IndyCar driver Newgarden disqualified as winner of St. Pete grand prix last month

April 24 (UPI) -- An illegal pass during the March 10 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg by then-apparent race-winner Josef Newgarden and teammate Scott McLaughlin earned the duo disqualifications.

Newgarden's disqualification gave the victory to Arrow McClaren driver Pato O'Ward six weeks after the race occurred, Will Power gets the second-place finish and Colton Herta third place, NBC Sports and Road & Track reported Wednesday.

The initial race results gave the victory to Newgarden, who led 92 of the race's 100 laps, followed by O'Ward in second place and McLaughlin in third.

The Team Penske drivers violated the NTT IndyCar Series' push-to-pass rule during the season-opening IndyCar race, which racing league officials discovered during the past week.

Upon reviewing race data and discovering the violation, the IndyCar league disqualified Newgarden and McLaughlin and deducted 10 points from #12 Christian Lundgaard.

The IndyCar racing league has completed three events, and the revised standings following the disqualifications place Scott Dixon in first position with 79 points, followed by Herta with 77 points and Alex Palou with 67 points.

O'Ward is in fourth position in the racing league standings with 64 points and Power in fifth position with 59 points.

Newgarden, who won the 2017 series title, McLaughlin and Lundgaard are not among the top 10 in the league's current standings.