The NTT IndyCar Series announced on Thursday that it will implement a new independent officiating system beginning in the 2026 season.
Instead of being governed by the series itself, enforcement of rules will be governed by a new oversight board that does not report to IndyCar or Penske officials.
A new organization called IndyCar Officiating Inc. has been established for this specific purpose. It will be governed by a three-person board, two of whom were selected based on a vote from team owners.
Motorsports veteran Ray Evernham and technical expert Raj Nair were selected to the Independent Officiating Board by team owners, and will be joined by Ronan Morgan, who was appointed by the FIA.
The FIA was tasked with appointing one member of the new program despite IndyCar not being an FIA-sanctioned series. The FIA will have no further input into the series or how it is run beyond the appointment of an officiating delegate.
“We are excited to launch this new structure of IndyCar officiating and know the officiating board will approach this charge with diligence and a sense of shared responsibility,” said Penske President Mark Miles.
“They will work independently to hire the right person to carry this mission forward and provide successful implementation for the 2026 seasons.”
Calls to make changes to IndyCar’s officiating system have grown louder in recent years, spurred on by recent high-profile infractions.
Team Penske was found to have illegally manipulated a seam on their cars rear attenuator during last year’s Indianapolis 500 qualifying weekend.
The entries with the illegal modification were stripped of their qualifying results and the fallout from the discovery lead to multiple high-level personnel at Team Penske being fired.
Upon looking back to previous seasons, it was discovered that the modification was not new and further questions arose regarding potential unequal enforcement of the series’ rules.
The suspicion levels were raised higher considering Roger Penske owns the NTT IndyCar Series, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and operates a race team that was caught contradicting the rules.
Having an independent enforcement program should help alleviate the optics of impartial enforcement going forward.
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