INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) INDYCAR is changing its operating practice in calling for a full course yellow following the review of an on-track incident this past Saturday that involved Alexander Rossi in the Sonsio Grand Prix.INDYCAR O fficiating will no longer take into consideration pit windows and the running order of cars on track before deploying a full course yellow, according to a press release. The rule is effective immediately.There remains no change to local yellow procedures.The change came following backlash from the incident that involved Rossi. On Lap 21, Rossi lost power and stopped on the front straightaway on drivers right, off the racing line.According to the press release, course marshals followed standard flagging protocol and deployed a standing yellow condition at Marshal Panel 14, with a corresponding waving yellow condition at Marshal Panel S/F (start-finish) to alert competitors to the stationary car. The escalation to a full course yellow (FCY) was made on Lap 22 as the driver began to exit the race car.Rossi, and many following the incident, wondered why the full course yellow didnt come sooner.In fact, Rossi aired his frustrations on the television broadcast as soon as he got out of the car. The Lap 21 incident on Saturday made clear that there needs to be a cleaner standard for how race control moves from a local to a full course yellow, INDYCAR Officiatings Independent Officiating Board chair Raj Nair said in the press release. INDYCAR Officiating, with INDYCARs full support, has made this change of approach to ensure that the only inputs to the full course yellow escalation are safety ones. Streamlining the assessment will also save time as competitive considerations are no longer a factor.Initiation of a full course yellow will be based primarily on: Driver status Vehicle position and condition Location and readiness of safety personnel Recovery access Speed Differential between affected cars and approaching trafficThe most important job in race control is to ensure the safety of our drivers, crews, safety workers and fans, INDYCAR President Doug Boles said in the press release. Saturday highlighted that we must not waver from that central mission and aligning everyone on that philosophy was critical to discuss over the last 48 hours. The Independent Officiating Board, the new managing director of officiating, race director and INDYCAR are all in agreement and the metrics used to determine when to initiate a full course yellow will now ensure that when there is any risk to driver safety that race control will initiate a full course yellow.Practice for the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 begins Tuesday afternoon at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. ...read more read less