New rule to prevent dangerous defensive moves at pit entry in Indy 500

IndyCar has issued new rules ahead of tomorrow’s Indianapolis 500 to prevent dangerous defensive moves.

Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free

Drivers have pushed their defensive tactics at the exit of the final corner to greater extremes in recent editions of the race by swerving close to the barrier which divides the track from the pit lane.

The final lap of last year’s race saw one of the most dramatic such moves yet, as Josef Newgarden fought to prevent Marcus Ericsson passing him before the finishing line. Newgarden pulled well into the pit lane entrance at the exit of turn four, then swerved back out again, passing close by the blunt end of the barrier at well over 350kph.

The change to the rule announced yesterday will make such moves illegal. Drivers have been told they must not cross the dashed line which extends well before the pit lane entrance without coming into the pits. Those remaining on the pits must therefore stay to the right-hand side of the line and the barrier’s end.

“The dashed white line from the exit of turn four to the pit entry attenuator will be officiated for Sunday’s race,” the series confirmed in a statement which was communicated to drivers at a pre-race meeting on Friday. “Cars that have left-side tyres past the dashed line will be penalised unless entering the pit lane, for incident avoidance or in an obvious attempt to avoid a closed pit lane and return to the racetrack.”

Drivers who break the rule will ordinarily be given a drive-through penalty. If the penalty is issued during a Safety Car period, they will be sent to the rear of the queue. If the penalty is issued after the race, they will be given a time penalty equivalent to the time lost driving through the pits.

IndyCar also confirmed the ‘restart line’ used at the final corner will not be applied at the race. Drivers will be allowed to resume racing after a Safety Car period once the race condition becomes green again.

Video: The final lap of the 2023 Indianapolis 500

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

IndyCar

Browse all IndyCar articles

5 comments on “New rule to prevent dangerous defensive moves at pit entry in Indy 500”

Asd
25th May 2024, 10:23

I really wish they changed the drive through penalty, which at a this track is just a race killer.
For minor infrigments like this one, a more adequate penalty would be to have to go through one of the pitlane paths inside of the track without actually going into the pits. Drivers would lose a much smaller and more appropriate amount of time.
1. RandomMallard
  25th May 2024, 11:01
  
  With the potential consequences that this kind of move could result in (as seen in Ericsson’s crash last week, and Paget’s crash in 2020, neither of which were a direct hit), I’d argue a drive through penalty is certainly correct for this kind of manoeuvre.
  
  For some other infringements, maybe a less severe penalty could be implemented, however I think they’ve made the right call here regarding pit entry.
  1. SteveP
    25th May 2024, 14:09
    
    With the potential consequences that this kind of move could result in (as seen in Ericsson’s crash last week, and Paget’s crash in 2020, neither of which were a direct hit)
    
    Exactly. I have no wish to have another Ratzenberger style incident imprinted on my memory, the original was quite enough for a lifetime.
    To have a competitor even think of doing a move that could result in that kind of incident, words fail me.
2. Pete
  25th May 2024, 14:18
  
  The penalty is fine. This isn’t like going slightly wide of a corner by a few mm which can happen accidentally – it’s deliberately pulling to the inside of the track and entering the pitlane so it will only happen if drivers decide to ignore the warnings and do it anyway. In that case, they deserve to have their race ruined.
Don
25th May 2024, 13:45

The moves continue to get more extreme as time goes by, so I’d say that’s a smart rule to implement before someone gets killed.