Josef Newgarden’s aggressive efforts to defend his lead exiting Turn 4 on the final lap of the 2023 Indianapolis 500 will not be allowed at future editions of ‘The Greatest Spectacle In Racing.’
As part of the NTT IndyCar Series officiating revisions for its biggest race, Newgarden’s hard turn to the left coming out of Turn 4 on lap 200, which saw the driver of the No. 2 Chevy dive at full speed into the lane used to slow and enter pit lane —with his pursuers following suit to try and maintain an aerodynamic draft on the sprint to the checkered flag — and late return to the front straight is off-limits when the next Indy 500 is held on May 26.
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Under the new guidelines, IndyCar will police against the defensive maneuver, which brought the eventual Indy 500 winner closer than desired to the attenuator that sits in front of the outer pit wall. New instructions will be given to all drivers to avoid racing inside a line that extends from the attenuator back to Turn 4.
“We’re going to officiate that line,” IndyCar president Jay Frye told RACER. “So think of what Newgarden did when he went below that line going into pit-in. That would be illegal in ‘24. He certainly did nothing wrong in ’23, but this is what you do as a series when it comes to officiating. Things happen, and you have to react.
“Something happened, and it was a little aggressive, which is the best way to put it. So we’re going to take that opportunity to be aggressive by going low towards the pits away when they’re coming out of Turn 4.”