Indy Racing League officials announced this morning that both Rahal Letterman Racing teams have had their qualifying times disallowed. This sends IndyCar Series drivers Scott Sharp and Jeff Simmons to the rear of the field for tonight's season opener.

Scott Sharp had qualified a solid seventh, with Simmons originally timing 16th. They will now start the race from the last row with Sharp 19th and Simmons 20th.

The team made the following statement: "The penalties imposed on the No. 8 and No. 17 cars by the IndyCar Series were purely of subjective interpretation, and Rahal Letterman Racing does not agree with this ruling. Our cars have been in the same configuration since arriving at Homestead and have passed IndyCar Series technical inspection at various times throughout the weekend."

"While we don't agree with the ruling, we are confident our cars were legal and therefore eligible within the IndyCar Series rules for competition, and we will now focus our energy on the race at hand and maximizing our results here at Homestead-Miami Speedway."

ORS / CAPSIS International