Newgarden, Team Penske teammate Power fail Indy 500 qualifying inspection. What we know
INDIANAPOLIS — As discontent continues to swirl throughout corners of the IndyCar paddock regarding Roger Penske's perceived conflict of interest in owning Team Penske, long the most dominant team in IndyCar and in the Indianapolis 500, as well as IndyCar, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Ilmor, which manufacturers engines for Chevrolet, his team was dealt a seismic blow Sunday moments before the kickoff to the Fast 12 for Indy 500 qualifying.
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There remain pivotal questions unanswered and details that remain opaque, but what we do know is this: After 2024 Indy 500 polesitter Scott McLaughlin crashed during early afternoon practice for the Fast 12, rendering him and his team eliminated from the run for pole, both his sister entries at Team Penske, the No. 2 of Josef Newgarden and the No. 12 of Will Power, found themselves enveloped in a technical inspection snafu that led to at least one heated exchange on pit lane among a Penske Corp. executive and the owner of Team Penske's fiercest rivals.
According to IndyCar's statements on the matter, both the Nos. 2 and 12 cars failed pre-qualifying technical inspection, forfeiting their guaranteed attempts for a shot at the Fast Six and ultimately the pole. The issue at hand: an unapproved body fit on the rear attenuator on both cars, where Team Penske employees filled two different pieces of the attenuator with something akin to glue or putty, which could potentially serve as an aerodynamic advantage.
But ahead of the Fast 12, Power's passed inspection without issue, and it wasn't until Newgarden's car rolled through afterwards that IndyCar's tech inspection crew raised a red flag. Upon further review, Power's car had been prepared the same way as Newgarden's, leaving Team Penske IndyCar president Tim Cindric with a decision to make.
Though IndyCar's verbiage is that Power passed inspection and could freely make his Fast 12 attempt, Cindric and Co. were of the belief that the violation on Power's car would be caught in post-qualifying inspection, and so they went to work on both cars on pit lane with a variety of tools — blow torches and grinders among them — to try and remedy the issue.
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Sunday's eventful action: Rookie Robert Shwartzman wins pole for Prema Racing
Fixing that issue is not permitted after tech inspection, as opposed to wing adjustments and tire pressure changes.
How Newgarden's car made it to pit lane despite having failed inspection, and why IndyCar has referred to Power's car as having failed its tech inspection, despite Cindric saying it passed and rolled onto pitlane, is unclear.
"At the end of the day, we didn't do it right," Cindric said.
McLaughlin, who won the 2024 pole position, was second fastest in Saturday's qualifying; two-time defending race champ Newgarden was third, and Power 10th.
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They will start the race on Row 4, lined up by Saturday's qualifying speeds.
Josef Newgarden goes for a run
Newgarden couldn't drive his car, but he kept moving.
This story will be updated.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Why Will Power, Josef Newgarden failed Indy 500 qualifying tech inspection
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