More or less Official, new car in 2012

[champcarray]

Being a fairly typical American, I'm always looking for what's new and what's different. I didn't like CCWS as a single-chassis series, and I don't like the IRL as a single-chassis series. Seeing the same thing year in and year out doesn't do it for me.

I enjoy racing where I can see which chassis/engine/driver/team did best at which tracks. I was primarliy an F1 fan, but was won over by CART: a welcoming attitude, fast cars, and a diversity of chassis, aero tweaks, engines, and tracks.

[vintage]

Seems like a second car will raise costs as the big teams (Penske/Ganassi) will buy both to evaluate them, and the small teams won't know what to do. I don't remember too well, but it seemed like when Champ Car and the IRL had multiple chassis, teams generally migrated to a single chassis over a relatively short period of time as that chassis turned out to be advantageous. Then, when the other manufacturer created a better mousetrap, the big teams usually could be "first movers" and the smaller teams once again became followers.

[V12]

Seems like a second car will raise costs as the big teams (Penske/Ganassi) will buy both to evaluate them, and the small teams won't know what to do. I don't remember too well, but it seemed like when Champ Car and the IRL had multiple chassis, teams generally migrated to a single chassis over a relatively short period of time as that chassis turned out to be advantageous. Then, when the other manufacturer created a better mousetrap, the big teams usually could be "first movers" and the smaller teams once again became followers.

Penske and Ganassi will always spend the most, and will invariably win more often than not, regardless of whether it's one chassis or many. That will NEVER change, the specific teams might over time as some teams build up their infrastructure and funding and others fade away, but the general principle won't.

What an alternative chassis will bring is whenever the conditions (in terms of track configuration, weather, or whatever), favour the "unfashionable" chassis (or engine, or even tyre, back in the good old days of tyre wars), you'll get an unpredictable result or at least a mild shake up of the order.

Like around 2004 when Rahal and Fernandez were able to put one over on Penske/Ganassi/AGR by virtue of the Panoz being better on the day than the more consistent Dallara.

Or Panther and Sam Hornish showing up with the Cosworth/Chevrolet and winning out of the blue (think it was Michigan '03?)

Or, even if he never won that year or threatened to, Helio Castroneves occasional giant killing in CART in 1999 with the Hogan Lola at a time when the Reynard was dominant.

The 1993 season was a thrilling back and forth contest where at some races Mansell's Newman-Haas Lola would be the car to have, at other tracks Fittipaldi and Tracy's Penskes.

As far as teams generally drifting to one package anyway, I do see your point and it happens to an extent, but the three shifts I can think of (Reynard in the late 90s, Lola in 2002, Dallara in the mid 00s), had mitigating circumstances of the main competitor either nearly going bust (Lola mid 90s), actually going bust (Reynard 2002), or focussing on another project to the detriment of that one (Panoz in the mid 00s when they won the contract to build the DP01).

At the turn of the millennium in CART, in between Lola's recovery and Reynard's demise, the field was pretty much a healthy even split. Same in IRL pretty much from the start of their new formula in 1997.

[indyracefan]

I believe it's in the series best interest to have multiple chassis for a variety of reasons.

[Wilf]

I believe it's in the series best interest to have multiple chassis for a variety of reasons.

I believe it is in the best interest of the league that each team each be given 300 million dollar budgets like the F1 boys; that way they can build their own chassis. It ain't gonna happen.

[indyracefan]

I believe it is in the best interest of the league that each team each be given 300 million dollar budgets like the F1 boys; that way they can build their own chassis. It ain't gonna happen.

Multiple, affordable chassis are realistically possible, 300 million dollars budgets are not.

[elan 02]

Somebody at the IRL has to find a way to bring back Chevy,Ford,Keep Honda,bring back Toyota,bring in the Germany cars,bring back Lola,use Elan
,Swift. I think the fans need to Demand this.Or walk!

[call_me_andrew]

Not if you restrict the teams to do no R&D, just like CCWS did when they brought the Panoz in. Tony Cotman is most likely already strongly suggesting this.

One thing a second and/or third manufacturer does is drop the cost. Competition in a small market called the IRL would force the manufacturers to build the most cost-efficient car they can to draw teams into their wings.

What we have then is one car kicking the other car's ass until everyone buys the faster car.

[garyshell]

What we have then is one car kicking the other car's ass until everyone buys the faster car.

Sort of like what has happened in the past, no? I agree, it was fun to see multiple chassis in the field but one always dominated and teams spent cubic dollars moving to that chassis. Then as another rose to the top folks scrapped the ones they had and moved to the new flavor of the day. It meant an ever increasing budget for chassis year after year, or often times mid season. In this economy it make no sense.

Gary

[indyracefan]

Sort of like what has happened in the past, no? I agree, it was fun to see multiple chassis in the field but one always dominated and teams spent cubic dollars moving to that chassis. Then as another rose to the top folks scrapped the ones they had and moved to the new flavor of the day. It meant an ever increasing budget for chassis year after year, or often times mid season. In this economy it make no sense.

Gary

The IRL's second generation Dallara's & G-Force's were fairly even in performance, costs and distribution.