Following a vote by charter team owners and confirmation from international racing leadership, IndyCar has announced extensions for Independent Officiating Board (IOB) members Ray Evernham, Raj Nair, and Ronan Morgan through the 2027 season for both the IndyCar Series and Indy NXT.
The series also confirmed that veteran motorsports executive Scot Elkins will remain as Managing Director of Officiating (MDO) for 2027, continuing his oversight of race control, race stewards, and technical inspection without oversight from IndyCar or Penske Entertainment Corp. officials.
The decision brings continuity to the independent, not-for-profit officiating body established in December 2025 to enforce rules and ensure governance transparency across North America’s premier open-wheel racing series. IndyCar’s charter team owners unanimously agreed to retain Nair, who served as IOB chairman in 2026, and Evernham, who served as secretary and treasurer. The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) reappointed Morgan to his post.
“It has been a year of substantial growth for IndyCar Officiating, and I would like to personally thank team owners, managers, drivers and partners for their unwavering support to our mission,” said Raj Nair, Independent Officiating Board chairman. “Year 2 of IndyCar Officiating will continue to build on our established baseline of process, independence, governance separation and transparency. We cannot wait to get started in the 2027 season.”
Nair, an executive with Singer Group, Inc., Multimatic, Inc., and Ford Motor Company, brings 30 years of technical and automotive experience. Evernham is a decorated NASCAR crew chief and team founder, while Morgan serves on the FIA World Motor Sport Council and acts as an advisor to the FIA president.
The leadership team worked during its inaugural 2026 season to overhaul series governance. Elkins implemented a formal three-steward model alongside published post-event reports detailing race control activity, penalties, and incident reviews. A three-level infraction framework and precedent library were also established to drive consistency across decisions.
“We moved quickly but meticulously this year in instituting a more transparent process, enhanced by a formal three-steward model, technical penalty guidelines and post-event reports, which we believe has been beneficial for all of IndyCar,” said Scot Elkins, IndyCar Officiating managing director of officiating.
“With that foundation, several improvements land for the 2027 season: a rulebook review with IndyCar, a clarified formal review and appeal process, and additional tools for race control. Alongside that, we are modernizing technical inspection, including scanning technology, with the aim of having it proven and in place before the IR-28 starts racing in 2028. Our entire IndyCar Officiating team is buoyed by the support of the paddock and looks forward to getting started next season.”
Paddock leadership voiced strong endorsement for the board’s return.
“It was gratifying to see how well IndyCar Officiating was integrated into the 2026 IndyCar season, and I believe continuity of the IOB is important as it builds on the success from its first season,” said J. Douglas Boles, IndyCar president.
“IndyCar remains committed to clear independence in the application of our rulebook and the IOB is instrumental in that effort. Additionally, creating consistency in the rule enforcement and penalty guidelines is important to our teams, drivers and our fans, and I appreciate the IOB board’s leadership and Scot’s work in this area. ”
Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, Ray Evernham
Photo by: Penske Entertainment
Tony Kanaan, Arrow McLaren team principal, added, “The implementation of the IndyCar Officiating Board this past season was a pivotal step forward for the series to ensure fair and transparent processes and decision making across race control and tech inspection. The team and I were pleased with its effectiveness in 2026 and look forward to their continued leadership in 2027.”
Team owner Chip Ganassi noted the long-term benefit of keeping the current structure in place ahead of upcoming chassis changes.
“I believed that this board would add another layer of experience and expertise to the process of IndyCar Officiating, and with the quality of people who comprised that board, IndyCar has, in fact, achieved that,” said Ganassi. “I look forward to their continued participation relative to 2028 and the new IR-28 and corresponding rules and regulations.”
Throughout 2026, the board worked alongside the FIA to align operational standards. IOB members benchmarked operations at the FIA Formula One Miami Grand Prix, while FIA safety representatives visited the Indianapolis 500 to evaluate IndyCar’s medical and rescue teams, which remain under IndyCar’s direct authority.
“The FIA is proud to continue our role on the IndyCar Independent Officiating Board and to strengthen our partnership with IndyCar and the wider motorsport community across the United States,” said Mohammed Ben Sulayem, FIA president.
“This collaboration goes far beyond officiating – it is about sharing knowledge and expertise across safety, sporting integrity and governance, while learning from one another to deliver a stronger championship. I have been delighted to see this relationship grow over the past year and congratulate IndyCar, its teams, drivers and officials on a historic 2026 season. We look forward to building on this momentum together in 2027.”
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