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IndyCar has extended its contract with sole chassis supplier Dallara ahead of the 2022 season.
Dallara has provided IndyCar’s chassis since the reunification of IndyCar and Champ Car for the 2008 season.
The current DW12 has been used since 2012 and is regularly credited as one of the reasons IndyCar enjoys tight competition owing to the chassis and its long-standing tenure.
The original DW12 chassis and aero kit ran from 2012-2014 with manufacturers allowed to make facelift aerokits from 2015-2017. In 2018 the aerokit became universal again which is the chassis configuration IndyCar currently has, with the addition of the aeroscreen safety canopy for 2020.
“Dallara is a tremendous partner and instrumental in everything we do on the racetrack,” IndyCar President Jay Frye said.
“An important part of the success and growth of the NTT IndyCar Series can be directly traced to Dallara’s collaboration with our entire paddock.
“This extension provides IndyCar and its teams continuity and a stable platform as we look well into the future.”
The deal is described as “multi-year”. The release announcing the deal said, “the contract runs parallel to the current agreements with engine manufacturers Chevrolet and Honda”.
Chevrolet and Honda extended its IndyCar deal last year, and while the duration was not revealed, it was said at the time the deals would run “well into the end of the decade”.
It has not been announced when IndyCar will have a new chassis, with the current emphasis on getting the hybrid engine for 2023 finalised.
Dallara and IndyCar are understood to have started working on the new chassis earlier this year.
“Dallara is honoured to have been part of this journey for 26 years and counting,” added Andrea Pontremoli, Dallara Group CEO.
“We understand the responsibility that comes in extending our partnership with INDYCAR over the course of the years to come and are excited to be part of this long-term plan.
“Being such an integrated partner to IndyCar, we feel the inspirational leadership of Roger Penske, along with the management of Jay Frye, has allowed the series to have a continuous focus on safety while always providing an exciting atmosphere for all of our competitors and fans.
“This partnership will continue to fall in line with Dallara’s core values and what we want to see our technology and innovation developed for – adding emphasis to safety and sustainability for the future.
“It is a great time for IndyCar, and Dallara is proud to continue as the chassis manufacturer.”
