Palou penalized for post-race technical inspection infraction

Chip Ganassi Racing has been fined $10,000 and Alex Palou has been docked five championship points for a post-race technical inspection infraction with the No. 10 Honda he drove to seventh place at the Indianapolis 500.

According to IndyCar Officiating Incorporated (IOI), the car’s front wing failed the minimum height rule which says “the front wing must not measure less than 8.300 inches when set at any angle, while installed on the IndyCar technical inspection fixture.”

The lower a wing can be run to the ground, the greater the ground effect it can generate.

Of interest, IOI says it “has determined that the non-compliance was the result of an assembly error and not an intentional modification,” and chose to make no adjustment to Palou’s finishing position.

Chip Ganassi Racing has the right to appeal the penalty.

"During technical inspection following Sunday’s Indianapolis 500, a part failure was discovered in the front wing assembly of the No. 10 car," the team wrote in a statement. "The failure caused the wing to fall out of compliance with IndyCar’s technical parameters post-race, resulting in a $10,000 fine and a 5-point penalty in the championship standings. Chip Ganassi Racing did not attempt to gain an unfair advantage in the race, and accepts this penalty."