IndyCar handed out disciplinary motion and stripped Josef Newgarden of his season-opening win after officers discovered proof of illegally utilizing the push-to-pass system on restarts.
Scott McLaughlin, Newgarden’s team-mate who completed third, was additionally disqualified for comparable actions.
The end result promoted Pato O’Ward because the race winner 45 days after the occasion, accumulating the fifth victory of his profession and first for the reason that second act of the Iowa doubleheader in 2022.
The third Workforce Penske entry of Will Energy obtained a 10-point penalty however was not stripped of his end as his automotive was able to utilizing it at begins and restarts, however he didn’t use it. He was elevated to second after the disqualification of his team-mates, whereas Andretti World’s Colton Herta was moved as much as third.
The victory is Ward’s first since he started overseeing McLaren’s IndyCar program in 2023 (below his former title as racing director). His maiden marketing campaign within the position noticed the group end runner-up 5 occasions, together with 4 with O’Ward.
“I hoped to have fun this primary one for me somewhat bit completely different means down in Victory Lane with all our group however on the finish of the day, while you win, you win,” he mentioned.
“So, we’ll take pleasure in this.”
Patricio O’Ward, Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, leads Scott McLaughlin, Workforce Penske Chevrolet
Picture by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Photographs
Ward was promoted to his present position following a short stint serving because the director of trackside engineering after coming over from Workforce Penske in June 2022.
His profession started as an intern with Crimson Bull Racing, Ward shortly progressed via the ranks to tackle numerous roles on the Formulation 1 group together with trackside management programs and race engineer earlier than transitioning to the aerodynamics division.
Throughout his 12 years with Crimson Bull, the group captured 50 victories, together with three Monaco GP wins, together with claiming each the drivers’ and constructors’ titles 4 occasions.
He moved to IndyCar with Workforce Penske in 2018, with a close to five-year run that included – mockingly – guiding Newgarden to the 2019 title and ending because the championship runner-up in 2020 and 2021.
Josef Newgarden, Workforce Penske Chevrolet, Gavin Ward, engineer
Picture by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Photographs
Though the victory is one thing Ward would relatively have celebrated correctly in St. Petersburg, he takes it with the assumption there shall be extra probabilities because the 2024 season continues.
“It’s superior to get a win and a extremely robust end result only for the quantity of effort this group places in,” added Ward, 39.
“This group is simply stuffed with an unbelievable group of characters, and so they have been grinding so arduous to try to get outcomes like this. I believe it’s the primary of many, hopefully, for me on this position because the group principal.”
