Newgarden dismisses IndyCar CONTROVERSY as race winner issues defiant stance

IndyCar star Josef Newgarden has said he would not do anything differently despite the controversy surrounding the final restart at the Bommarito 500.

Newgarden took the victory in the 260-lap thriller at World Wide Technology Raceway, but it was a win that came with complications.

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During the last restart, four cars were caught up in a collision, including Newgarden's team-mate Will Power, and many felt that the race leader's lack of pace up front during the restart was the initial cause.

This was a sentiment held by Power, who explained that he felt Newgarden was to blame when interviewed after retiring from the race, with the Team Penske driver also flipping off his team-mate as he passed by for good measure.

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Josef Newgarden defiant after IndyCar win

Newgarden avoided any sort of official blame for the incident, with race officials electing not to give him a penalty.

Speaking after the race, Newgarden explained that he would not do things differently, either, were he put back in the situation again.

"I wouldn’t change much from my procedure," the Team Penske star explained in the post-race press conference.

"It’s not that different than what I’ve done in the past.

"I hate that Will got caught out in a situation tonight, someone running into him. It’s not fun.”

A birdie is telling us Will Power is NOT HAPPY with his teammate Josef Newgarden. #INDYCAR pic.twitter.com/kknBqDs4iP

— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) August 18, 2024

On his team-mate, Newgarden said he understood why he was upset, and that he would attempt to ease tensions by going to talk with him after his media duties.

“I’ll go talk to him immediately once I get done with you guys,” Newgarden said during the post-race press conference. “As soon as I see him, I’ll talk to him,"

“I know Will pretty well. I get that he’s upset. He got wrecked out of the race. He’s a championship contender. When you get run into, especially after the night he had — he had a great night, a fast car, he drove super-well ­– he led two-thirds of this thing. Imagine how he feels. I get it. I get that he’s upset.

“I think he’s going to try to place blame wherever he directly sees it right off the bat. He gets hot quick. I think when you calm down and look at it, it’s probably not going to be exactly what he thought it was in the moment.

“But the point is, he’s going to be upset because this is not good for his championship. Believe me, the last thing I want to happen is for Will to get hit. I can tell you that right now."

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