IndyCar announced Wednesday that any team incurring a 10-spot grid penalty for an unapproved engine change in the three weeks after Brazil will not be served for the Indianapolis 500.
Series vp of technology Will Phillips confirmed this period will include the series' May 7 open test at Texas Motor Speedway and on-track activity at Indianapolis through bump day May 20.
“We do not intend to apply any penalties that will disrupt the Indy 500 starting field from their qualifying positions,” Phillips said. “We're not saying there will not be any penalties; the penalties just won't be served at Indianapolis. They'll carry that penalty forward to the next event. Likewise, if someone racks up two penalties, they will go forward to the next two events.”
Indy 500 entrants will receive a fresh Chevrolet, Honda or Lotus engine for the race, which Phillips expects teams to install for the final practice session on Carb Day. If a team experiences an engine issue during the one-hour session May 25 that requires it to be replaced, it would be subject to 10-grid position penalty for its next race.
The fresh engine for race day will count as one of the five per entry during the season. The entry will continue to use that engine until it has reached the 1,850-mile threshold for service or incurs a problem that forces its replacement. Then the engine with unused miles from pre-Carb Day will be returned for use until it has reached its mileage expiration.