‘Rocket’ Blanch leaves IndyCar Officiating

According to multiple sources, Kevin “Rocket” Blanch, the championship-winning IndyCar crew chief who served as the series’ technical director for three decades, has left the new independent IndyCar Officiating group. 

A call to Blanch on Wednesday went unanswered.

Known for his no-nonsense approach, Blanch had as many friends as he did enemies in the paddock, but his passion for the sport and mastery of the rulebook was never questioned. 

Blanch’s institutional knowledge with all aspects of the current and previous chassis formula, technical and operational compliance standards, and widespread impact in facilitating IndyCar events is a significant loss for IndyCar Officiating. 

Under the new independent governance structure that debuted in 2026, Blanch welcomed Nick Allen – Colton Herta’s former Andretti Global crew chief – as his No. 2. Allen is expected to assume more responsibility in the wake of Blanch’s exit, but it’s unclear how IndyCar Officiating – with a race to run this weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway – will fill all of Blanch’s areas of managerial leadership with technical inspection, pit lane officiating, and other operational duties he performed. 

Separate from the championships won with Panther Racing and Sam Hornish Jr., Blanch became a central figure in last year’s Indy 500 qualifying contretemps with Team Penske and its modified attenuators. As the person in charge of technical inspection, Blanch was cited as the figure who triggered the process that eventually led to the penalties assessed by IndyCar on Josef Newgarden and Will Power, and was alleged to have been informed of the attenuators prior to the Indy 500. 

Roger Penske fired the top three leaders of his IndyCar team, and the decision to form a new independent officiating body came after the pivotal incident. Blanch, who was employed by Penske Entertainment at time of the Team Penske penalties, was hired by the new group to perform the same role, albeit while under the oversight of the Independent Officiating Board (IOB). 

IOB chairman Raj Nair was unavailable for comment