Team Penske has provided clarity on the refueling issue that affected Josef Newgarden's performance in the final moments of the St. Petersburg race, causing him to drop from second to third place.

Luke Mason, Newgarden's race engineer, revealed that incomplete refueling during the second and third pit stops was the root cause of the problem, rather than an initial suspected shift in fuel error calculations. This forced Newgarden into emergency fuel-saving measures during the crucial final lap.

"We had to have him go into a panic fuel-save yellow fuel map, part-throttle lift, and coast for the final lap to make it to the finish as it coasted across the line with nothing in it," Mason explained. While this defensive strategy cost them second place to Scott Dixon's No. 9 car, it prevented a potentially worse outcome of running out of fuel on track.

The team's analysis, aided by new spec fuel flow sensors, showed that proper refueling during pit stops could have prevented Palou's overcut maneuver in the No. 10 Honda, potentially changing the race's outcome in Newgarden's favor.

Despite the setback, the team managed to secure a third-place finish, maintaining a strong position in the championship rather than risking a drop to 21st place due to fuel exhaustion.

Related Articles

Previous Articles