AJ Foyt Racing fined $25K, lose championship points after Detroit; Santino Ferrucci keeps second place

Another post-race technical inspection failure in IndyCar this week — the second round since the Penske problem prior to the 500 — this time for Santino Ferrucci and the No. 14 car of AJ Foyt Racing after the team’s second-place finish in Sunday’s Detroit Grand Prix.

On Monday, IndyCar announced the discovery during the post-race technical inspection of the #14 AJ Foyt Racing car that the driver ballast, used to bring the combined weight of the driver and ballast to 185 pounds, was underweight. It was also found that the ballast was not within the tolerance range of 0.00 to +1.00 pounds.

According to the series, the weight of car No. 14 was found to be 10 pounds over the minimum weight requirement of 1,785 pounds for road and street circuits. The car competed over the minimum weight requirement on track.

AJ Foyt Racing violated rule 14.4.2. (Driver Equivalency Weight), Rule 14.4.2.2. (Driver Equivalency Weight must bring the combined weight of the Driver and Driver ballast to 185 pounds), and Rule 14.4.2.5 (The Driver ballast weight tolerance is 0.00 to + 1.00 pounds. The Driver Equivalency Weight must be installed and secured in the designed location forward of the seatback. This location may only be used for Driver ballast).

IndyCar says the rule exists “to equalize the weight of varying-sized drivers so there is no advantage based on the weight of the driver”.

Ferrucci and the No. 14 team will keep their second-place finish, the best IndyCar finish of the 27-year-old driver’s career. However, the team has been fined $25,000 and will forfeit 25 championship driver and entrant points. They will also not receive the bonus point for leading a lap. The No. 14 team is also ineligible for engine points and the associated race prize money.

Within an hour of the announcement from IndyCar, AJ Foyt Racing released its own statement accepting the penalty, emphasizing that “we recognize that compliance with every rule is critical to ensuring fairness in this sport, no matter how minor the deviation may seem.”

Ferrucci started 21st on Sunday and was running in the middle of the pack after pitting on lap 65 of 100 when Callum Ilott of Prema Racing lost a wheel, causing a full-course yellow. Having already pitted alongside Kyffin Simpson and Marcus Armstrong, Ferrucci advanced in the standings when the rest of the field had to stop during the caution.

Ferrucci found himself in the lead at the restart. While he wasn’t able to hold off the eventual winner, Kyle Kirkwood, the Connecticut native managed to keep second place at the checkered flag.

Santino Ferrucci, A. J. Foyt Enterprises, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global

Photo by: Penske Entertainment

“Huge, huge shoutout to this whole team,” a happy Ferrucci after the race. “We were struggling in qualifying. I struggled. I made a lot of mistakes. I was really hard on myself yesterday, because I felt like it was all me. Pit stops were phenomenal. The stand was amazing – I mean, perfect strategy. I just got lucky with that yellow.”

The Detroit Grand Prix was the second consecutive IndyCar event in which the runner-up was penalized the day after the race. Marcus Ericsson, who finished second in the Indianapolis 500 on May 25, failed the post-race technical inspection with his No. 28 car. He was sent to the back of the field alongside his teammate, Kirkwood.