Indy 500 champions hit with disastrous penalties before upcoming race

IndyCar driver Scott McLaughlin joins 'Fox & Friends Weekend' to discuss preparing for the 109th Indy 500 and becoming a U.S. citizen. 

Indy 500 champions Josef Newgarden and Will Power were hit with a major penalty less than a week before the green flag drops for the race.

The Team Penske drivers will be forced to start in the rear of the field over modified attenuators, the IndyCar Series announced on Monday. The team strategists for both drivers were suspended for the race.

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Will Power, of Australia, drives through the first turn during practice for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

"The integrity of the Indianapolis 500 is paramount, and this violation of the INDYCAR rule against modification to this part and using it ‘as supplied’ is clear," IndyCar President J. Douglas Boles said in a statement. "The penalty should be more than simply starting where the cars might have qualified anyway, if given the opportunity. The cars belong in the field as two of the fastest 33; however, starting on the tail of the field is the appropriate penalty in this instance."

IndyCar said Newgarden and Power will forfeit qualification points, and they were fined $100,000.

"The positive momentum around the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and the Indianapolis 500 has been on a steep crescendo over the last several months, and we want it to be clear that our intent is to maintain that momentum and discourage teams from putting INDYCAR in positions where it calls into the integrity of our officiating and the levelness of the playing field," Boles added.

Will Power, left, and Josef Newgarden were moved to