IndyCar's Officiating Body Takes Shape Before Season Opener

Under a week before the green flag drops in St Petersburg, marking the start of the 2026 IndyCar and IndyNXT seasons, the series' offseason officiating overhaul has officially taken shape.

The Independent Officiating Board (IOB) has spent the winter reviewing processes, personnel, and rule enforcement across the IndyCar and IndyNXT series to refine the standards and headcount present to officiate the 2026 season.

Alongside this, with the establishment of IndyCar Officiating Inc. as a not-for-profit entity, the separation between series operations and governance has been made official heading into 2026.

Race control stability

While the structure of IndyCar officiating is evolving, including voices from the FIA and external stakeholders, the personnel who will be 'on the ground' largely have not changed.

Mclaren IndyCar St Petersburg — Mar 2, 2025; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Driver Christian Lundgaard (7) of Team Arrow McLaren comes around turn 1 in the Firestone Grand Prix on the Streets of St. Petersburg. Mandatory Credit: Russell Lansford-Imagn Images | Russell Lansford-Imagn Images

Kyle Novak will remain in place as the race director and vice president of IndyCar Officiating. He has led race control since 2018, overseeing race regulations, safety procedures, and various management capabilities across both championships. He also serves as a judge within the FIA court system, reinforcing the cross-series regulatory experience established with the IOB.

Similarly, Kevin Blanch will continue as the technical director of both series, overseeing inspections and compliance with chassis and aero. regulations. Chief Stewards will also remain unchanged, with Arie Luyendyk and Max Papis remaining in race control.

The consistency is intentional, according to FIA appointee to the IOB, Ronan Morgan.

"The officiating in INDYCAR is not broken; in fact, racing series around the world could learn from its procedures and operation. At this point, our opinion is that independent INDYCAR Officiating should be framed as a sensible evolution when it comes to general process."
Ronan Morgan, IOB Member

He continued to note that the independence of officiating and improved transparency will greratly benefit the series and its teams, while IOB Treasurer Ray Evernham remarked that 'IndyCar already greatly benefits from the knowledgeable and professional personnel in race control and technical inspection.'

What will change in 2026?

The IOB did identify areas of additional support for the series, adding further headcount to the officiating teams. Nick Allen will join as the Technical Inspection Manager for the IndyCar Series to add another layer of experience to the inspection process.

Indy NXT Series driver Louis Foster (26) and Christian Bogle (7) drive during practice for the Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tenn., Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. | Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

They will announce a dedicated IndyNXT race director and technical inspection manager at a later date, reinforcing the 'feeder' series with their own oversight separately from the IndyCar crew.

The primary outstanding role that is yet to be filled is the Managing Director of Officiating, who will oversee the entire independent officiating structure. As of now, all members of the IOB will attend races, beginning in St Petersburg, until that hire is finalized.

Ultimately, the board's primary priority is to create greater transparency and consistency across technical inspections and race rule infringements, something that many teams and series stakeholders have called for after several large scandals impacted the series in the past couple of years.

For the fans of the series, when the racing action begins this week, racing will be unchanged. Behind the scenes, though, IndyCar will enter 2026 with added resources and clearer accountability for its teams and drivers.

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