Australian IndyCar champion Will Power has copped a hefty fine for pushing a medical official at last weekend's controversial race in California.
Power, who went on a rant about race safety following the 400-mile race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, has been fined $US25,000 ($A32,704) and placed on probation for the remainder of the season.
The Queenslander was ruled to have violated two competition rules relating to improper conduct following a late race crash with Japanese driver Takuma Sato.
Power shoved a medical worker who was trying to get him off the track.
After the race, Power exploded about safety issues after some tight pack racing on the two-mile speedway which resulted in several crashes.
One included a scary moment for fellow Australian Ryan Briscoe, who walked away unharmed despite his car flipping in the air and landing upside down in one late accident.
Power likened the race to the infamous Las Vegas event in 2011, when he sustained serious injuries in a crash that also killed British driver Dan Wheldon.
"What are we doing?" Power said after the race.
"It's insane because you cannot get away and you have to take massive risks to gain track position.
"We don't need another Vegas incident. It's just a matter of time."
Power was just one of several drivers to air complaints following the race, with teammate Juan Pablo Montoya calling it "stupid".
While Power's fine didn't relate to his rant, IndyCar chief executive Mark Miles said such public criticism was not acceptable.
"We will certainly not be exceptional among sports leagues if we - when we - step up and assert ourselves more to do what we can do to minimise the times when individual participants comments are damaging to the whole," Miles said in a teleconference.
"That does not mean that we can't tolerate criticism and that there won't be lots of different opinions on lots of different topics. But there are lines that have to be drawn."
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