Explanation from Team Penske doesn’t make sense to some drivers. Everyone in the IndyCar paddock is discussing Team Penske’s misuse of the Push to Pass system in St. Petersburg and the subsequent disqualification.
At Barber Motorsports Park on Friday, Graham Rahal shared his thoughts on the matter and expressed his frustration with the explanations provided by Josef Newgarden and his team, rather than the infraction itself.
Rahal stated: “Let me put it this way, you don’t want to criticize too much,” almost reluctantly. “I was hoping to remain anonymous on this issue. I didn’t appreciate some of the statements that were made. I’ll say that. Like, I didn’t appreciate some of the justifications because I don’t believe they are valid justifications.”
“I was kind of okay with the penalty, yeah, sure, whatever it is. But then, as more stories came out, I kept reading the statements. I just thought to myself, ‘Now you’re just digging yourself into a hole with complete nonsense’.”
“I simply don’t appreciate that. In the spirit of fair play, if you make a mistake, take responsibility, move on with life. I’ll leave it at that.”
Team Penske stated that the violation occurred because a version of the car’s software used for testing was accidentally left in the car during the early races of the season.
This software ignored a signal sent by IndyCar to all cars, allowing their drivers to use the boost system on the first lap of restarts when no one else could.
Newgarden further clarified that he was aware that the system was allowed on restarts and believed it was a new rule implemented by the series.
Rahal continued to express his thoughts on the reasons provided, stating: “All I can say, you can interpret as you wish, but what I said still stands: I do not appreciate weak justifications and attempts to explain this.”
“At the end of the day, it’s pretty simple. You had access to something that no one else had, and that’s a fact. That’s it.”
“I find it really, really disappointing to read some of the explanations. However, beyond that, we will continue racing this weekend.”
“Look, does this change the final result? No, they are extremely talented. They proved today that they will be fast, they will be at the front, but…”
Newgarden quickly moved past the controversy and set the fastest lap in the first practice session on Friday afternoon.
A second practice session and a qualifying session for the Grand Prix of Alabama Kids will take place later on Saturday.
