Both the No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda, driven by Rahal, and the No. 4 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, driven by Simpson, got in trouble. They had to start six positions back on the starting grid. This happened because they changed their engines without getting approval after the Indianapolis 500 race last weekend.
IndyCar, the organization that runs the race, said they broke Rule 16.2.3.2. According to this rule, teams can only use a fifth engine to earn points if they’ve already used up their first four engines for the season. If they haven’t, any extra engines they use will not earn them any points and will be seen as unauthorized.
Another rule, Rule 16.6.1.2., states that the penalty for this is starting six positions back on road and street courses and nine positions back on oval tracks. This penalty will be served at the next race.
The next race is a 100-lap event on the streets of downtown Detroit. So, Rahal and Simpson will have to start six positions back from where they would normally start.
