Section 5: Rules of Play
Event Format
A typical event weekend consists of practice sessions, qualifying, and the race. Session lengths and the number of practices vary by circuit type and are set in the event bulletin.
Qualifying
- Road and street courses: A multi-round knockout qualifying format. The field is split into groups; the fastest advance through successive rounds, culminating in a final shootout (the "Fast Six") that sets the front of the grid, while eliminated cars are ordered by their best times.
- Ovals: Cars qualify by running timed laps; the format depends on the oval.
- Indianapolis 500: A dedicated multi-day qualifying format determines the 33-car starting field and a top-shootout that sets the front rows, including provisions for the slowest cars to be "bumped" from the field.
The Start and Restarts
- INDYCAR uses rolling starts: the field forms up behind the pace car and takes the green flag in formation. Standing starts may be used at selected road/street events when specified.
- Passing before the start/finish line on a start or restart, or before the designated restart zone, is not permitted.
- On restarts after a caution, the leader controls the pace within the restart zone; jumping the restart or improving position before the line is penalized.
Cautions and Red Flags
- Full-course caution: When an incident or debris makes the track unsafe, a full-course yellow is called, the pace car is deployed, and the field closes up at reduced speed behind it. Pit-stop rules during cautions (when the pits open, the order of cars) are defined in the rulebook.
- Local yellow: Used on road and street courses to slow cars through a specific incident zone without a full-course caution; overtaking is prohibited in a local yellow zone.
- Red flag: Stops the session or race for serious incidents or conditions that cannot be managed under caution; procedures govern where cars stop and how the race resumes.
Pit Stops and Procedures
- Pit stops are used to refuel, change tires, and make permitted adjustments. Work must be performed within the team's assigned pit box.
- Pit-lane speed limits, safe-release rules (a car must not be released into the path of another), and equipment-over-the-wall limits are strictly enforced.
- On road and street courses, the rules require running both dry tire compounds during the race, which shapes pit strategy.
Push to Pass
- On road and street courses, drivers have a limited "push to pass" overtake system that provides a temporary engine boost. Each driver has an allocation of time (or activations) per race, with restrictions — for example, it is not available on the first lap or during cautions/restarts as specified by the rulebook.
The Indianapolis 500
- The Indianapolis 500 is run over 200 laps of the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval — a total race distance of 500 miles — with a starting field of 33 cars arranged in 11 rows of 3.
- The "Month of May" build-up includes practice, the multi-day qualifying weekend that locks in the field and sets the front rows, and the final practice day before the race.
- The 500 awards championship points on the same scale as other rounds; its significance is historical and prestige-based rather than a points multiplier.