There was a time when Indy racing teams could source
their chassis from any of a number of constructors. These days, though, it's
all about Dallara. Little wonder, then, that the series organizers have chosen
to source the new aero kits from the Italian manufacturer.
Open-wheel racing fans may recall that the IndyCar
Series invited Honda and Chevy to design and supply their own aero kits to the
teams using their engines in the championship. That initiative has now come to
an end, though, and starting next season, every team will use the same setups,
one (with lower downforce) for super-speedways and another (with more
downforce) for street circuits, road courses, and short oval tracks.
With the design already finalized, the contract to
produce those aerodynamic packages has now been awarded to Dallara, the same
company that supplies the DW12 chassis that every team uses and has been a
constant fixture on the grid for the past 20 years. The company is based at the
Varano de'Melegari circuit near Parma in northern Italy, but runs a second
facility for its Indy program near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana.
Honda and Chevrolet will continue providing their
2.2-liter twin-turbo V6 engines burning E85 ethanol fuel. No word on the
prospect, however, of any other automakers getting in on the action in the near
future as manufacturers like Ford, Toyota, and Infiniti having long since left
the format.
