INDYCAR announces post-Indy 500 penalties; Coyne, Herta pit penalties among them - MotorSportsTalk

INDYCAR has handed out a bevy of post-race penalties from the Indianapolis 500, most notably to the No. 19 and No. 98 teams after pit incidents.

Here’s the full breakdown:

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INDYCAR announced the following post-event infractions from the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race, which was held May 24 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval:

• INDYCAR officials have fined the No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing entry $10,000 ($5,000 suspended) and the entrant was placed on a six-race probation for violating Rules 7.10.1.10 (unsafe release) and 7.10.1.8 (contact with personnel) of the Verizon IndyCar Series rulebook;

• INDYCAR officials have fined Gabby Chaves, driver of the No. 98 Bryan Herta Autosport entry, $10,000 ($5,000 suspended) and placed him on a six-race probation for violating Rule 7.10.1.8 (contact with personnel);

• INDYCAR officials have fined the No. 2 Team Penske entry $500 for violating Rule 7.10.1.5 (contact with pit equipment, running over an air hose);

• INDYCAR officials have fined the No. 4 KV Racing Technology entry $500 for violating Rule 7.10.1.6 (contact with a competitor’s pit equipment, running over the air hose of the No. 17 entry);

• INDYCAR officials have fined a crew member of the No. 28 Andretti Autosport entry $500 for violating Rule 1.2.7.2(c) (personal safety equipment, deadman not wearing gloves).

In addition, INDYCAR announced manufacturers championship points adjustments following the Indianapolis 500:

• Honda received a bonus of 40 engine manufacturer points for attaining the life cycle minimum on four of its engines. According to Rule 10.6.4.2 of the Verizon IndyCar Series rulebook, any engine that reaches a lifespan of 2,500 miles will receive 10 bonus points for its manufacturer. Honda engines for the No. 14 A.J. Foyt Enterprises, No. 27 Andretti Autosport, No. 28 Andretti Autosport and No. 41 A.J. Foyt Enterprises entries all reached at least 2,500 miles. Honda had also received a bonus of 20 engine manufacturer points following the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis on May 9 for attaining the life cycle minimum on two of its engines, the Nos. 5 and 7 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports entries.

• Honda received a deduction of 80 points for engines that did not reach their life cycle at the Indianapolis 500. According to Rule 10.6.4.3, 20 points will be deducted for an engine that fails to reach its 2,500-mile life cycle. Engines in the No. 7 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing, No. 41 A.J. Foyt Enterprises and No. 43 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports entries did not reach their life cycle minimum before being changed out. Honda had also received a deduction of 40 points following the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis on May 9 for two of its engines not reaching the life cycle minimum before being changed out, the Nos. 18 and 19 Dale Coyne Racing entries.

Following the adjustments, Chevrolet has 588 manufacturer points and Honda has 553.

Members may contest the imposition of penalties pursuant to the procedures and timelines detailed in the review and appeal procedures of the Verizon IndyCar Series rulebook.

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Media and fan attention focused on a controversial run-in between Haiden Deegan and his Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing teammate Jordon Smith during Round 10 of the Monster Energy Supercross race at Detroit, after which the 250 East points’ Hunter Lawrence defends the young rider in the postrace news conference.

Deegan took the early lead in Heat 1 of the round, but the mood swiftly changed when he became embroiled in a spirited battle with teammate Smith.

On Lap 3, Smith caught Deegan with a fast pass through the whoops. Smith briefly held the lead heading into a bowl turn but Deegan had the inside line and threw a block pass. In the next few turns, the action heated up until Smith eventually ran into the back of Deegan’s Yamaha and crashed.

One of the highlights of the battle seemed to include a moment when Deegan waited on Smith in order to throw a second block pass, adding fuel to the controversy.

After his initial crash, Smith fell to seventh on the next lap. He would crash twice more during the event, ultimately finishing four laps off the pace in 20th.

The topic was inevitably part of the postrace news conference.

“It was good racing; it was fun,” Deegan said at about the 27-minute mark in the video above. “I just had some fun doing it.”

Smith had more trouble in the Last Chance Qualifier. He stalled his bike in heavy traffic, worked his way into a battle for fourth with the checkers in sight, but crashed a few yards shy of the finish line and was credited with seventh. Smith earned zero points and fell to sixth in the standings.

Lawrence defends Deegan — *Jordon Smith failed to make the Detroit Supercross Main and fell to sixth in the points. – Feld Motor Sports*

“I think he’s like fifth in points,” Deegan said. “He’s a little out of it. Beside that it was good, I don’t know. I wasn’t really paying attention.”

Deegan jokingly deflected an earlier question with the response that he wasn’t paying attention during the incident.

“He’s my teammate, but he’s a veteran, he’s been in this sport for a while,” Deegan said. “I was up there just battling. I want to win as much as everybody else. It doesn’t matter if it’s a heat race or a main; I just want to win. I was just trying to push that.”

As Deegan and Smith battled, Jeremy Martin took the lead. Deegan finished second in the heat and backed up his performance with a solid third-place showing in the main, which was his second podium finish in a short six-race career. Deegan’s first podium was earned at Daytona, just two rounds ago.

But as Deegan struggled to find something meaningful to say, unsurprisingly for a 17-year-old rider who was not scheduled to run the full 250 schedule this year, it was the championship leader Lawrence who came to his defense.

“I just want to point something out, which kind of amazes me,” Lawrence said during the conference. “So many of the people on social media, where everyone puts their expertise in, are saying the racing back in the ’80s, the early 90s, when me were men. They’re always talking about how gnarly it was and then anytime a block pass or something happens now, everyone cries about it.

“That’s just a little bit interesting. Pick one. You want the gnarly block passes from 10 years ago and then you get it, everyone makes a big song and dance about it.”

Pressed further, Lawrence defended not only the pass but the decision-making process that gets employed lap after lap in a Supercross race.

“It’s easy to point the finger,” Lawrence said. “We’re out there making decisions in a split millisecond. People have all month to pay their phone bill and they still can’t do that on time.

“We’re making decisions at such a fast reaction [time with] adrenaline. … I’m not just saying it for me or Haiden. I speak for all the guys. No one is perfect and we’re under a microscope out there. The media is really quick to point a finger when someone makes a mistake.”

The media is required to hold athletes accountable for their actions. They are also required to tell the complete story.

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