Alessandro de Tullio was stripped of his Road America Indy NXT victory after officials discovered his team’s car used the wrong set of tires during the weekend’s doubleheader.
Alessandro de Tullio stripped of Road America Indy NXT victory
During the post‑race inspection of cars No. 4 and No. 14, IndyCar officials found the qualifying tires of Car 14 were fitted on Car 4 and the qualifying tires of Car 4 were fitted on Car 14. Because neither car began any race with the tires it had used in qualifying, both entries violated the series’ tire regulations.
Rule violations behind the decision
The swap contravened Rule 15.1.3, which binds tires to the entrant, and Rule 15.1.12.2, which requires each entrant to start one race of a double‑header on the same set of tires used in qualification. The infraction was rated Level 3, resulting in disqualification and the loss of all driver and entrant points from Race 2.
Revised podium after penalties
With de Tullio and Nicholas Monteiro removed, Matteo Nannini of Cape Motorsports powered by ECR inherited the win – his second career victory and first of 2026. Tyrik Kucharczyk in the No. 71 HMD Motorsports entry moved up to second, his best result of the season, while Nikita Johnson’s No. 21 Cape Motorsports entry now occupies third place on the podium.
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