With the IndyCar season beginning this week, IndyCar's new Independent Officiating Board is retaining several notable officials in IndyCar's officiating process. The IOB is still searching for a managing director of officiating (MDO), who was initially set to be hired before the season began.
IndyCar began organizing the IOB last year after cars for Team Penske, Andretti Global and Prema Racing were given pre- and post-race infractions at the Indy 500. In December, IndyCar announced the addition of the IOB with governing members Ray Evernham (chairman), Raj Nair (secretary and treasurer) and Ronan Morgan (FIA appointee). A nonprofit organization, IndyCar Officiating Inc., was created for the IOB.
- Kyle Novak will remain as IndyCar's race director. Novak, who has been the race director since 2018, also judges on the FIA International Court of Appeal and the FIA International Tribunal.
- Kevin Blanch will remain the technical director for IndyCar officiating. Blanch has been in the role since 2003.
- Arie Luyendyk and Max Papis will continue as chief stewards of officiating. They have both been stewards since 2016, monitoring on-track sessions, reviewing incidents for rule violations and enforcing penalties.
The IOB has added Nick Allen as a technical inspection manager. Allen has served as a crew chief for Andretti Global since 2014, most recently working with Colton Herta's No. 26 car.
IndyCar will add a tech inspection manager and a race director for Indy NXT in the coming weeks.
"The board has been meticulous and thorough in our review of IndyCar's officiating process and procedures,” Nair said in a news release. “While we are pleased with the early achievements, there is plenty of work still to do. Among our major goals is to implement a more detailed transparency reporting structure to teams — related to technical and race infractions — as well as establishing consistency of rule implementation and enforcement. As a collective, we are confident in the results our team will achieve over the season."
As the IOB continues interviewing MDO candidates, Nair, Evernham and Morgan will oversee general independent officiating operations. They will attend and provide oversight this week at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and share responsibilities until an MDO is hired. The Grand Prix of St. Petersburg begins at noon ET Sunday, with practice beginning Friday afternoon.
Zion Brown is IndyStar's motorsports reporter. Follow him at @z10nbr0wn. Get IndyStar's motor sports coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Motor Sports newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IndyCar IOB retains key officials, still searching for managing director