IndyCar: DeFrancesco slapped with grid penalty

INDYCAR officials have announced a six-position starting grid penalty for the No. 29 Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport entry for avoidable contact involving driver Devlin DeFrancesco during the Sunday, March 20 race at Texas Motor Speedway.

DeFrancesco was in violation of:

Rule 9.3.3. Avoidable Contact – The primary responsibility for avoiding contact with a Competitor resides with the overtaking Competitor and the secondary responsibility resides with the Competitor(s) being overtaken. A Competitor who fails to demonstrate their responsibility and initiates a maneuver that results in contact with another Competitor may be penalized.

According to the rulebook, a penalty can be applied at the next INDYCAR race if the penalty cannot be served at the event where the infraction took place. The series’ next 2022 event is the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Sunday, April 10 on the Streets of Long Beach.