Team Penske had three shots at the Indianapolis 500 pole going into Sunday, but now they will have none. Scott McLaughlin crashed in morning practice, destroying his primary car in the process. But the issue for his two teammates is far more surprising.
Eyebrows began to raise as Josef Newgarden and Will Power had their No. 2 and No. 12 Penske Chevrolets pushed from the pit lane abruptly just as Fast 12 qualifying was set to begin.
At first, it was believed that there was an issue with the two cars, but that was not the case at all. In fact, both cars failed pre-qualifying inspection for a yet to be revealed reason. Neither Power or Newgarden will be permitted to take part in Sunday qualifying, denying them a shot at the Indy 500 pole.
As a result of these inspection issues and McLaughlin’s earlier crash, all three Penske drivers will share Row 4 on the starting grid. Using their Saturday times, McLaughlin will start 10th, Newgarden 11th, and Power 12th for 109th running of IndyCar’s crown jewel event.
The team has yet to make a statement regarding the inspection failures.
More to follow…
In this article
Nick DeGroot
IndyCar
Will Power
Josef Newgarden
Team Penske
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