The Barred ‘Dragon’ Move, Used in the Indy 500

This action is a defensive maneuver that resembles blocking, which is prohibited by the IndyCar rulebook. However, the key distinction is that the car in front initiates the move, rather than responding to an action from the car behind, making it compliant with the rules; until 2023.

READ MORE: A Look Back: The 2023 Indianapolis 500

The original and the inspiration:

The move might’ve started in 2015 by Juan Pablo Montoya, but in 2019 it was pushed forward to the limelight by Simon Pagenaud to keep his rivals behind and claim the victory. 

“I thought it was going to be banned when I did it,” Pagenaud said. “But you’ve got to use the rules to your advantage. You’ve got to walk the line.”

Despite what he thought the move was not, in fact, it was replicated by Marcus Ericsson in 2022, and again by Newgarden in 2023 to claim their 500 victories.

A late red flag in 2022, forced Ericsson to defend Pato O’Ward over a two-lap shootout. As the lead car, Ericsson started weaving much more aggressively than Pagenaud in 2019 in a desperate attempt to stop the avenging O’Ward. This along with the race-clinching move helped him win his first 500.

In 2023 Ericsson was on the receiving end of the move by eventual winner Newgarden. At the last lap restart the Swede lost the lead to Newgarden on the back straight. In pursuit of holding the lead the Team Penske driver steered his No. 2 Chevy directly towards the outer edge of the pitlane and a couple of wheels over the white line that separates the track from the pitlane then again pulled to the outside.

“I knew immediately when I went into Turn 3 and I saw where Marcus was positioned, he was very tightly tucked behind me, I thought, ‘Man, the opportunity for him to get back behind me before the line was pretty high’,” Newgarden recalled. “I knew the rules at that point with the line. They weren’t policing it. You had to use it.”

Outlawed for 2024:

After the past two Indy 500s where the move was used, IndyCar said enough. Officials decided to bar the use of the dragon in the Indy 500 enforcing it in 2024.

Under the new rule, any driver crossing the dotted white line with their left-side wheels at turn 4 will be open to a penalty. IndyCar has the choice to issue a drive-through, a time penalty equating to a drive-through if the move is on the last lap of the race, or if it happens under yellow flag conditions, that driver must drop to the back of the restart line-up.

“This is the right move for the future,” Newgarden wrote on X. “Boundaries are meant to be pushed and rules are meant to push back. You should expect to see additional rule changes that will help reign in other driving standards at Indy, without removing the ability for drivers to race hard.”

The rule gives some guidance on what can and can’t do but it doesn’t cut it completely out. It also raises questions about how they plan to hand out the penalty. If it occurs on the closing laps, it could have a great impact on the finish. But this decision helps straighten out the potentially dangerous move of swerving out of the sport.