Newgarden opens up over IndyCar rules breach: “I’m not a liar”
In a special press conference at Barber Motorsports Park on Friday morning, an emotional Josef Newgarden admitted to breaching the rules by mistakenly using push-to-pass illegally during the St. Petersburg race. Newgarden explained that he believed the restart rules had changed based on a prior exhibition race and took responsibility for the error, acknowledging it as a failure on his part. IndyCar officials discovered the transgression at Long Beach Grand Prix, revealing an illegal line of code in Penske’s electronic setup files that allowed unauthorized use of the overtake system. Newgarden and teammate Scott McLaughlin were disqualified for using the system illegally, leading to Newgarden expressing regret and emphasizing the importance of adhering to regulations. Despite the confusion and apology, Newgarden maintained that he was unaware of breaking the rules until after the Long Beach race and denied intentionally manipulating the overtake system. He emphasized his lack of deceit and vowed to learn from the experience, acknowledging the demoralizing impact of the situation on himself and his team.
