- IndyCar's new Dallara chassis will be used in 2012 as a spec piece, without optional body kits.
- The decision to delay introduction of aero kits was based on economic concerns.
- The aero kits are scheduled to be added in 2013.
LOUDON, New Hampshire — Optional body kits offering different aerodynamic characteristics and giving cars different looks were supposed to be part of the new chassis-engine package used in the Izod IndyCar Series next year, but the aero kits will not be used next year.
IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard expressed a concern about the number of entries in the aftermath of the new rules formula and suggested that maintaining a spec body would help keep costs down and make it easier for teams to make the transition to the new equipment.
"We must listen to our team owners and try to help," Bernard said. "I'm the biggest advocate of the aero kit and I feel this is by far the best decision for our series."
The present Dallara chassis, more than a decade old, will be replaced by a new model built by the same Italian racecar manufacturer. The spec 3.5-liter Honda V8 will be replaced by 2.2-liter engines with turbochargers.
Honda, Chevrolet and Lotus have all made commitments to supply engines.
A number of manufacturers had also expressed plans to build body aero kits, but Bernard defended the conservative approach of waiting until 2013 to introduce them.
"The 2012 season will be exciting with the debut of our new car as we focus on relevancy and technology with engine competition, turbochargers and direct injection among other things," he said.
The new chassis, powered by a Honda V6, got its shakedown run August 8-9 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, with two-time Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon at the wheel.
Inside Line says: Plans announced in 2010 represented a dramatic break from the homogenized racing equipment seen in most major series nowadays, but IndyCar keeps backing away from some of the options that made the new formula exciting. Here's hoping it does not get watered down to the point that it remains, essentially, a spec series.
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veryhrm says:
02:05 AM, 08/17/2011
Man... i'd forgotten all about Indy. I used to watch back in the 90s before Tony George decided to destroy things and suddenly the cars changed and half the drivers I knew disappeared .(i realize the cars stayed the same on the CART side but it all got confusing).. haven't really watched since.
Just now i thought i'd look for a clarification as to exactly what happened and found this article: http://www.gordonkirby.com/categories/columns/archive/self-destructive_act.html titled "Modern Sports' most self-destructive act" that tells the story up to 2006.
I guess i'm glad everything seems to be all reunited now that Tony George has been retired by his family who voted him off the Speedway Island, so to speak ( http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/racing/indycar/columns/story?columnist=oreovicz_john&id=4849355 )... Hard to believe one man can do so much damage.
iceman100 says:
07:42 PM, 08/16/2011
Great points hope12839. I really miss the CART cars from about 1993 to 2002. Those race cars were truly monsters and were very entertaining to watch. In addition - in my opinion - the current cars just can't match the sound of the turbocharged V8's they ran during that period. The current engines sound like a high-strung washing machine.
hope12839 says:
06:04 PM, 08/16/2011
Just when it looked like IndyCar was finally getting away from the stupid "spec car" racing that we have been stuck with since 1996; they go and "cop out" and stay with the "spec car' series for another year!
I am very afraid that come a year from now they will decide to permanently suspend the independent body kits and we will be forever stuck with "spec car" Indy racing.
Randy Bernard and his cohorts and any teams who agree with him ought to be ashamed of themselves; they are putting themselves ahead of the fans and the legacy of Indy car racing. The great legacy of Indy car racing of from the beginning through the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's has been lost to the geeky beancounters and the NASCAR wannabees.
Racing is expensive by nature; if you can't afford it, get out!