The NTT IndyCar Series has announced grid penalties for four drivers ahead of this weekend’s Bommarito 500 from World Wide Technology Raceway.
The drivers include championship contenders Alex Palou and Scott Dixon, who currently sit first and third in the title race.
The #51 of Katherine Legge will also drop down below her qualifying position, as will Felix Rosenqvist in the #60 Meyer Shank Racing entry.
All four drivers will drop nine positions on account of using too many engines across the season.
All four drivers also use Honda power plants, which puts the manufacturer at a further disadvantage where Team Penske and Chevrolet have been tough to beat lately on oval courses
The penalties stem from premature engine replacement earlier in the year, specifically during the two weeks of running for the Indianapolis 500.
Honda was forced to replace more than its share of engines while focusing on performance for that race, and is now paying the price in the form of grid penalties.
The penalties are stronger on ovals than on road courses to help balance the strength of the penalty. If the penalties had come on a road course, each driver would only drop six positions instead of nine.
Last year’s winner Dixon started 16th during that event, so he will need to pull off a similar drive through the field if he is to repeat as the winner at Gateway.
There are four races on the schedule after this weekend’s event at WWTR, and more penalties are likely as other entries have to take more than their allocated number of engines.
