Two of the most surprising stories of Indianapolis 500 qualifying weekend have ended in the rear of the field. Caio Collet's AJ Foyt Racing number 4 and Jack Harvey's Dreyer & Reinbold Racing number 24 were both disqualified from their qualifying results on Sunday night after IndyCar officiating discovered illegal modifications to spec-supplied components on both cars during post-session inspection.
According to the Penske Entertainment release distributed to media on Sunday evening, the technical infraction involved the Dallara-supplied energy management system, which sits behind the cockpit and must be used as delivered.
"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," the release stated. "EMS covers must be used as supplied."
Under the regulations, the EMS covers may only be attached using the supplied hardware and helicopter tape — and the modifications found on the number 4 and number 24 broke both clauses. The penalty wiped out two of the most uplifting underdog stories of the month. Collet, a Foyt rookie, had qualified inside the top 12 in his Indianapolis debut and was the focus of plenty of pre-race buzz. Harvey, who races only the Indianapolis 500 these days as a full-time IndyCar on Fox pit reporter, had been showing strong pace alongside Dreyer & Reinbold teammate Conor Daly throughout the month before a gearbox issue compromised his qualifying lap.
Both entries forfeit their starting positions and have been reordered to the rear of the field on entrant-points order, the standard tiebreak in this scenario. They will also be required to select pit boxes only after the rest of the field has chosen, and the number 4 has been stripped of Collet's three Indy 500 qualifying points. The reshuffled points see Scott Dixon's number 9 awarded the 10th-place haul and Rinus VeeKay's number 75 promoted to 11th, while Takuma Sato — first out at the end of Fast 12 in 13th — does not pick up qualifying points because he did not reach the Sunday shootout.
GRID Network's analysts said the manner of the infraction was unusual.
"This is a team that runs full-time. I honestly know no issue with their faster teammate Santino Ferrucci," GRID Live host Kobe noted of AJ Foyt Racing. "So I wonder if this is some sort of oversight or they just tried to find a little bit of competitive edge. But when it's something as specific as has to be supplied by Dallara and approved by IndyCar, this does not seem like something where it's just oops, we didn't know that occurred."
The Dreyer & Reinbold infraction is potentially more troubling for an organisation that has built its season around the Indianapolis double-header. Conor Daly's car is unaffected and remains one of the cars to watch, but the team has now confirmed that the helicopter-tape application on the number 24 was the source of the issue.
For Collet, the penalty turns a top-10 starting slot into a 32nd-place Sunday rebuild on what would have been the highlight of his rookie month. For Harvey, who entered the weekend already disappointed with his qualifying time, the demotion to 33rd at least carries the consolation that the back row is statistically not a death sentence on race day — Alex Palou famously charged from 21st to victory in 2024 after Marcus Ericsson's own penalty cleared his path.
The penalties also reshuffle pit lane logistics for the front-of-grid teams. Andretti Global, Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing will now formalise their box selections without having to factor in two of the field's quickest cars on Sunday's running order. Race day looms on May 25 with the rebuild work for both squads now likely to dominate the build-up rather than the speed they showed before the rulebook caught up with them.
