Ganassi backs continuity for INDYCAR’s independent officiating board

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INDIANAPOLIS — Chip Ganassi praised INDYCAR’s independent officiating structure Wednesday after the series announced that board members Ray Evernham, Raj Nair and Ronan Morgan will return for the 2027 season.

“I believed that this board would add another layer of experience and expertise to the process of INDYCAR Officiating, and with the quality of people who comprised that board, INDYCAR has, in fact, achieved that,” the Chip Ganassi Racing owner said. “I look forward to their continued participation relative to 2028 and the new IR-28 and corresponding rules and regulations.”

INDYCAR’s charter team owners unanimously voted to retain Evernham and Nair, while the FIA reappointed Morgan. Nair will remain the board’s chairman, and Evernham will continue as secretary and treasurer.

Scot Elkins also will return as managing director of officiating. Elkins oversees race control, race stewards and technical inspection and reports directly to the board without oversight from INDYCAR or Penske Entertainment officials.

In June, Elkins instituted the three-steward model that will continue in 2027 and launched official post-event reports for both the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and INDY NXT by Firestone. The reports summarize race control activity, penalties, incident reviews and technical inspection findings, including matters reviewed and closed with no penalty. They are supported by published technical penalty guidelines carrying a three-level infraction framework, a central stewarding log and a precedent library, so that decisions can be measured against one another and provide a framework toward consistency across INDYCAR events.

Post-event reports are available at: https://noticeboard.indycarofficiating.org.

INDYCAR created its independent, not-for-profit officiating organization ahead of the 2026 season to separate competition governance from series management and improve transparency and consistency. Its first-year initiatives included a three-steward model, published penalty guidelines and post-event reports detailing penalties, incident reviews and technical inspection findings.

The IOB also worked closely with the FIA through its first season to exchange ideas and explore best practices. The FIA Officials Department assisted in the evaluation of stewarding practice and helped develop a more robust model. All three IOB members attended the FIA Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix to benchmark race control, stewarding, technical inspection and communications against Formula 1 and Formula 2.

Additionally, FIA safety officials attended the Indianapolis 500 and met INDYCAR medical and rescue teams to learn how INDYCAR implements its medical and rescue operations, which remain under the direction and authority of INDYCAR.

“The FIA is proud to continue our role on the INDYCAR Independent Officiating Board and to strengthen our partnership with INDYCAR and the wider motorsport community across the United States," said  Mohammed Ben Sulayem, FIA president. "This collaboration goes far beyond officiating – it is about sharing knowledge and expertise across safety, sporting integrity and governance, while learning from one another to deliver a stronger championship. I have been delighted to see this relationship grow over the past year and congratulate INDYCAR, its teams, drivers and officials on a historic 2026 season. We look forward to building on this momentum together in 2027.”