in the No. 2 Chevrolet for Saturday’s Sonsio Grand Prix.
“We’re absolutely focused forward,” Newgarden told NBCSports.com after Friday’s post-qualification media availability concluded. “There's been some adversity here in the first half of the year, but this team is resilient.
“We know our character. We know our values, and we're not changing from who we are.
“There's no one I respect more than Roger Penske and this team. To be able to come back here as winners to compete, with this group, it means the world to me and it would be a huge victory for all of us if we could get there.”
Newgarden enters Saturday’s Sonsio Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500 with Bouslog in charge of his crew. Bouslog is a longtime member of Team Penske and called race strategy for Juan Pablo Montoya’s Indy 500 win in 2015 and Power’s Indianapolis 500 win in 2018.
The man who is nicknamed “Myron” oversaw special projects at Team Penske before being called back to duty this week to fill in for the suspended Cindric.
“I didn't realize Myron has been here 38 years,” Newgarden said. “He didn't even look like he'd been here 38 years. I was like, you've got to be top of the list as far as current tenure, and he's not somehow. He's up there. He's top five. He knows what he's doing, and he's great to have on the box this weekend.
“I’m so excited about it.
“We've got an amazing team, as everybody knows. We've got a lot of depth. For us, we pride ourselves in it's never one person. It's great to plug in some of these other guys that I've known for a long time, ever since joining the team, and it's also been great to work with Raul. He's on the Porsche side right now, but just a great engineer. I've worked with him a lot in the past. Really enjoy him. Myron did a great job calling today.
“It was a little different, just a new voice in my head that I haven't had in a little while, but they did a great job, and it's awesome to be here at the speedway. Just so excited to be at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I love this place. Puts a smile on my face every time I drive through the gates. It's going to be a good month for us, hopefully.”
There are plenty of days left in the month at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but Newgarden can see brighter times ahead as he moves forward from the dark days of adversity that he has dealt with since the original penalties were announced by IndyCar on April 24.
“This isn't my team; it's Roger's team,” Newgarden said. “Everybody has heard from Roger at this point, what we've done, and all I can say is I'm excited to be here.
“I'm so happy to be at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. You have no idea. I'm not saying that disingenuously. It just feels good to be here, and we've got the team. It's a little different than what it looked like last year but not that different. We're here as a team, and we're ready to go."
That tremendous sensation that a racing driver feels at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and nowhere else in the world came over Newgarden as he rolled out in his race car on Friday morning for the first practice.
“We were rolling down pit lane today and I was telling my crew chief, Chad Gordon, there's just no place like the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” Newgarden said. “No place compares. The history of this facility and the feeling that it gives you, it's very emotional. It's just a great place to be.
“Certainly, this weekend is different than a couple weeks from now. The road course is one challenge. I would say it's not been our best challenge. We've actually gotten a race win in the 2 car on the road course but only one, and certainly on the oval it's a totally different ballgame when you show up for the 500. It's great to be here.
“This is a good warm-up, everybody enjoys this show, and we're really thrilled for what's going to come in two weeks.”
Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing won the pole on Friday and is the defending winner of the Sonsio Grand Prix. Since 2022, Palou was IndyCar’s bad boy after he signed a contract to race for Arrow McLaren while still under contract to Chip Ganassi Racing.
Team owner Chip Ganassi invoked Palou’s option, forcing him to remain with his team. Ultimately, Ganassi convinced Palou to stay, and the driver told McLaren last year that he would not honor the agreement they had made in 2022.
NBCSports.com asked Palou if he was happy to hand off the troublemaker title to Newgarden?
“It's interesting from looking from afar,” Palou said. “I know what they are going through, and they're getting tired of asking the same thing. But I went through that for two seasons in a row.
“It's good to see it now.
“Yes, I'm glad to give it back.”
