IndyCar Redefines Replacement Driver Rules for 109th Indy 500

On Thursday, IndyCar issued a procedural update to its race teams involving eligible drivers for the upcoming 109th Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. According to a press release from IndyCar, the changes were defined during a recent Team Manager call.

Here are the parameters for which a replacement driver would be eligible to compete in the 2025 Indianapolis 500, according to the NTT IndyCar Series:

• A replacement driver will only be considered if the primary (entered) driver also is participating in another marquee event with the driver’s principal racing series on Indianapolis 500 Race Day.
• The INDYCAR-approved veteran replacement driver is eligible for and passes the Indianapolis Motor Speedway refresher program in the entry during the first day of Indianapolis 500 practice.
• Additional tires for the refresher program will not be allowed for the Indianapolis 500 entry. The tire allotment for each entrant is 32 sets for the event. Any tires used for the refresher program will be taken from the allotted tires to that entry.
• During the refresher program, minimal setup changes will be allowed.
• After the replacement driver completes the required phases of the refresher program, additional laps during the session will not be permitted.
• Once INDYCAR is notified that a team will use its replacement driver for the Indianapolis 500, the entry’s qualified position is forfeited, and the car will start at the rear of the starting lineup and ordered according to Rule 8.1.8.6.
• A qualified driver, who is officially replaced by the team, may return and compete with that entry, provided the replacement driver has not participated in a session other than the refresher program. The car’s starting position will remain at the rear of the field with the starting lineup ordered according to Rule 8.1.8.6.

What this essentially means is that if a driver, such as Kyle Larson, is competing in the Indianapolis 500 on the same day of a marquee event in that driver’s principal racing series, in Larson’s case the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600, the driver would be permitted to leave Indianapolis Motor Speedway to compete in their principal racing series event, while a replacement driver stands in for them in the event.

Larson’s replacement driver, should he need one, has been announced as Tony Kanaan. Under the rules set forth, Kanaan would have to pass the Indianapolis Motor Speedway refresher program in the No. 17 Arrow McLaren entry during the first day of Indianapolis 500 practice in order to be eligible to fill in for Larson.

That will put the No. 17 team at a tire disadvantage to other teams on the entry list for the race weekend, but it provides Larson a path to exit Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Charlotte Motor Speedway should a delay threaten whether he’d make it in time for the start of the Coca-Cola 600.

If any replacement driver is needed ahead of the start of the Indianapolis 500, the primary driver’s starting position will be forfeited, and the replacement driver will move to the rear of the field for the green flag of the 109th Indianapolis 500.