New Champ Car sporting regulations

The teams will be required to perform either two or three green-flag stops during a race and must have those stops completed by a certain point in the event. Champ Car Racing Operations will determine the number and at what point those stops must be completed prior to each race weekend. All green-flag stops must include a four-tyre change.

"We wanted to do something that allowed the teams more flexibility in their race strategies and also allow them to take advantage of the new point system," said Champ Car technical director Lee Dykstra. "At the same time, we needed a system that discourages fuel-economy runs and challenges the drivers, and we think we've been able to accomplish that."

This season, any driver causing an incident that negatively affects a competitor will be immediately subjected to a drive-through penalty. In addition, if the contact results in the immediate retirement of a competitor, the offender will serve a stop-and-hold penalty on pit-lane. Enhancing a rule introduced in 2003, any driver blocking a pursuing competitor, or failing to yield to an approaching competitor while being lapped, will also receive a drive-though penalty.

Pit-lane safety has been addressed with a rule stating that contact between a car and any person in pit-lane results in an automatic fine of US$1000. The protocol for the start of a race has also been revised, requiring the pole position car to be the first car across the start/finish line at the start of the race. Previously, the second-place qualifier was allowed to pass the pole car once the green flag had been waved to start the event.

To aid in the enforcement of the new rules, Champ Car stewards will have the power to enact more stringent penalties on teams and drivers this year, including the loss of championship points for specific rule violations.

The teams will no longer be allowed to scramble their radio transmissions during a race weekend, so that fans who have scanners will be able to experience all the conversations between a team and driver during every Champ Car session during a weekend.