IndyCar
OPINION: INDYCAR Engine Grid Penalty Needs To Go!
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Two weeks in-a-row one of the dumbest rules in all of sports reared its ugly head before the stars and cars of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES even took to the racetrack.
Here is the official rule:
- Rule 16.2.3.2 – A fifth (5th) Engine is eligible to earn Engine Manufacturer points if a Full Season Entrant has completed the Full Season Entrant Engine Mileage with its first four (4) Engines. Otherwise, a fifth (5th) or more Engine does not earn Engine Manufacturer points and will be considered an Unapproved Engine change-out.
What the hell does it mean? It means that when an INDYCAR engine or related part fails and the engine has to be changed, the driver and the team suffer, not the guys who built the engine!
Last weekend at Nashville the NTT INDYCAR SERIES held their inaugural Music City Grand Prix and just as the green flag waved on a start to a fantastic weekend, INDYCAR threw some water on their own party by announcing a grid penalty for the Championship points leader, Alex Palou, going into the event.
Palou was docked six-positions for an unapproved engine change following a team test two weeks ago at Portland International Raceway.
The penalty for such a change, according to the rulebook, comes at the series next event.
So instead of talking about young guns Alex Palou and Pato O’Ward battling for the Championship with past Champions Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden as they were racing over a freaking bridge in Nashville, Friday’s storylines started with Palou’s grid penalty. Talk about a buzzkill!
This week it was Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden getting docked six spots and the world finding out right before the cars hit the track for the INDYCAR/NASCAR doubleheader weekend. Ugh!
So instead of talking about how awesome it is for the two biggest racing series in America to be sharing the world’s greatest racetrack on the same weekend, we’re talking about grid penalties…..again! Are you kidding me?
As one might imagine, the drivers aren’t thrilled with the rule either.
“Obviously with Alex getting a penalty, those penalties are pretty tough, one that was totally out of his control,” said six-time Series Champion Scott Dixon last week in Nashville. “That was definitely a bummer.”
“If I got a penalty for changing an engine, I definitely wouldn’t like it,” said Andretti Autosport’s Colton Herta.
My issue is not the rule, it’s the penalty. What the hell in this day and age does a driver and a team have to do with the assembly and lifespan of an INDYCAR engine? The driver doesn’t build it, install it, work on it, or even start it! So why penalize him?
This rule should penalize the engine manufacturer, but as it is currently written, it could have a big impact on the championship. Was that the intent of the rule when it was written in the rulebook? I’m thinking not.
The intent of the rule was to lower costs. Years ago engine manufacturers would spend money on development between races like Bachelorette Parties on open top busses in Nashville or a drunken sailor on leave.
I remember one driver telling me back in the CART days he logged 1000-miles in testing at Fontana two weeks before the season championship. The motor he got for Championship weekend was designed to last for only that weekend. Fortunately those days are gone, and this rule has helped to curb the wild spending.
Why penalize the driver and possibly give his championship competitors an edge going into a race weekend? My suggestion – points deduction in the manufacturer’s championship.
A manufacturer’s championship points deduction is more appropriate. They’re the ones building the engine, not the driver. Sure, when you only have two engine manufacturers you don’t want to piss them off but, again, why penalize the driver and possibly affect Championship points in the process?
I won’t lie. Last week in Nashville, I was hoping Palou would post the fastest qualifying time and his closest competitor, Pato O’Ward, would post the second fastest. Then INDYCAR would apply their asinine penalty and move Palou back and hand the pole to O’Ward. Imagine those Championship implications. It didn’t happen, which is fortunate for INDYCAR.
I felt the same way this weekend. I wanted Newgarden to win the pole so bad, but the racing gods wouldn’t give me that satisfaction.
Some reading this might say the starting position doesn’t have anything to do with the points a driver earns in a race. Yes, the finish determines how many points a driver scores for the event, but you shouldn’t be penalized 6-spots for something totally out of your control.
I am imploring Series Owner Roger Penske, Penske Entertainment CEO Mark Miles and Series President Jay Frye to change the rule and eliminate the grid penalty to the driver for 2022.
Let’s start each and every race weekend talking about the racing, not the rules!!!!
LEBANON, TN (September 15, 2024) – Andretti Global’s Colton Herta passed Pato O’Ward with four laps to go in the Sunday’s Big Machine Music City Grand Prix to claim his first oval NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory of his career.
“I’m so happy,” said Herta, whose No. 26 Gainbridge Honda crossed the finish line 1.8206-seconds ahead of O’Ward. “We knew we were going to have a hot rod in the race. It’s been an amazing year.”
The victory also vaulted Herta a couple of spots up in the final standings of the year.
“I just saw I finished second in the championship, which is awesome,” said Herta. “Hoping to do a little bit better next year.”
The second place finish was the sixth of the year for O’Ward and the twenty-sixth of his career and said afterwards he was lucky to finish there.
“Yeah, I wish I could have done it a little bit harder on him,” said O’Ward. “Those reds (Firestone alternate tires) at the end, I couldn’t see straight with so much vibrations. Could barely talk to the team with just how much was going on in the car. I think one more lap, Josef would have gotten me for sure. I was dying.”
Josef Newgarden finished third in the No. 2 Hitachi Chevy. The Tennessee native was not in the Championship hunt after being stripped of a season-opening win at St. Petersburg after he and teammate Scott McLaughlin were found to have illegal software that allowed them to use push-to-pass when others couldn’t.
“Team did a great job today,” said Newgarden. “They put a good car on the track, a great car. We’re going to come back next year and hopefully have a little different cadence would be nice. I’m going to be happy to leave all this in 2024.”
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou finished 11th and claimed his second straight Championship and third overall in four years. Dario Franchitti was the last driver to win three championships in four year, winning three straight for CGR from 2009-2011.
LEBANON TN (September 14, 2024) – Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood starts Sunday’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES season finale, the Music City Grand Prix, from the pole position.
Kirkwood’s two-lap average in the No. 27 AutoNation Honda of 201.520 mph (47.5189) was .0395-seconds faster than Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden, who will start on the outside of the front row in the No. 2 Hitachi Chevrolet.
Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist starts third in the No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda with Championship contender Will Power starting alongside in the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet for Team Penske. Power trails Championship leader Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing by 33-points and must finish third or better to challenge Palou for the title.
“We’ll do what we can in the race tomorrow,” said Power, a two-time series Champion. “You know how these things roll. If it’s our day, it will be our day. If not, we’ll try again next year.”
Palou, the reigning series Champion, qualified 15th in the No. 10 DHL Honda, but will start 24th due to a 9-position grid penalty for an unapproved engine change following the last race in Milwaukee.
“The first lap wasn’t too bad, then the second lap was really, really bad,” said Palou, himself a two-time series Champion. “Not what we wanted, not what we needed.”
Palou needs to finish ninth or better to secure his third title in the last four seasons. He led the opening practice on Saturday at 199.862.
“The car was really good this morning. Hopefully we can make up some spots. It’s time to see what we can do.”
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, Ed Carpenter Racing’s Christian Rasmussen, Arrow McLaren’s Alexander Rossi and Rossi’s teammate Nolan Siegel also received the nine-spot grid penalty for changing their engines.
The 206-lap season finale starts Sunday at 3 p.m. ET, and will be televised by NBC, Peacock, Universo, and can be heard on the INDYCAR Radio Network.
NEWTON, IA (July 14, 2024) – NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers feel something needs to be done to make the Hy-Vee Doubleheader weekend at Iowa Speedway as exciting on-track as it has been historically.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t bummed about the race and how it raced,” said Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren Racing, who finished second Friday night. “Really tough to get that second lane working, compared to I don’t know how many on-track passes we had last year, probably not even a 10th of that. That was a bit frustrating because I thought we had a very strong car, definitely a car that was capable of winning. Just no way to get around a car.”
In 2023 for race one there were 1,502 total passes, of which 319 were for position. Conversely in race one of 2024 there were 192-total passes Saturday night, 100 of those were for position.
“Unfortunately I don’t think our car and our formula works super well for this type of track adjustment,” said Saturday night’s third place finisher Josef Newgarden about the partial track repave. “We’re different than a Cup car. We’ve developed our car differently than they have. It doesn’t always mesh. It definitely didn’t mesh tonight.”
“Bit of a shame that couldn’t really do anything to pass or to do anything,” said Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing, who finished second on Sunday. “It’s the most boring thing I’ve ever done. It was yesterday, as well. It’s a shame that we couldn’t really put on a better show. I think everybody will agree that it was a very boring race to drive.”
INDYCAR reduced downforce levels by about 450-pounds heading into the race weekend and tire supplier Firestone came with new right side tires after heat-related issues during a recent test session at the track. The combination led to a parade-like race on Saturday and Sunday.
“I feel like we go into it and not do the right amount of study or whatnot to get it done and to get it to work,” said Saturday night’s winner Scott McLaughlin, who finished third on Sunday. “That’s not a shot at the sport, not a shot at anything. It’s working together with the amazing people and the geniuses we have up and down pit lane. It’s just a matter of making it work.”
“I think INDYCAR could go to work with downforce levels, working with Firestone on a few other things,” McLaughlin explained. “But you just can’t blame the track because at the end of the day they have to repave this at some time.”
“We went from the best oval race we would have all season to potentially the least amount of passing,” said Sunday’s winner Will Power. “Maybe just a softer tire might just work with this downforce level. Just a softer tire. If it degrades, people go out. You can roll to the outside. I don’t know what the answer is, but we certainly got to do something for next year.”
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