Depend Graham Rahal as one of many drivers that isn’t in favor of the newest overtaking rule within the IndyCar Sequence.
On Tuesday, IndyCar Officiating introduced its findings and updates following a software program failure of push-to-pass within the Acura Grand Prix of Lengthy Seaside. There have been 12 automobiles, together with the #15 Rahal Letterman Lannigan Racing Honda pushed by Rahal, discovered utilizing overtake on a restart on Lap 62 of 90. Nobody was penalized for urgent the overtake button. Much more, shifting ahead starting with this weekend’s spherical on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway highway course, the rule has been rewritten and can now see push-to-pass accessible for restarts. Nonetheless, it should nonetheless not be allowed for the preliminary begin of the race.
For his half, Rahal would love solutions to his involvement as his lone hit of the push-to-pass button additionally confirmed zero seconds of utilization. Lengthy Seaside race winner Alex Palou (three hits for 15.1s) and runner-up Felix Rosenqvist (three hits for 18.5s) have been on the prime of the launched checklist of these deemed to make use of the overtake on the restart.
“IndyCar additionally introduced that I hit the button for 0.00 seconds, so clarify that to me,” Rahal mentioned. “I might say which means I did not use it. Yeah, I do not know what the hell that’s.”
Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Picture by: Penske Leisure
However how does Rahal really feel concerning the rewritten rule?
“Anyway, I am not a fan,” he mentioned. “I am not a fan. Sure, it is not accessible on the preliminary begin, nevertheless it’s accessible on the restarts. Yeah, I am not a fan. We’ll simply go away it at that.”
It’s actually a scorching subject of dialog to see push-to-pass being allowed on restarts. In 2024, Josef Newgarden was disqualified from his season-opening win on the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg after illegally utilizing the push-to-pass enhance on race restarts, which was discovered to be from a Group Penske software program glitch that filtered to teammates Scott McLaughlin and Will Energy; the one driver of the three to not have violated use. That incident, discovered roughly a month later, marked the start of a number of members of the paddock calling for unbiased officiating (IndyCar Officiating that was shaped in December 2025) separate from group proprietor Roger Penske, who additionally owns IndyCar and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Rahal, 37, doesn’t consider the provision of utilizing overtake on restarts will make a big change to the racing product.
“Significantly at a observe like this one this week (IMS highway course) and Highway America,” Rahal mentioned.
“All people’s going to be on the button and all people’s going to avoid wasting up to ensure they have button left to make use of, and I am undecided that that makes the racing any higher. It might be the identical if you happen to all weren’t on the button.
“I feel they’re making an attempt to get away from the necessity to police that after what occurred with Newgarden and all the pieces else, which I perceive that half, however to me the foundations are the foundations. They’ve at all times been the foundations. I would not change them. Yeah, that is all I received to say about that.”
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