Overview
- IndyCar Officiating, which announced the shift Tuesday, will no longer weigh pit windows or the running order when deciding to deploy a full‑course yellow.
- Race Control will now base a full‑course yellow on driver status, where and how the car is stopped, safety crew readiness, recovery access, and the speed gap between the incident and oncoming traffic.
- The update follows Saturday’s Sonsio Grand Prix, where Alexander Rossi’s stalled car sat under a local yellow on Lap 21 and a full‑course yellow came a lap later as he exited the car, a delay that sowed pit‑stop confusion because a full‑course yellow closes pit entry and neutralizes the track.
- Independent Officiating Board chair Raj Nair and IndyCar president Doug Boles said the move clarifies a safety‑first standard, the IMS road‑course result stands, and teams have been briefed on the new trigger.
- Drivers broadly welcomed the change, and its effect on the Indianapolis 500 is limited because oval events do not use local yellows.