How IndyCar will police its $1 Million Challenge

Will IndyCar’s race control team, led by race director Kyle Novak, let the 12 drivers who transfer into Sunday’s $1 Million Challenge smash their way towards The Thermal Club’s victory lane, or will Novak and his stewards Max Papis and Arie Luyendyk be ready to enforce strict guidelines to prevent the cash-grab from getting out of hand?

“I have a boring answer, but there’s no intention to call it any differently than we have in the past,” Novak told RACER. “Which some might scratch their head and say, ‘Well, how have you called it in the past?’ But everything’s going to be called using the basic fundamentals we have always used before.”

Novak came to IndyCar after years spent in IMSA’s race control where the fendered prototypes and GT cars made routine contact during WeatherTech SportsCar Championship events. In presiding over Indy cars with exposed tires, Novak’s always conscious of the risks of wheel-to-wheel entanglements and drivers getting airborne if aggressive behavior is permitted.

Despite the sizable payouts of up to $500,000 for the winner of Sunday’s non-points race, Novak expects his drivers to err on the side of safety while gunning for cash prizes.

“I think anytime you uncork open-wheel cars, anytime you take the gloves off with an open-wheel car, you introduce elements that you don’t have with fenders. And we’re certainly cognizant of that,” he said.

“Now, if I get in the drivers meeting on Thursday, and we have complete mutiny that comes up, we’re open to ideas, but certainly the plan going into Thermal is just to keep it the same.”