What is an attenuator? Team Penske penalized for altering

INDIANAPOLIS — IndyCar hit Team Penske with major penalties after it altered the attenuator on the cars of Josef Newgarden and Will Power for Indy 500 qualifying this weekend.

IndyCar moved Newgarden and Power to the 32nd and 33rd spots on the grid for Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 following Team Penske’s violations during pre-Fast 12 qualifying tech inspection, where IndyCar technical director Kevin Blanch found the team had illegally modified seams in the cars’ attenuators by filling in gaps that may have given them an aerodynamic advantage.

What is an attenuator?

IndyCar and chassis supplier Dallara introduced a new rear attenuator for the 2023 to improve safety and “greater crushability” to reduce the force felt by the driver when the back of the car is hit, according to an article on indycar.com.

From Tino Belli, director of aerodynamic development for IndyCare, in the article:

“The new attenuator is designed to decrease peak G-force levels. It is the continued evolution from data collected from the original DW12 attenuator, which was originally a closed box that underwent a couple of modifications over the past decade. The most significant previous update came during the 2016 season, when some drivers complained of headaches after backing into the wall on street circuits.

“We reworked existing attenuators, and we removed the back bulkhead so it would crush easier at the tip. We went in and thinned the material right at the very back so that the initial impact was much softer. It’s just that they (drivers) had a bit of a headache. And we don’t want them to even have a bit of a headache, if possible. And so that got evolved and then we were working on this one.

“That’s a good thing about redesigning components is what you think that you’ve got to the maximum in the past, you relook at it and sometimes with new technologies and just more knowledge, you find that actually you can make it even better.”

What did Penske do to alter the attenuator?

According to the Fox broadcast, Penske is alleged to have filled in a gap in the attenuator, eliminating a slight lip.

“When you’re trying to make an Indy car go as fast as possible in a straight line, you try to eliminate any edges, any lips, anything like that,” former IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe said on Sunday’s broadcast. “What the Penske team seems to have done is filled it in. This part, you’re not allowed to modify.”

The IndyCar rules state clearly that the attenuator cannot be modified nor are teams allowed to make changes to the car on pit lane after the technical inspection, as Team Penske appeared to be doing Sunday.

What were Team Penske’s penalties?

IndyCar also suspended the team strategists for the Nos. 2 and 12 entries for the remainder of Indy 500 activities, and both cars will forfeit their points earned in qualifying. Both entries have also been fined $100,000. Both cars will also forfeit their pit positions and will select their pit boxes for the race after the remainder of the field has had the opportunity to adjust their picks.