The NTT IndyCar Series has announced penalties for Graham Rahal and Kyffin Simpson for this weekend’s Detroit Grand Prix.
Both the #15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing entry and the #4 Chip Ganassi Racing entry are taking a fifth engine this weekend, which brings with it a six-place grid penalty on road course events.
Penalties for engine usage are not uncommon in IndyCar, but are usually handed out later in the year.
With Rahal and Simpson taking a fifth engine this weekend, the sixth race on the 17-race 2024 calendar, there is a strong potential they will be handed multiple other grid drops throughout the rest of the season.
The unapproved engine changes come after Honda engines suffered multiple complete failures during the Month of May, which will likely affect Honda teams’ ability to stay on the right side of the rulebook for the rest of the season.
The extraordinarily early use of the season’s allotted engines also means their future race results will not count towards the manufacturer’s championship, which will further hurt Honda in the battle against Chevrolet.
The manufacturer’s championship is the only one affected, however, and driver points will still be awarded as normal. The grid drop is the penalty levied on the driver side of the equation.
The 100-lap IndyCar Detroit Grand Prix around the streets of downtown Detroit takes place on Sunday, May 2 at 12:30 eastern time.
