It's been a couple of years now since we've seen chassis diversity in the Indycar Series and who knows when we will see it again. During discussions about a new car, Indycar officials stated something along the lines of "Dallara will be the sole provided of the new chassis" when the car comes out in 2011 or 2012.
Well, the IRL has backed down from that, however, we still haven't heard anything official in regards to who would be allowed to build the new chassis' when the new car does come out some time in the next decade. I know some people still believe the IRL will go with one manufacturer because they believe it to be the cheapest, or maybe because, according the Robin Miller, the IRL gets kick backs from every part sold by Dallara.
Either way, most fans of the sport believe we need multiple engine manufacturers and multiple chassis manufacturers to keep the tradition of Indycar racing and Indianapolis alive. Spec racing can be fun, but I believe it has outlived it's welcome with ICS fans.
Throughout the engine summit, rumors have circulated about VW and Porshe and Alfa Romeo joining the series, but none of that has come through as fact. The latest rumor is that no one will join Honda in 2011. Indycar can't really control that, if engine manufacturers don't want to come on board, the IRL can't force their hand to do so.
However, chassis diversification can indeed be helped by Indycar seeing how there are multiple chassis manufacturers interested in the Indycar series. Imagine the step up the series would take if chassis' produced by Dallara competed with Panoz and Lola every week. Three different chassis manufacturers producing different cars that produce different levels of downforce would provide massive amounts of passing opportunities, and would bring in diversity to the sport again. Atleast it would make the fans we have now happier.
But in order to get the IRL to bring in these multiple chassis manufacturers, we the fans have to force their hand the best we can. Being the ones who buy the tickets and support the sponsors and watch the races on television, deserve to have some sort of say in the matter. So, I am hereby introducing the "Bring Chassis Diversity Back To The Indycar Series" Petition.
This petition will allow fans to voice their strong wishes for multiple chassis manufacturers for the new era of Indycar racing. Once we get enough votes, I will send this Petition on to the IRL. In the meantime, let's get as many signatures as we can. Send the link around, get your friends to sign it, any IRL fan you know, hell, any racing fan you know. Get the word out there, as this is our chance to have a say in the future of Indycar Racing in North America.
9 comments:
I don't know; do you think it really matters to anyone other than the hard-core fans? Back when we had chassis diversity, casual fans I talked to could never tell the difference between a Dallara and a G-Force unless I pointed it out to them. It's not like Chevy and Ford are making the chassis (or more to the point, paying to have their names put on them).
Whether they know about the different chassis or not is not nessicarily the key point. Hardcore fans would be able to pick out the different within 5 seconds of turning the TV on.
To newer, casual viewers, they wouldn't know which is which, or even that there were two or more different chassis', however, they would notice the better racing that multiple chassis provides.
Multiple chassis' with slightly different levels of downforce creates much better racing then 1 chassis with the exact same level of downforce as it produces variances in car speed in turns and on straightaways, producing a different in car speeds which results in more passing then when all the cars are the exact same, and only setup can cause variances in car speeds.
In my mind, if there is an IRL in 2012 when the new car comes out with one chassis manufacturer, we might as well take it as a sign the IRL won't get through 2013.
Bring back reynard , lola , swift , panoz to compete with dallara and maybe their will be some competition .
Constructive criticism and supportive suggestions boys - keep buying tickets, watching races and recommending the product. This thing is hanging by a thread - the only change a fan revolt will cause is extinction...
Multiple chassis manufacturers will not automatically guarantee better racing. Remember back a few years when there were two or three in the IRL and one was good and the other two were dogs, prompting teams to switch to the competitive one? That was not the first time. We saw the same cycle of swings from one manufacturer to another because one became better than the others. That didn't improve the racing at all. It just forced teams to scrap chassis that they had so they could buy the one that was winning races. It cost overbid cubic $$$.
I understand where you are coming from, but I think we are forgetting the history that precedes us.
JP, this is no revolt. I know I will not stop watching if it stays at one chassis. If I say I won't, that's just me in the spur of the moment.
This is just a way for us fans as a whole to communicate to the IRL and let them know about what it is we want from them.
But please don't see this as a revolt.
In my previous reply, in the last sentence of the first paragraph substitute "everybody" for "Overbid". Damn spell checkers!
Gary
Gary,
The history I remember, being a CART/CCWS fan was that of Lola, Reynard, Swift and even Eagle all competing very tightly.
I believe the main reason the Panoz fell off the pace in the IRL was their reluctance to continue to refine the chassis compared to Dallara. Dallara introduced improvements whereas Panoz didn't after a couple of years.
I believe if you let Tony Cotman tell the chassis manufacturers what they can and can't do, you'd see 3 or 4 chassis that are all capable of winning race in 2012.
I don't watch the irl, partly because there is only one engine/chassis but mostly because of the awful spec of car they run. 600hp and too much downforce doesn't appeal to an old Indy car fan like myself (not too old, started watching in 83). I liked the late 80's CART formula, lots of horsepower, tiny wings and unpredictable 80's ground effect under trays that allowed the cars to slide and still be caught, thats what Indy car racing should be!
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