Penske Entertainment establishes formal Independent Officiating Board for IndyCar

Penske Entertainment will introduce a new independent officiating board (IOB) in 2026.

Comprised of three members tasked with presiding over the IndyCar Series and its Indy NXT development series, the IOB reports to a new non-profit entity, IndyCar Officiating, Inc, created by Penske Entertainment.

The IOB trio will search for and hire a managing director of officiating (MDO) who, according to IndyCar, “will report directly to the independent board with no oversight from IndyCar or Penske Entertainment officials. This individual will be charged with full officiating oversight – including the hiring of personnel for race control and IndyCar technical inspection – and responsible for "enforcing the IndyCar Series and Indy NXT rulebooks as written by IndyCar.”

Many of IndyCar’s existing officials are expected to be retained; their employment will shift from Penske Entertainment to IndyCar Officiating, Inc. At its core, the IOB represents a change in management and responsibility, and is not intended to alter how IndyCar races are run or administered on pit lane and in technical inspection. The same functions performed by race directors and technical directors and their team members in 2025 will continue under the IOB in 2026 and beyond.

The final decision on the panel’s size and reporting structure comes after months of deliberation over how the group should be formed. Within the IOB, two members in NASCAR veteran Ray Evernham and longtime Ford executive Raj Nair were chosen by IndyCar Series team owners via a vote conducted by Penske Entertainment.

“This was a thorough process, and I am confident in the independent officiating board that has been elected by the team ownership in our sport,” said Chip Ganassi, owner of IndyCar’s reigning championship-winning team. “I look forward to their guidance as they take the next step of hiring a managing director.”

The third IOB member, Ronan Morgan, is being supplied by the FIA, which governs everything from Formula 1 to the World Endurance Championship.

Per IndyCar, Morgan “brings over 50-years of global motorsport experience as a senior official, promoter, organizer and competitor. With the FIA, Morgan served as the chairman of stewards for more than 100 international race and rally events, was sporting manager of the Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix from 2009 to 2021 and is president of FIA drivers commission. Morgan is also a member of the FIA World Motor Sport Council and advisor to the FIA president.”

IndyCar, which governs itself, received strong opinions on the IOB composition from its owners. Some called for every member of the IOB to be hand-picked by the IndyCar paddock, while other owners – some with additional racing programs that fall under the FIA’s control – lobbied Penske Entertainment to include the FIA.

As evidenced by the IOB’s construction, Penske Entertainment opted for a compromise that brings two familiar names and a third member from outside of the series via the Paris-based sanctioning body into play.

“IndyCar is an American icon and I am proud of the relationship we are building together,” said FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. “The FIA’s independent expertise in delivering consistent officiating oversight across our world championships, combined with IndyCar’s innovation and competitive spirit, will support the continued growth of the series. I look forward to the work ahead of us.”

Calls for separating IndyCar’s race control and technical inspection teams from direct influence by Penske Entertainment and its owner Roger Penske, whose three-car Team Penske program competes in the series, began to surface soon after Penske bought IndyCar and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway ahead of the 2020 season.

At the Indy 500 In May, after the second round of penalties were levied against Team Penske for rule violations in a 13-month span, new IndyCar president Doug Boles revealed the series’ intent to move forward with some kind of independent board. The announcement came during the post-qualifying press conference where he elevated the punishment for Penske’s use of illegally modified safety components.

In August, the first significant steps with the IOB were on display as Penske Entertainment welcomed a small envoy from the FIA to the IndyCar race at the Milwaukee Mile. The visit allowed the delegates to observe IndyCar’s race control operations led by race director Kyle Novak and the technical inspection and pit lane officiating group directed by Kevin Blanch while giving Penske Entertainment the ability to demonstrate to its team owners that more than one IOB solution was being evaluated.

As Penske developed a process for its team owners to vote on and elect two of the three board positions, an array of industry veterans were proposed for consideration.

RACER has learned that along with Evernham and Nair, the final group of six included former IndyCar team owner Steve Horne, former team owner and IndyCar president Derrick Walker, former Team Chevy IndyCar program manager Chris Berube, and former Indy NXT director Levi Jones. Ex-Honda Racing Corporation presidents Art St. Cyr and Ted Klaus are also understood to have been in the wider pool of candidates.

Although a separation of race governance between Penske Entertainment/Team Penske and the rest of the IndyCar entrants has been established, one significant link of dependence remains as Penske Entertainment will pay the salaries of the officials contained within IndyCar Officiating, Inc.