- Palou and O’Ward openly clashed over whether drivers or IndyCar should be blamed.
- Palou blamed a technical glitch, O’Ward and others insisted drivers must know the rules.
- IndyCar pulled a “tone-deaf” promotional shirt from store following immediate fan outcry.
What was supposed to be a routine media briefing ahead of the Sonsio Grand Prix suddenly turned into one of the most spicy and revealing moments the IndyCar Series has seen in recent years. Drivers interrupted each other, challenged one another’s logic, and openly disagreed over who should really be blamed for the now-infamous Long Beach push-to-pass controversy.
And as the conversation went deeper, the messier it got.
While points leader Alex Palou argued that IndyCar created the problem by accidentally enabling push-to-pass during a late-race restart on the streets of Long Beach, his fellow racers insisted competitors still knew the rules and should be held accountable regardless of whether the system was active.
The result was a rare moment where the usually polished IndyCar paddock pulled back the curtain and exposed just how divided the garage really is over the series’ latest officiating headache.
IndyCar drivers split over Long Beach push-to-pass fallout
The controversy traces back to a late-race restart during last week’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, where 12/25 drivers activated push-to-pass despite rules surrounding restart usage becoming increasingly muddled following recent changes from the officiating body.
Unlike the Team Penske Push-to-Pass Scandal from 2024, this was not a case of illegal software manipulation or a modified ECU. Instead, IndyCar itself mistakenly enabled the system during the restart due to a technical glitch, creating a situation where some drivers used the extra horsepower while others either chose not to or did not realize it was available.
That gray area turned Wednesday’s media session into one of the more uncomfortable driver debates the series has seen in recent memory.
When Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass mentioned the latest rule change, reigning series champion Palou openly questioned why drivers should shoulder the blame for a system failure originating from IndyCar itself.
“At the start, if IndyCar f**ks up again, and I press the button, I get penalized?” Palou fired back during the exchange. “But he said that if I push it and it works because someone else makes a mistake, it’s my fault?”
Only half the field used it…
Meanwhile, Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward disagreed almost immediately, arguing that the responsibility still lies with the drivers’ understanding when they are legally allowed to deploy push-to-pass.
“Well, that makes sense because you’re not,” O’Ward replied. “Yeah, because you’re not supposed to be able to use it until the start and finish.” The debate only intensified from there.
Palou admitted he was shocked that only half the field ended up using the system during the restart – “I’m very surprised that only half of the grid used it. Very surprised.”
That prompted Kyle Kirkwood to jump in with a theory that quickly shifted the tone of the room. “Well, you guys must have an indicator because your cars used it,” Kirkwood suggested, only for the Spaniard to immediately push back.
“No. Scott (Dixon) didn’t!” he quipped back, mentioning his teammate’s case. Adding more ammunition, Kirkwood responded: “He must not have seen that indicator.”
In hindsight, the exchange highlighted the exact problem IndyCar is now dealing with. Drivers themselves seemingly do not have a universal understanding of how the system behaves during the restart or how the updated rules are supposed to function in real time.
During the same conversation, Palou admitted he hit the button multiple times during the sequence, “I pressed it three times and I’m surprised I didn’t press it more, there’s only three straights,” he explained.
“So, I’m very surprised as well that they pinpointed every single car that used it when it was not our fault, it was IndyCar’s fault.”
When can push-to-pass be used legally?
O’Ward, meanwhile, remained defiant, revealing perhaps the most interesting detail of the entire discussion. When asked by Kirkwood why he never used push-to-pass despite reportedly being told it was available, he simply replied, “Because you know the rule, man.”
That split in opinion is exactly why the controversy refuses to die down. In short, some drivers feel it is still on the teams and drivers to know when push-to-pass can legally be used. Others argue IndyCar cannot blame competitors for a system the series accidentally activated in the first place.
What makes the situation even murkier is the sanctioning body’s recent rule tweak allowing push-to-pass on certain restarts while putting the responsibility on drivers. But judging by Wednesday’s heated exchange, even the grid still seems unsure where the line actually is.
IndyCar stumbles into another avoidable controversy
As if the push-to-pass debate was not enough, IndyCar found itself putting out another fire this week after an officially licensed promotional shirt triggered immediate backlash online.
The shirt, released through the series’ official merchandise store ahead of the upcoming Freedom 250 Grand Prix celebration in Washington, D.C., featured the phrase “One Nation. One Race.” alongside imagery of a white-suited IndyCar driver seated near the Lincoln Memorial.
However, the fandom didn’t take it well. The backlash was swift and telling. Fans across social media slammed the design, with some calling it “tone deaf,” while others described it as inflammatory and insensitive.
Several users questioned how the shirt made it through the approval process in the first place, especially given the optics surrounding both the slogan and imagery. In fact, the criticism escalated quickly enough that IndyCar removed the shirt from its online store less than a day after launch.
Backlash noted
In a statement afterward, the series acknowledged the backlash.
“A shirt was removed from INDYCAR’s online store following feedback from customers,” a spokesperson said. “We understand that some individuals found its phrasing concerning and therefore have remedied the situation.”
Furthermore, IndyCar also admitted it would review its internal approval process surrounding event apparel moving forward.
On its own, the shirt controversy probably would have been brushed off as a bad miss. But paired with the push-to-pass drama still hanging over the paddock, it is another self-inflicted headache for a series that just cannot seem to stay out of its own way lately.
