Raj Nair, IndyCar Independent Officiating Board Chairman, shared the midseason retirement by technical director Kevin ‘Rocket’ Blanch came with “mixed emotions,” while Scot Elkins, the Managing Director of Officiating (MDO), called it, “a big loss.”
That was the tone set on Thursday morning’s call with select media, including Motorsport.com, which followed roughly 30 minutes after the announcement that Blanch was stepping away after more than two decades in the role and 36 years in the IndyCar Series. Nick Allen, who has served as the technical inspection manager for North America’s premier open-wheel championship after being hired in January, has been named Blanch’s replacement as technical director for IndyCar Officiating.
In the announcement, Blanch admitted he had been "contemplating retirement from the IndyCar technical side for a while.” He also shared that when IndyCar Officiating was formed in December 2025, he “was asked to continue in my role with an emphasis on completing a very hectic Month of May and the Indianapolis 500 and am glad I did.”
For his part, Nair expressed a desire to retain Blanch beyond May, which concluded with last weekend’s wild Chevrolet Grand Prix of Detroit. And with no break, the series heads straight to World Wide Technology Raceway for a Sunday night (9pm ET) race before a handful of teams test at Road America next Tuesday.
“To be honest, we wanted to get every race we could out of him,” Nair said. “He had indicated his desire to retire, and we were fortunate enough to talk him into staying, and he's been a super valuable asset.
“And what we talked about was the month of May, and Detroit was part of the month of May. So I'll be honest, even talking to him last night, we were hoping he'd stay for another race or the season. But at the same time, he honored his commitment to us, and we respect that and are really happy to have Nick in place.”
Although there was notice, there was a somber tone displayed by Nair, which led Motorsport.com to ask if there was an element of feeling “blindsided” by Blanch’s decision.
“No, I wouldn't say blindsided,” Nair said. “It's because that's what Rocket had indicated. But I won't lie, I was hoping that maybe he'd change his mind. “But he's done 555 straight races, right? And I've done, I don't know, half the races (eight of 18) at the start of the season, I'm already worn out. So I can't blame the guy.
“He's put his heart and soul into this series. He's a big part of the success. He's shown integrity all the way through and he works really, really hard. “So no, I wouldn't say it was blindsided, but I'd be lying if I said, if I didn't say that, I would hope that he would extend.”
Nair credited Blanch, along with race director Kyle Novak, with helping get himself and other IndyCar Officiating members, Ray Evernham and FIA chair Ronan Morgan, “up to speed” since the creation of the Independent Officiating group.
“Rocket has been just a wealth of knowledge,” Nair said. “As I've gotten to know him better, is he rough around the edges? For sure. But he reminds me of a lot of the guys that I grew up with when I started in the automotive industry. And those were the guys that with their level of knowledge, with their passion for the job, for their integrity, those are the guys that I looked up to the most. I put Rocket in that range and I'm proud to have worked for him for this short period of time. So, I just want to personally thank him for everything he's done for IndyCar, everything he's done for IndyCar Officiating, everything he's done for me personally to bring me up to speed.
“I want to thank him for staying for this first part of the season through May, which is obviously our most difficult part of the season and helping bring Nick Allen up to speed.”
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