Newgarden “didn’t rehearse” emotional IndyCar press conference
Reigning Indy 500 champion Newgarden faced the press for the first time at Barber Motorsports Park today, just days after the revelation that he and Team Penske team-mate Scott McLaughlin had been disqualified from the season-opening St. Petersburg race for breaking IndyCar’s push-to-pass rules at restarts. Penske’s Tim Cindric revealed that an illegal line of code was to blame for the system being available, while Newgarden told journalists a new spin on the story – that he believed he was able to use his overtake button at restarts, as per the exhibition race at Thermal Club which followed the St. Pete event. In an emotional half-hour session in front of the media, during which his voice wavered on several occasions as his integrity was questioned, Newgarden said he wanted to tell “the truth” about what happened and why. When asked by Motorsport.com how he can earn back the trust of his competitors, Newgarden replied: “It’s important to state, and I think it’s the truth, I don’t know that anybody is gonna believe what I’ve told you here today, and that’s OK.” He was also quizzed about Roger Penske’s perceived conflict of interests, in running cars in a series that he also owns, and Newgarden admitted that the episode was “not acceptable” to its leader’s standards.
