IndyCar rule change sows confusion

A race-control software rule is suddenly one of the more important stories in IndyCar — because it changes how drivers attack restarts, and because the drivers themselves still don’t seem to agree on what the rule really means. IndyCar changed its Push to Pass procedure on May 5, just before the Sonsio Grand Prix weekend at Indianapolis. The goal was simple: stop a repeat of the Long Beach mess. But the fix created a new problem — confusion over who gets blamed if the system is active when it shouldn’t be. (indycar.com) ### What is Push to Pass? Push to Pass is IndyCar’s temporary power boost on road and street courses. Drivers get about 60 extra horsepower and, in 2026, a total of 200 seconds to spend during green-flag racing. It is not used on ovals. The whole point is tactical passing — you burn some of that time to attack, defend, or break a tow. (indycar.com) ### What changed this week? Before this update, drivers were not supposed to use Push to Pass on starts or restarts. Now they can use it on restarts — but only after the green flag and only after crossing the alternate start-finish line. IndyCar says that rule starts with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course event and stays in place for all future road and street races. The time limits and per-push settings did not change. (indycar.com) ### Why did IndyCar change it now? Because Long Beach blew up the old system. On the Lap 61 restart in the April 19 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, a software failure left Push to Pass available when it should have been disabled. Twelve drivers used it. IndyCar reviewed the data and said only Marcus Armstrong gained a position, passing Santino Ferrucci while both were using the boost, so the series left the results alone. (speedcafe.com) ### What actually broke at Long Beach? IndyCar said the issue came from CAN messages — basically the digital instructions race control sends to the cars. The system is supposed to send individual signals, including whether Push to Pass is available. Instead, simultaneous messages went out, the shutdown command never landed, and the cars never got the signal to disable the feature under yellow and on the restart. That is why drivers suddenly had a live button. (speedcafe.com) ### So why are drivers still confused? Because IndyCar also shifted responsibility onto the competitors. The series said drivers can be penalized for using Push to Pass at restricted times even if a system error makes it available. IndyCar plans to update its CAN messaging and add software monitoring, but the practical question remains: if the button works, is a driver supposed to ignore it in the middle of a restart fight? That is where the argument started. (sports.yahoo.com) ### What were Palou and the others arguing about? Alex Palou’s objection was basically common sense: if race control makes a mistake and the button lights up, why is the driver at fault for pressing it? Christian Lundgaard pushed back that the rule is still the rule until the alternate line. Kyle Kirkwood added another wrinkle — some teams seemed more aware than others that the system was active at Long Beach. That turned a technical clarification into an ethics debate about what drivers should do when the software hands them an advantage. (sports.yahoo.com) ### Why does this matter on track? Because restarts are already chaos, and now teams have another weapon to manage right at the moment the field bunches up. Drivers may save more of their 200 seconds for restart battles instead of spending it earlier in a stint. And at Indianapolis, the alternate start-finish line sits at Turn 11, which means the run to that point becomes a kind of waiting game before the boost can legally come alive. (abcnews.com) ### Bottom line IndyCar tried to simplify a broken rule by legalizing more uses of Push to Pass. But the real controversy was never just the button — it was trust. If drivers do not trust the software, and do not trust how penalties will be applied when the software fails, the confusion does not go away. It just moves from Long Beach to the next restart. (indycar.com)