Brian Barnhart, IndyCar president of competition and operations, has named Jerry Gappens, Rollie Helmling and Jeff Stoops to serve as the three-person panel that will hear the protests regarding the results of the IZOD IndyCar Series MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
The protest hearing will take place Aug. 23 in Indianapolis, and the proceedings will be closed to the public and media.
Protests on behalf of the No. 2 car fielded by Newman/Haas Racing and the No. 9 car fielded by Target Chip Ganassi Racing were filed following last Sunday's race. Andretti Autosport has been invited to participate in the hearing – its No. 28 car driven by Ryan Hunter-Reay was declared the winner of the race, while the Newman/Haas and Ganassi teams claim that their drivers Oriol Servia and Scott Dixon passed Hunter-Reay on the final restart, which they contend was improperly disallowed by Barnhart.
Gappens is the executive vp and general manager of New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He spent 15 years working in public relations, marketing and events at Charlotte Motor Speedway, most recently serving as Senior Vice President. He also worked with National Speed Sport News and served as a pit reporter for ABC Sports' coverage of the Indianapolis 500; various CART, NASCAR and IROC races.
Helmling currently serves as Director of Automotive Business Development and the Governor's Motorsports Initiative for Indiana Economic Development Corp. He is the former president and chief executive officer of the United States Auto Club (USAC) and former team owner for drivers such as Jeff Gordon, John Andretti and Tony Stewart. Helmling serves on the Rules and Appeals Committee for World of Outlaws racing series.
Stoops currently serves as chairman of the board for USAC. He is a former racecar owner whose achievements include the 1987 and 1988 USAC National Sprint Car Owner championships. Stoops is also an IndyCar team sponsor through his company Stoops Freightliner.