Andretti accepts Indy 500 penalties

Andretti Global has accepted the penalties levied by the IndyCar Series following post-race infractions that sent the No. 28 Honda of Marcus Ericsson from second place to 31st and the No. 27 Honda of Kyle Kirkwood from sixth to 32nd.

IndyCar’s technical inspectors flagged the two cars for illegal modifications to the carbon fiber suspension covers on the cars – spec parts known as the "energy management system" (EMS) that enclose the wheel tethers and are not allowed to be modified – along with the mounting points on the suspension A-arms where the covers are affixed.

Other than stating modifications were made, and that “unapproved spacers and parts” were involved, the Andretti team and IndyCar have provided no answers on what specific changes were made to the areas deemed illegal by inspectors.

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“After careful analysis with IndyCar surrounding the Indianapolis 500 Post-Race Technical Violations and Penalties to the Nos. 27 and 28 cars, we accept the penalties issued and will not pursue further review,” the Andretti team said in a statement.

“While we are disappointed in the outcome, we will take the necessary steps to ensure full compliance moving forward and want to thank our fans, crews and sponsors who continue to support us. Our focus now shifts to the future and delivering strong, competitive results on track – beginning this weekend with the Detroit Grand Prix.”

IndyCar’s rulebook, under Rule 14.12.1.1, says “EMS must be used as supplied by Dallara and approved by IndyCar,” which underscores the requirement to use carbon fiber suspension covers both made by Dallara, and to use them as delivered by Dallara.

IndyCar President Doug Boles also released a statement Friday morning which included comments regarding PREMA Racing, which accepted the series’ penalties and movement of Callum Ilott and the No. 90 Chevy from 12th to 33rd at Indy for illegalities with the left-front wing end plate, and referenced "mistakes" made by both teams.

“I also want to provide an update regarding our productive dialogue with both teams that were assessed post-race technical infractions following the Indy 500,” Boles said. “As I’ve mentioned consistently, compliance with ‘parts as supplied’ rules is paramount to providing safe and fair competition. I want to thank Andretti Global and PREMA Racing for working with us following the race, including having transparent and open conversations with us regarding how mistakes were made.

“After reviewing our findings, each team has fully acknowledged our position related to compliance issues and I’m confident we’re all on the same page moving forward.”

Boles also thanks some IndyCar teams for helping the series to initiative a 3D scanning process that could become a part of the technical inspection process in the future.

“Further, I want to thank Chip Ganassi Racing, Andretti Global, AJ Foyt Enterprises, Arrow McLaren and Dallara for assisting us after the Indianapolis 500 in a new project that will ultimately help us implement partial scanning of our cars in the near future,” he said.

“Each team provided their Indianapolis 500 cars for us to use this week for scanning verification. This was extra work for their crews after a very busy weekend and I appreciate their support. We learned quite a bit in the exercise and are targeting at least two more events this year where we can validate the process and our learnings and continue to advance our technical inspection process in the future.”