ICONIC Delivers Positive Resolution to Chassis Woes

Much has been said about IndyCar’s new chassis strategy for the 2012 season. Many are bothered by the selection of Dallara, questioning why it was chosen over Lola, Swift, Delta Wing, and BAT. Moreover, many are bothered that they chose one “chassis,” leaving others out in the cold. However, when you look at all the circumstances, the solution they ICONIC Committee came up with fits the situation as well anything could.

Above all else, they had to make the new cars affordable. With current budgets well into the multi-million dollar range, many teams simply can’t afford to be competitive and have been forced to either scale back or take on “ride buyers” to help pay for their expenses. Simply put, the costs are far too high for the current market, which has allowed the Ganassi and Penske teams, which have the highest budgets by far, to dominate the series in their current manner.

With that as a backdrop, the appointed ICONIC Group drew up their solution, which certainly solves the cost problem. It will cost a team fewer than one million dollars to buy a car, half of what it costs to purchase a present-day Dallara chassis.

How is that possible? Dallara will build a factory in the Indianapolis/Speedway area to manufacture their 2012 cars, also creating about 75 jobs in the process. Lola and Swift could only guarantee warehouses that would store spare parts, not full-fledged factories to create the chassis, meaning the costs would not have had such a dramatic reduction. Dallara’s willingness to do so gave them a massive edge.

But, just because Dallara will build the chassis doesn’t mean others can’t compete. Dallara will build what amounts to the tub plus the suspension pieces (referred to the Safety Cell). From there, any company that wishes to can build aerodynamic parts (aka body kits) to fit the car, meaning we'll likely see different looking cars on the grid for, if nothing else, the Indianpolis 500.

Obviously, Dallara will provide their own kit, but Lola, Swift, and the like will certainly be invited to create their own kits. Ditto for carmakers, such as General Motors and Ford, or even chassis designers who wish to participate. Remember, Roger Penske designed his own CART cars up until 2000; teams building their own kits could be back in the equation. There are numerous possibilities, especially with CEO Randy Bernard meeting with multiple automobile companies. He has already met with Ford and GM, and is due to meet with Audi and Ferrari later this month.

Is their answer popular with everyone? No; many still long for the days of an open rulebook, allowing a “run what you brung” scenario. But, with such a system so open, teams will simply outspend each other, especially if no budget cap was given, something which wasn’t discussed for IndyCar. The fact is today’s economy won’t allow for such a policy, no matter how much we may long for innovative days of the 1960’s and 70’s. In fact, those days will likely never return, given that in today’s world, such engineering creativity would see radically increased speeds, which could have disastrous consequences.

It may not suit everyone for now, but given all the circumstances they were dealt, the ICONIC Committee delivered a sensible, inexpensive, and creative decision that should help IndyCar continue rebuild itself.