IndyCar – Reduction of qualifying points at Indy 500 in 2018

The allocation of points for all drivers taking part in qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 has ended. The officials of IndyCar Series have announced a drastic reduction in the points allocation for this always highly anticipated moment of the season.

If the poleman of the famous American event was offered 42 points for his result, 40 for second, 38 for third… 24 points for tenth, then via decreasing from point to point until 33rd place, only Top 9 drivers will be awarded bonus points.

The system for 2018 will be based on nine points for the pole sitter, eight for the second, seven for the third… and decreasingly by one point until the ninth classified driver who will therefore receive one point.

Qualifications modified on oval

The IndyCar Series also announced that the qualifying sessions contested on the other ovals would be modified in their organization. « The qualifying order for all oval track events except the Indianapolis 500 will be determined by championship standings.

The qualifying order will be determined in reverse championship order, with drivers with the highest number of points qualifying last. A car without points will begin qualifying at the start of the session.

If more than one car has no points entering an event, a random draw among those cars will determine its qualifying order. The qualifying order for the Indy 500 will still be determined by a random drawing. »

Other regulatory changes were made before the start of the 2018 season. A day of collective testing will be organized in Portland (Oregon) on August 30, the day before the start of the weekend on this track which returns to the calendar this year.

The tire allowance will be increased for five events in 2018 by the manufacturer Firestone. The Indianapolis road round, the Belle Isle events in Detroit (Michigan), Texas, Toronto (Canada) and the Iowa Speedway will see drivers benefit from an additional set of tires. On the other hand, drivers classified outside the top 10 will no longer be able to count on an additional set of tires for the first free practice session during a weekend.

Teams unable to test the new aero kit during the winter will be allocated half a day of private testing. Only one car per team will be authorized for the occasion, during a run which must take place during the team's first tests in 2018.

Finally, the masses of the empty single-seaters were set at 734,8 kg for the road, urban and short oval rounds, and at 721,2 kg on the super-speedway.