INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Dennis Reinbold and Larry Foyt, the key decision-makers for the drivers penalized by IndyCar officials for violating league rules during Indianapolis 500 qualifying, issued statements Monday saying the teams did not intend to give Jack Harvey or Caio Collet a competitive advantage.
Harvey and Collet each had their qualifying attempts disallowed and will now start next weekend's sold-out race from the final two spots on the 33-car starting grid.
Defending race winner Alex Palou won the pole and will try to become the seventh driver with back-to-back 500 victories.
It's the second straight year Indianapolis has been rocked by a cheating scandal. Last year, then two-time defending champ Josef Newgarden and 2018 race winner Will Power also were sent to the back of the field after they were found to have an illegally modified spec part on their cars during 500 qualifications. Roger Penske then made leadership changes at Team Penske.
The violations found Sunday night during a post-qualifying technical inspection will make race day even harder for Harvey and Collet. Series officials determined the two cars made unapproved changes to their energy management systems and used unapproved hardware in the mounting process. All teams are required to use the equipment in the exact manner they receive it.
“Dreyer & Reinbold Racing did not intend to achieve a performance gain through the use of unapproved hardware,” Reinbold said. “The integrity of the sport is of the highest priority and utmost importance to Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, our sponsors, partners and personnel. We apologize to (primary sponsor) Invst, Jack Harvey, our valued sponsor partners and fully accept the penalties set forth by the IndyCar Series.”
Harvey and Conor Daly are driving for DRR in the one IndyCar race the team runs each year. Daly qualified eighth and was not found to have broken any rules.
Harvey usually works on the Fox Sports telecasts of IndyCar races, but is again taking a brief hiatus this month to compete in his ninth Indianapolis 500. The English driver’s best 500 results came in 2020 when he started 20th and finished ninth, both career bests.
Larry Foyt, president of A.J. Foyt Enterprises, called it a “mistake.”
The miscue resulted in sending Collet from the No. 10 starting spot to No. 32. Collet was the fastest rookie qualifier with a four-lap qualifying average of 230.539 mph.
Foyt's other full-time driver, Santino Ferrucci, and the team’s newest hire, Katherine Legge who is running for HMD Motorsports with A.J. Foyt Racing, were not found to have violated the rules.
Ferrucci qualified fifth while Legge completed the first part in her quest to become the first female to attempt racing's “double.” She'll now start 26th, but must still qualify for next weekend's Coca-Cola 600 next weekend to have a chance at completing the 1,100-mile marathon in the same day.
“There was a miscommunication issue which resulted in a technical infraction on the No. 4 car. It was a costly mistake on our part, and not intended for a performance gain," Foyt said. "I feel terrible for Caio who put forth such a great effort in qualifying to become the fastest rookie. He is a talented young driver and I have no doubt he’ll come through the field. This is a setback, but drivers and teams don’t make it to this level without facing challenges and overcoming them. I have full confidence in Caio and our team to do the same on race day.”
Collet also lost the three points he received for making Sunday’s 12-car pole shootout. Those will be split between 2008 Indy winner Scott Dixon and Rinus Veekay.
Harvey and Collet also will lose their pit positions and will be the last teams to select their new pit locations.
Both drivers participated in Monday's short practice session and are expected to be back on the track Friday for the final practice before next weekend's race.
___
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
