WEST ALLIS, Wis. – Following the Milwaukee IndyFest Presented by XYQ, IZOD IndyCar Series Race Director Beaux Barfield acknowledged an error on a Lap 122 restart led to a drive-through penalty issued to Scott Dixon.

Dixon, driving the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car, was running fourth – after starting 21st in the 225-lap race because of a 10-grid spot penalty for an unapproved engine change – when the cars lined up two-by-two for the restart. Dixon was cited for passing under yellow (jumping the start), but restart was waved off and the green flag flew on the next lap.

“Due to a glitch in technology, there was a discrepancy between the official race clock and the clock on the replay machine,” said Barfield, INDYCAR’s president of competition. “Therefore, the review of the jumped start was one lap off, leading Race Control to make the call on the wrong lap.”

Click it: Milwaukee IndyFest Presented by XYQ box score

The official Timing & Scoring clock and the relay machine clock operate on independent systems and are synced daily during a race weekend. The clocks were 36 seconds off, leading to the correct lap issue.

Barfield said the Race Control team will meet June 18 to review the issue and explore remedies in time for the Iowa Corn Indy 250 at Iowa Speedway on June 23. He met with Dixon, who dropped to 15th after serving the penalty but recovered to finish 11th, team owner Chip Ganassi and managing director Mike Hull after investigating the cause of the issue.

“I take responsibility for it being the wrong call,” Barfield said. “It was a perfect storm with the video that led us down the wrong path. The Ganassi team was very gracious. They appreciated my candor explaining what happened.

“Once a penalty is served, I can’t jump back in there and undo it. It’s one of those strange things that happen, and hopefully we never hear of happening again.”
 
Dixon dropped a spot to third in the IZOD IndyCar Series championship standings -- 35 points behind front-runner Will Power of Team Penske and four points behind James Hinchcliffe of Andretti Autosport.