IndyCar's Power and Kanaan back appointment of new stewards

Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Arie Luyendyk, former CART driver Max Papis and former Ford Racing boss Dan Davis were appointed last week to make calls on incidents during races.

The trio will report to IndyCar president of competition and operations Jay Frye, with Brian Barnhart remaining race director, in charge of dispatching safety vehicles and yellow flags.

The 2014 IndyCar champion, Power has been among the more outspoken critics of race officiating in recent years, fined for an outburst directed at Barnhart in 2011, and then blasting last year's "insane" Fontana race.

"I think it's a good combination," Power said.

"All we ask for is consistency, more black and white.

"[IndyCar CEO] Mark Miles has done a very good job of putting together a great team in the off-season to make things run smoothly.

"I think I just see all positives, the direction it's going in. I think it will be great, I really do.

"It's a good system and it's going to work well."

Kanaan sees the experience and insight Luyendyk and Papis will bring to the role as particularly positive.

"It's funny because I'm really close friends with Max, and Max actually just worked with us at the 24 Hours of Daytona as a driver's coach," Kanaan said.

"I think those three have a big responsibility.

"They are going to have tough calls to make, so hopefully they will get it right.

"It helps we have two drivers there because then you can see from a driver's view, a person that understands about racing, then it's a good balance having Dan there, too. I think it's a good combination.

"I hope they're ready to take a lot of heat because that's what's going to happen to them.

"That's just the nature of the business."

EASY DECISION TO MAKE

Having also driven in Formula 1 and NASCAR, Papis remains an active sportscar racer, and says the IndyCar role appealed to him from the outset.

"You guys know well the love I have for the sport - it's been the number one reason why I came here," Papis said.

"When Jay called me, I asked him exactly what he meant, what he wanted out of me.

"When he told me about the words 'consistency, transparency', I was sold.

"I feel that obviously I've always been on the other side. I'm still on the other side. I'm still a race car driver.

"But it's a set of eyes that really can determine if things are done - for which reasons things are happening on the track is going to make a really big difference."