Pre-Indy grid penalties to be served after Indianapolis 500

Any 10-grid position penalties for unapproved engine changes in the three weeks following the Itaipava São Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle on April 29 will not be served for the Indianapolis 500, INDYCAR vice president of technology Will Phillips said.

The period covers the IZOD IndyCar Series Open Test on May 7 at Texas Motor Speedway, rookie and team testing, and on-track activity at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway through Bump Day on 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."

Rules 15.5.1 and 15.6.1 outline the penalty for a change-out if the engine has not reached its minimum mileage threshold.

Indy 500 entrants will receive a fresh Chevrolet, Honda or Lotus engine for the 500 Mile Race, which Phillips expects teams to install for the final practice session on Miller Lite 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.