By Austin Lawton, Staff Writer
Announced on Thursday morning, IndyCar has put together its new, independent officiating system for the 2026 season and onwards.
The non-profit organization, IndyCar Officiating Inc, will be governed by a three-person Independent Officiating Board (IOB).
Ray Evernham, Raj Nair and Ronan Morgan make up the three members of the IOB. Evernham brings a wealth of experience as a championship winning crew chief in NASCAR with Jeff Gordon in the late 1990’s, as well as team ownership experience.
Nair is a 30-year of the automotive and auto racing industries and has vast experience and technical compliance expertise as an executive at Singer Group, Inc., Multimatic, Inc. and the Ford Motor Company, where he also served as the North American president from 2017-2018. Nair was the chief technical officer and executive vice president of Ford’s global product development (2012-17), as well as being responsible for all Ford Motorsports programs, including in NASCAR, IMSA and FIA WEC.
Morgan brings over 50 years of global motorsport experience as a senior official, promoter, organizer and competitor. With the FIA, Morgan served as the chairman of stewards for more than 100 international race and rally events, was sporting manager of the Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix from 2009 to 2021 and is president of the FIA Drivers Commission. Morgan is also a member of the FIA World Motor Sport Council and advisor to the FIA President
Evernham and Nair were selected by chartered IndyCar team owners, while Morgan was appointed by the FIA itself. Important to note that the FIA’s involvement in the IOB will be limited to the appointment of its board member.
The three board members will also be responsible for selecting a Managing Director of Officiating (MDO) and establishing a budget.
The MDO, which will be announced in early 2026, will report directly to the IOB and will not have any oversight or input from IndyCar or Penske officials. The director will have full officiating control and will be hiring personnel for race control and IndyCar technical inspection. This person will also be responsible for rule enforcement in IndyCar and Indy NXT.
The switch to an independent officiating system comes off the heels of the Team Penske attenuator penalties from the Indianapolis 500 in May and the push-to-pass situation from 2024, with many fans, media and owners calling for the change from Penske-backed officiating to an independent body.
IndyCar President Dough Boles held high praise for the board, dubbing it “world-class”.
“We have remained committed to independent officiating for 2026, and we are pleased to announce this next step,” Boles said in a statement. “The IndyCar team owners and the FIA have selected a world-class board with high character, incredible knowledge and an intense passion for motorsports and IndyCar racing.”
Team owners Chip Ganassi of Chip Ganassi Racing and Dan Towriss, owner of Andretti Global and CEO of TWG Motorsports, both expressed confidence in the board, as well as IndyCar’s direction.
“This was a thorough process, and I am confident in the independent officiating board that has been elected by the team ownership in our sport,” Ganassi said. “I look forward to their guidance as they take the next step of hiring a managing director.”
“I am pleased with the direction INDYCAR is taking with independent officiating,” Towriss said. “The team owners have selected two excellent board members and the addition of a FIA appointee will add another layer of experience and expertise.”