Chevrolet on Friday denied any knowledge of the IndyCar cheating scandal within Team Penske and said it hired an independent law firm to investigate whether General Motors employees were involved.
General Motors President Mark Reuss said the manufacturer respects IndyCar’s “decision and actions” following the disqualifications of winner Josef Newgarden and Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin last week in the season-opening race. , on March 10.
IndyCar discovered nearly two months later that the push-to-pass software system in all three Penske cars had been manipulated to override series rules and allow drivers to utilize the power boost during restarts.
IndyCar has not released the data, but reigning Indianapolis 500 winner Newgarden said he misused the button three times and assumed that because it worked there had been a change in the rules. McLaughlin, who missed out on third place, said he pressed the button once out of habit but got no advantage on the track.
Will Power, fined because his car had the same software but not accused of any wrongdoing, said he never touched the start or reset button because he knew it was against the rules. Team Penske was only discovered during the morning warm-up before the April 21 race at Long Beach, when a glitch took down the software of all the cars expected by the three Penske entries.
Newgarden presented his reasoning as if he incorrectly believed there had been a change in the rules; Team Penske claims the latest software was used in August for hybrid engine testing and its removal for the 2024 race cars was ignored. Hybrid systems will only be introduced into the competition after the Indy 500.
Penske’s rivals said they are insulted by the team’s unbelievable explanations, firmly believe that Newgarden’s team was cheating all along, and that there is too much data that no one at Penske or Chevrolet noticed that the software was wrong.
Reuss said Friday that “Chevrolet retained a third-party law firm to conduct a thorough review of the matter, and they found no evidence that any Chevrolet employee had any knowledge or involvement in the matter.”
Reuss added that Chevy will work with IndyCar and its partner teams to help maintain the integrity of the series.
IndyCar is owned by Roger Penske, who also owns Team Penske and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 87-year-old denied any knowledge of the P2P scandal and Newgarden said he was “interrogated” by his boss when IndyCar alerted the team to the disqualification.
Newgarden, a two-time series champion, is one year into his contract with Penske. He is scheduled to be feted on Saturday at the Kentucky Derby as the defending winner of the Indy 500. Then we head to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for three consecutive weekends of racing before the Indy 500 on May 26.
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