IndyCar announces pit box lines coming for rest of season

IndyCar will have pit box lines clearly defined at every event moving forward as a result of the controversial penalty handed out to Scott Dixon this past weekend at Sonoma Raceway, according to Curt Cavin of the Indianapolis Star.

The penalty sent a race-dominant Dixon to the back of the field because he made contact with a Will Power crewman on pit road.

The decision was met with criticism and confusion because the individual pit boxes are not marked for IndyCar races. The boxes in place were actually marked for the NASCAR event at the track and didn’t apply to Sunday’s race.

“The lines are a little bit confusing, because we don’t go in and change the lines everywhere we go,” Barfield said after the race. “There’s a different angle, if you looked at, you can see the difference between the Target [Dixon] and the Verizon [Power] signs on the wall.

“With the 9 car [Dixon] leaving the pit lane, he clearly crosses right into the pit box into the 12 car [Power] space, and that’s where the violation occurred. From that [angle] right there - as much as it looks like if you’re looking at the white line, he’s not in the box yet - he’s actually been in that box for the 12 car in front of him for a solid half-car length.”

IndyCar president of competition Derrick Walker told Cavin that the league stands by its decision and that the Power crewman did not do anything different than he had on any other pit stop that day. Walker felt that Dixon only made contact with the crewmember because he illegally drove through Power’s box.

“He carried that wheel the same way he always does, and here’s the key thing: He was in his [pit] box,” Walker said. “If he’s in his pit box, that guy can carry that tire on his head for all I care.

“For us, it’s about consistency, and there’s nothing more consistent than our rule that if you hit equipment on pit road, yours or theirs, you get a drive-through penalty. There was nothing inconsistent about that.”