Indy Racing League passes judgment on Castroneves’ post-race tirade at Edmonton
After losing the Honda Indy Edmonton on a late-race blocking penalty and subsequently accosting an Indy Racing League official in a public meltdown afterwards, Helio Castroneves has been fined $60,000 and placed on probation for the rest of this year’s IZOD IndyCar Series championship.
The three-time Indianapolis 500 champion was hit with the penalty after he was found to have blocked teammate Will Power in a battle for the lead on Lap 93. He was given the black flag, which also means serving a drive-through on pit road. Castroneves failed to do that and upon taking the checkered flag, he lost 20 seconds and was placed tenth as the final driver on the lead lap.
After the race, Castroneves exploded and proceeded to scream at League official Kevin Blanch before being pulled away by his Team Penske crewmates. But the Brazilian driver wasn’t done; he then proceeded to yell toward the flagstand and then started to vent at League security chief Charles Burns while pulling on his shirt. Eventually, Castroneves calmed down and this past week, he issued an apology for his actions.
The call by League president of competition Brian Barnhart to penalize Castroneves has set off a major bit of controversy, with many in the fanbase coming down on Helio’s side. However, to Barnhart’s credit, he did mention the blocking rules that would be used for the race during the drivers’ meeting.
As for IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard, he’s in full support of Barnhart and his decision.
“The drivers have been aware of the blocking rule for quite some time,” said Bernard in a statement from the League. “Brian reminded the drivers of the blocking rule in the Edmonton pre-race drivers’ meeting, which serves as the first warning, and the rule was executed during the race just as it dictates.
“This sport is so close and competitive that emotions are always on display. However, that does not justify the post-race conduct of Helio toward series officials. This is a very serious matter and we weighed all options, including suspension. But we felt suspension would hurt the fans more than anyone else. Fans have paid their hard-earned money to watch the best drivers in the world and many bought their tickets for upcoming events with the expectation of watching Helio.
“He is a great ambassador for this sport and we know his actions after the race in Edmonton are not indicative of his normal behavior.”
As for Barnhart, he said that the rules were put in place to protect drivers, officials and fans as well as to create more passing opportunities. However, he didn’t dismiss a future tweaking of said laws.
“Bad things happen when these cars touch and there have been serious incidents with major consequences on temporary circuits throughout Indy car history,” Barnhart said in the League statement. “With the new wheel interlocking prevention technology that is coming in our 2012 car, we will be re-evaluating this rule in the future.”
