Two drivers are set to take grid penalties at this weekend’s IndyCar race from Portland International Raceway, including one who is in the middle of a tight championship fight.
As first reported by Motorsport.com, Josef Newgarden will be forced to start the race from six positions lower than his qualifying position on account of having an unapproved engine change leading up to the weekend.
The two-time series champion currently sits second in the points standings, just three points behind his team-mate Will Power.
The penalty is not expected to be as costly as it would have been at a different track, however, as passing is relatively easy on the course. Last year alone, there were 178 on-track passes, and the race winner Alex Palou found himself down in 17th at one point early in the race.
Newgarden has also finished in the top five the previous two times the series has visited the 1.96-mile course, and he will expect to find himself near the front again.
AJ Foyt Racing’s Dalton Kellett will also take a grid penalty for an engine change, and will be forced to start three rows behind his qualifying position. This is Kellett’s second grid penalty of the season for engine changes.
He is in less of a critical situation than Newgarden, and currently sits 25th in the championship standings with two races remaining.
Penalties for unapproved engine changes are not rare towards the end of the season, as teams come to the end of their year’s allotment.
Last year’s champion Palou was given a grid penalty on three separate occasions last season, but was able to overcome the deficit en route to his IndyCar title.
