Kyle Kirkwood got “hate mail” after he was blamed for a Texas pitlane crash that IndyCar decided was Alexander Rossi and Arrow McLaren’s fault.

Andretti driver Kirkwood had been getting ready to enter his pitbox when Rossi was released by his team, with the McLaren driver spearing into the side of Kirkwood’s car. It put Rossi seven laps down and he was given a drive-through penalty.

Having watched Kirkwood come from the outside lane at an aggressive angle into his pitbox, most including ex-Andretti driver and commentator James Hinchcliffe blamed Kirkwood for the shunt.

“We had a really strong car, that’s obvious with qualifying and Pato’s result,” Rossi’s punchy post-race press release quote began.

“It got taken away from us in the first stop to no fault of our own. It was an inconsistent ruling from IndyCar and very disappointing from Kyle.

“It was a wasted day for the #7 Velo Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, but the car was good and that’s all that matters.”

I am aware. https://t.co/XrtyeSlz33

— Alexander Rossi (@AlexanderRossi) April 2, 2023

Rossi also interacted with fans on Twitter replying “I’m aware” when he was told the incident wasn’t his fault.

Kirkwood then took to the same social media platform to reject criticism sent his way and explain his position further, after he had been unsure who was in the wrong in the immediate aftermath – although Andretti told him he had been in the right.

Pretty disappointing how much hate mail I’ve received for the pitlane incident yesterday. I’d like to clarify that I was fully 100% within pitlane protocol and the @IndyCaronNBC broadcast team has kindly apologized for making me out to be the bad guy. https://t.co/jYrARbBhaM

— Kyle M. Kirkwood (@KKirkwoodRacing) April 3, 2023

Asked to explain why he stayed in the outside lane, Kirkwood replied: “Because you’re supposed to.

“Us drivers are told to be in the fast lane while on PLC [pitlane control speed limiter] and then within three pit boxes you can start to come into the transition, which is exactly where I did.”

In fairness to Kirkwood, The Race has attempted to watch as many pitstops as possible after the race and the majority of drivers took a similar route into their box as Kirkwood.

IndyCar has moved to clarify the rules and regulations it applied to the incident.

“According to IndyCar oval procedures, the pitlane is divided into three sections from right to left, an outer lane [commonly known as the “fast lane”], a middle lane [commonly known as the “transition lane”], and finally the respective pitboxes,” a statement given to The Race read.

“The fast lane is the lane that should be used when cars are at full speed on the pitlane speed limiter.

“The transition lane is the lane that should be used when a car is transiting to/from its pitbox, or when the fast lane is occupied.

“The priority of cars corresponds with these lanes, with cars in the fast lane receiving the highest priority, cars in the transition lane receiving lesser priority, and cars in their pitboxes are entitled to the least priority.

“In the case of the #7/#27 incident, the #27 [Kirkwood] approaching its pitbox has a higher priority than the #7 [Rossi] leaving its pit box, and thus the #7 has a greater responsibility to avoid the contact, according to the above.

“There is no rule or prescribed period of time or number of pitboxes the #27 must utilise [in] the transition lane approaching its pitbox.”

The key element here is that the driver in the pitbox has the lowest priority, so you have to look at that car – Rossi – and its release from the box as the most likely cause of an incident and therefore a penalty.

Where the fairness of that penalty can be questioned is that, watching the Rossi onboard, he has already been released from his pitbox before Kirkwood is turning in.

In a mere split-second, the McLaren crew is supposed to look at all the cars around it, identify the pink car as Kirkwood, locate Kirkwood’s pitbox, assess if that is in front or behind and therefore whether he has stopped or not, and then decide whether to hold Rossi or not.

That’s too much information to process in the space of the split-second McLaren got to decide. Especially with Kirkwood’s relatively late turn in from the fast lane, even if that is permitted.

IndyCar has amended Rossi’s penalty in the results from “unsafe release of a car from its pitbox” (Rule 7.11.1.10) to a violation of Rule 7.11.1.7, “contact with another car.”

“This update was made to best reflect the violation of the #7. Both rules are located under Section 7.11. Pit Safety Violations,” the IndyCar statement read.

It seems the rules were followed correctly, but the penalty ascribed to Rossi/McLaren was harsh, and it isn’t clear enough in the heat of the moment that a car n the outside lane is pitting and for the team in the pitbox to assess all of that in a very short period of time.