Will Power said he didn't know of possible manipulations to Team Penske's push-to-power system until after the IndyCar race at Long Beach last week and denied even using the mechanism.
While Power wasn't directly accused of wrongdoing by IndyCar, he received penalties along with his teammates.
Josef Newgarden, another Penske driver, had his victory stripped in the season opener at St. Petersburg due to the illegal use of the push-to-pass system. Scott McLaughlin also faced disqualification for a similar offense. Newgarden and McLaughlin both provided explanations for their actions, with McLaughlin stating that he used the system unintentionally for a brief period.
IndyCar prohibits the use of the push-to-pass system during starts and restarts, and the issue was discovered when the system malfunctioned on cars other than the Penske entries. The team was forced to correct the systems before the race at Long Beach.
"I was disappointed to learn about the penalty that we received this week from IndyCar," Power said on social media. "There was an oversight by our team and I was unaware of the situation until it was brought to our attention following Long Beach.
"As per the rules, I did not utilize the P2P capabilities during any start or restart during the St. Petersburg race," he continued. "While I accept the penalty, I want it to be known that I did nothing wrong and followed the rules."
Roger Penske expressed embarrassment over the scandal, and Newgarden, a star in the upcoming "100 Days to Indy" series, faces a significant setback due to the disqualification. Newgarden, a two-time IndyCar champion and the reigning Indy 500 winner, is also in a contract year with Penske, which adds another layer of complexity to the situation.
As a result of the disqualifications, Pato O'Ward was declared the winner at St. Petersburg, marking Arrow McLaren's first victory since 2022.
— Will Power (@12WillPower) April 25, 2024
