The Indy 500 is just days away, and there are only a couple of hours of practice left before the field of 33 takes the green flag at the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. Qualifying itself was full of drama, as rain meant the entire weekend was condensed into just one day, with Chip Ganassi Racing driver Alex Palou taking pole position.
However, even before the race itself, we have had two disqualifications that have reorganized the field of 33. All cars must go through post-qualifying inspection, and two cars were found in violation of the rules. These were the #4 entry from A.J. Foyt Racing, driven by rookie Caio Collet, and the #24 car entered by Dreyer & Reinbold Racing for Jack Harvey. The disqualification is particularly gruelling for Collet, who starred as a rookie with an impressive performance around the speedway.
These disqualifications follow on from the Penske saga of 2025, after the team’s cars were found to have illegal rear attenuators, although this year’s disqualifications have not been anywhere near as controversial as what we saw a year ago. Despite that, no team wants to suffer a qualifying disqualification, especially before the biggest race of the year.
Why the Two Cars Were Thrown Out of Indy 500 Qualifying
Collet had qualified 10th and had advanced all the way into the top 12 in what was an impressive run. For Harvey, the disqualification won’t hit as hard as he had only qualified 29th, and will instead start 33rd, with Collet one place ahead of him. This means Mick Schumacher for the Rahal team is now the top rookie, starting in 26th place for his first-ever Indy 500.
IndyCar released a statement on the disqualifications and why they had taken place. It said, “During post-qualifying inspection of car Nos. 4 and 24, INDYCAR Officiating discovered modifications to the Dallara-supplied Energy Management System (EMS) covers and cover-to-A-arm mounting points with unapproved hardware.”
“According to the INDYCAR rulebook, EMS covers must be used as supplied,” added the series. The two teams violated rule 14.12.1.1. EMS must be used as supplied by Dallara and approved by INDYCAR and rule 14.12.1.6. EMS covers may only be attached with the supplied hardware and Helicopter Tape. With this conclusion, both cars had their times disallowed, and they were re-ordered to the rear of the field, in order of their entrant points, hence Collet starting ahead of Harvey’s one-off entry for the race.
Memories of the Penske Scandal of 2025
While it is nowhere near the same level of controversy, the disqualifications have rekindled memories of the Penske situation from 2025. At least years Indy 500, the Penske cars of Josef Newgarden and Will Power had passed through technical inspection ahead of fast 12 qualifying. Suddenly, Penske mechanics began working frantically on the back of the two cars, with the third entry of Scott McLaughlin seemingly escaping whatever was happening.
It transpired there was a ‘body fit violation’ on the rear of Newgarden’s car, while a re-check of Power’s car saw that it too fell foul of the same violation. What made it worse was that Roger Penske, team owner, also owns both the IndyCar series and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It came a year after the push-to-pass scandal of 2024, again involving the Penske team, when they used it at that year’s season opener on restarts, which at the time was against the rules.
At the Indy 500, it was found that the seam between the parts of the rear attenuator had been filled and smoothed out, which isn’t allowed in the rules. This potentially could have led to an aerodynamic advantage. Something that angered more people after the same modification was found on Newgarden’s 2024 Indy 500 winning car on display at the IMS museum. Both Newgarden and Power were excluded from qualifying, and Penske then fired some of his most loyal team members, including president Tim Cindric.
Accident Mars Indy 500 Practice After Qualifying
NEWS: ECR announces Alexander Rossi underwent successful outpatient procedures to repair minor injuries to his left hand and right ankle sustained in today’s practice incident at @IMS.
The No. 20 driver remains under evaluation with the intent to compete in Friday’s Carb Day… pic.twitter.com/St2Nz1hKTr
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) May 19, 2026
While the disqualifications of Harvey and Collet were a big talking point this year, a more terrifying one was all anyone could talk about after Monday’s practice session. During the post-qualifying practice, front-row starter Alexander Rossi spun out of turn two in his #20 Ed Carpenter Racing car and smashed into the wall. McLaren driver Pato O’Ward then spun in avoidance and hit Rossi, while Dale Coyne driver Romain Grosjean was also collected trying to avoid the debris.
Grosjean and O’Ward escaped uninjured, while Rossi was seen limping out of his #20 car. The 2016 Indy 500 winner, who looked to have one of the best packages for race day, had outpatient procedures on his left hand and right ankle after suffering minor injuries, but he intends to compete in final practice on Friday, or Carb Day, and race on Sunday, May 24th.