IndyCar is turning up the heat with a new rule that's got drivers divided, and Graham Rahal is making it clear he's not on board. The series announced Tuesday that, starting this weekend's race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, drivers can now use push-to-pass on restarts—a move that's sparking serious debate in the paddock.

The change comes after a software glitch during the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach left 12 cars, including Rahal's #15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda, flagged for using the overtake button on a Lap 62 restart. No penalties were issued, but the incident prompted IndyCar Officiating to rewrite the rulebook. Now, push-to-pass is fair game on restarts, though it remains off-limits for the initial start of the race.

Rahal isn't buying it. "IndyCar also announced that I hit the button for 0.00 seconds, so explain that to me," he said, pointing to the data that showed his single button press resulted in zero seconds of usage. "I would say that means I didn't use it. Yeah, I don't know what the hell that is." He added, "Anyway, I'm not a fan. I'm not a fan. Yes, it's not available on the initial start, but it's available on the restarts. Yeah, I'm not a fan. We'll just leave it at that."

The controversy isn't new. In 2024, Josef Newgarden was disqualified from his season-opening win at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg for illegally using push-to-pass on restarts, a violation traced to a Team Penske software glitch that also affected teammates Scott McLaughlin and Will Power. That incident fueled calls for independent officiating, leading to the formation of IndyCar Officiating in December 2025, separate from team owner Roger Penske, who also owns the series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

For now, the debate rages on. Long Beach winner Alex Palou and runner-up Felix Rosenqvist topped the list of drivers who used push-to-pass on the restart, with three hits each for 15.1 and 18.5 seconds, respectively. As the series heads to Indy's road course, all eyes will be on how this new rule reshapes the action—and whether Rahal's skepticism proves justified.