Roger Penske responds to fear that Josef Newgarden’s Indy 500 winner was illegal

Roger Penske has addressed the concerns of rivals that Josef Newgarden’s Indy 500-winning car last year was illegal.

Newgarden and Team Penske teammate Will Power were not permitted to start Fast 12 Qualifying on Sunday after failing a technical inspection, due to an illegal modification on a rear attenuator.

It has since been claimed that Newgarden’s winning car from a year ago, which is now in a museum, had the same parts which are now deemed illegal.

Pato O’Ward, overtaken by Newgarden on the last lap of the 2024 Indy 500, has vented his frustration and confusion.

Roger Penske defends 2024 Indy 500 win

However, Roger Penske is adamant that no rule was broken a year ago.

"I would say we had nine attenuators that were modified by Dallara at the beginning of 2024. Those have been rotated through the cars over the last 15 months," Penske told Fox.

"We also had newer ones that we bought and those have been in the same batch.

“That's why you see that Scott McLaughlin didn't have an issue with his car.

“From my perspective, when you think about the attenuators and what happened there, my question to you is: ‘What would we do?’

“We know the situation was not right from the standpoint of the officials on Sunday.

"But when I go back to 2024… that car was taken apart piece-by-piece in detail following the race. It was said to be completely legal for the win."

The punishment for Newgarden and Power for this weekend’s Indy 500 is to start at the back of the 33-car grid.

Team Penske were also fined, and have parted ways with three executives - including Tim Cindric.

Roger Penske insisted “it hurts in my gut” that his team had violated rules twice, causing two controversies, after last year’s ‘push to pass’ incident.

However, he insisted that calls for Newgarden and Power to be banned from the Indy 500 are not right.

Roger Penske said: "Those cars went through inspection on Saturday, got the sticker. They performed in the top 12 and were available to run on Sunday.

"From that point on, there was a question about our cars on Sunday.

“We actually pulled a car and did not make a run because of the question from the officials.

“But as far as I'm concerned, they've earned the right to be in the 109th Running of the Indy 500."