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ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (AP) — Conor Daly and Josef Newgarden will not be allowed to participate in the Aug. 27 resumption of the rain-delayed IndyCar Series race in Texas.
The league announced its plans Friday for how it will restart the Firestone 600, which earlier this month was postponed once and then completed only 71 of its scheduled 248 laps the following day.
Daly and Newgarden were involved in a scary crash June 12. The race was still under caution as track officials worked to repair the safety barrier on the frontstretch where that accident occurred when the race was stopped because of more rain.
The cars driven by Daly and Newgarden sustained extensive chassis and engine damage. Newgarden broke his collarbone and suffered a small fracture in his right hand.
The 20 cars that will resume in August, including race leader James Hinchcliffe, will get a lap for a mandatory systems check and only 10 minutes of practice. An autograph session for fans will precede the final 177 laps that night.
IndyCar said prerace aero setups from the June start will be mandatory for the completion of the race, though the series said it could make changes based on weather and other factors race weekend.
Teams will be able to use the chassis and engine of their choice for the completion day. Tire allotment and fuel quantity haven't been determined.
There will be only two races left in the IndyCar Series season after the Texas finish in August, which had been scheduled as an off weekend for the series.
The last IndyCar race postponed at Texas had been in 2001, when the series season finale was scheduled the weekend after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. It was pushed back three weeks into October.
IndyCar officials believe that is also the last series race with an extended postponement. The last time an IndyCar race started and resumed another day was at Brazil in 2011, when the race was completed the next day.
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