Being that it was declared a wet race minutes before the green flag, the first ever visit for the Verizon IndyCar Series to the NOLA Motorsports Park proved to be a dramatic one, albeit featuring over an hour of time under full course cautions. Given some of the incidents and occurrences that took place on the track and in pit lane during the Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana, plenty of penalties were issued by INDYCAR before the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend got underway.

Note that INDYCAR now allows for teams and drivers to appeal decisions made that result in these penalties.

Beginning with the most minor penalties:

- $500 fine to Marco Andretti for lifting his visor during a pit stop

- $500 fine to Dale Coyne Racing for a crewman with this visor up

- $500 fine to Andretti Autosport for a crewman not attending a tire during a pit stop and also having equipment leave the pit box

- $500 fine to KVSH Racing for a crewman going over the wall without a helmet

Around the middle of the race last Sunday, Francesco Dracone entered pit lane and attempted to steer into his pit box (which was located at the very beginning of pit lane). He lost control of his car and spun, taking out a crew member in the process.

The crewman was struck by the rear of the car as it spun slowly, athough the car was still moving quickly. He flipped entirely, head over heals, and he required six stitches following the accident.

The penalty assessed to Dracone was $10,000.

The largest of all in regards to penalties issued following the race in Louisiana is the one received by Andretti Autosport's Ryan Hunter-Reay. RHR was involved in the three car crash that took place on the first lap of a restart in the final minutes of the race.

Replays show Hunter-Reay leaving Simon Pagenaud no room to his right side, sending Pagenaud off course, through the grass, and heavily into himself and Sebastien Bourdais in the following corner.

It can be said that Bourdais left Hunter-Reay no room to his left side which left no room for Pagenaud on the right, but the harshest of all these penalties has been issued to RHR.

Hunter-Reay has had three points deducted and is on probation for three races for avoidable contact.

What are your thoughts on all or any of these penalties? Let the writers of the Racing section know via the official Twitter account of the VAVEL USA Racing section: @RacingOnVAVEL