Technical inspection has been a touchy subject in the NTT IndyCar Series paddock.
After the fiasco during Indianapolis 500 qualifying in which the Team Penske cars of Josef Newgarden and Will Power disqualified from the Fast 12 and subsequently sent to the back of the Indianapolis 500 grid, numerous people scrolled through their smartphones to look for photos of Team Penske attenuators through the last few seasons and tried to decide if they were legal.
I’ll admit it, I’m one of those people, and the only photo I found was of one before the parts that were modified were ever put on the cars.
Calls were made for resignations, firings, more disqualifications, hell, there were social media posts asking for Jacob Abel to be added to the starting grid.
Then, to top everything off, there were three more technical infringements after the Indianapolis 500 involving Andretti Global and PREMA. Those cars, including the runner-up finisher in Marcus Ericsson, were relegated to the final three positions in the finishing order.
Then the series moves to the streets of Detroit for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, a race that has been one of chaos the last two years. There was a bit of chaos in 2025, but less so than in previous years, though the race wasn’t exactly over after the checkered flag flew.
On Monday, IndyCar announced penalties for the No. 14 A. J. Foyt Enterprises entry of Santino Ferrucci, who had finished second. Ferrucci’s car was found to have less than the required driver ballast weight after the race.
But what exactly is that?
Driver ballast weight exists in IndyCar (and many other forms of racing) to equalize the weight of the drivers so smaller-framed drivers don’t have a competitive advantage thanks to their size. The driver equivalency weight is 185 pounds, meaning that the driver plus their combined ballast weight must equal 185 pounds.
If a driver weighs more than 185 pounds, they are allowed to race with a car weight reduction equal to the difference between the driver’s weight and 185 pounds.
All IndyCar drivers must report to the technical inspection area within 15 minutes of the end of the first practice session to be weighed each race weekend. Drivers who are late to this procedure lose the final 10 minutes of the following practice session, which happened to Alexander Rossi ahead of Saturday morning’s practice.
The process ensures that a driver doesn’t go on a crazy diet to lose weight. If a driver gains or loses more than 3 pounds, their driver ballast weight must be changed, but if their weight fluctuates less than three pounds, the ballast weight will not be changed.
In fact, if a driver gains or loses more than seven pounds between races, they may be subject to a penalty. One would assume that if a driver has a major surgery, that would exempt them from a penalty, of course.
Back to the post-race inspection. During inspection, it was discovered that the driver equivalency ballast in Ferrucci’s car was underweight beyond the 0-1 pound tolerance. The team revealed that the ballast weight was 1.8 pounds underweight.
IndyCar noted that the car was 10 pounds over the minimum weight limit, meaning that as the car crossed the finish line, it conformed to the regulations regarding minimum weight. In that regard, the car was within the rules. The car was over the 1,785-pound minimum weight limit. That much is a fact. The ballast placed near the seat just wasn’t up to the required amount, which was not within the rules.
Did that affect competition? No. Was the violation egregious? No.
Which is why Ferrucci kept his second-place finish, but he and the team lost points and were fined for the infraction.
INDYCAR’s technical inspection is under a microscope right now following the Indianapolis 500. Things are under scrutiny now more than ever as industry partners and other concerned parties question whether the technical inspection department of IndyCar can be operated independently in the future without any chance of questioning their integrity.
We may have a beginning for an independent technical inspection body forming soon, if reports are to be believed, but exactly how it will be formed is left to those in positions of leadership.
Let’s hope that whoever’s in charge does it right, because IndyCar has a lot to look forward to when the new car comes around and, hopefully, inspecting it won’t be part of the news.
Christopher DeHarde has covered IndyCar racing and the Road to Indy for various outlets since 2014. In addition to open wheel racing, DeHarde has also covered IMSA and various short track racing events around Indiana. Originally from New Orleans, DeHarde moved to the Indianapolis area in 2017 to further pursue a career as a motorsports writer.