SEARCH

    Select Website Language

    GDPR Compliance

    We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, Privacy Policies, and Terms of Service.

    IndyCar Finally Gets Independent Officiating, Sort Of

    1 day ago

    IndyCar will implement independent officiating for the 2026 season through a new nonprofit entity called IndyCar Officiating, Inc. The Independent Officiating Board consists of three members: NASCAR veteran Ray Evernham and automotive executive Raj Nair, both voted in by team owners, plus Ronan Morgan, appointed by the FIA. This board will hire a Managing Director of Officiating who reports directly to them, with no oversight from IndyCar or Penske Entertainment officials. The timing is everything. Questions about series officiating intensified after two major controversies involving Team Penske, the race team owned by Roger Penske, who also owns IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In 2024, Team Penske was found to have illegally used push to pass technology at St. Petersburg. Later that year, an Indianapolis 500 qualifying scandal resulted in penalties and three Team Penske executives leaving the organization. When the same person owns the series and competes in it, perception becomes reality quickly, and those incidents made structural change unavoidable. Evernham served as crew chief for three of Jeff Gordon's NASCAR Cup Series championships and brings decades of racing experience. Nair spent 30 years in the automotive and racing industries with roles at Ford, Singer Group, and Multimatic. Morgan brings over 50 years of motorsport experience as an FIA official, having served as chairman of stewards for more than 100 international events and as sporting manager of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from 2009 to 2021. On paper, the credentials are solid. The wrinkle comes with the money. Although race governance has been separated from Penske Entertainment and Team Penske, Penske Entertainment will still pay the salaries of officials within IndyCar Officiating, Inc. That's not exactly independence in the truest sense. The officials answer to the board, not Penske, which is progress, but the funding structure means Roger Penske's company still controls the budget. You can't claim full separation when one side signs the checks. Many of IndyCar's existing officials are expected to be retained, with their employment shifting from Penske Entertainment to the new nonprofit. The day to day operations won't change dramatically. Race directors and technical directors will perform the same functions they do now. The difference is who they ultimately report to and who holds them accountable. That matters more than it might seem. Perception of fairness is as important as actual fairness in racing, and this structure at least creates distance between the team owner and the officials making calls. The board will announce its Managing Director of Officiating in early 2026, and that hire will define whether this restructure has teeth or is just organizational theater. The right person in that role, with genuine autonomy and backing from the board, could make this work. The wrong person, or someone who feels constrained by funding realities, and nothing really changes. ย  IndyCar needed to do something. Two scandals in consecutive years involving the owner's team is too much to ignore. Whether this is enough depends on execution, and we won't know that until the 2026 season starts testing the new system under pressure. For now, it's a step toward independence, even if it stops short of the full separation some might have wanted.
    Click here to Read More
    Previous Article
    Porsche is Helpless As Chinese Rivals Rewrite the Rulebook
    Next Article
    Factory concessions: beyond the ranks

    Related Indycar Updates:

    Comments (0)

      Leave a Comment