INDYCAR: The real reasons for aero kit dismissal

IndyCar's change of heart with aero kits goes much deeper than a simple desire to reduce costs and performance differences between Chevy and Honda teams. The series is expected to announce a two-pronged plan where the current aero kits from both brands will be frozen at the end of 2016 and used for one more season without any changes or added development. At the end of 2017, those custom aero kits would be removed and replaced by a new, universal aero kit that would dress every Dallara DW12 chassis in the field.

IndyCar is set on moving away from aero kits, and will do so as quickly as possible, but real reason behind its change of heart could be the most interest aspect of the entire process.

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"We think that we can make it easier for a third OEM, and hopefully more OEMs, to join us by taking away obstacles for their involvement," IndyCar CEO Mark Miles told RACER.

It's believed some of the auto manufacturers that have expressed an interest in joining Chevy and Honda as official engine suppliers have balked at signing contracts due to aero kits. Spending millions to promote power and efficiency from small-displacement turbocharged engines is a much easier sell, and is within the realm of expertise for most manufacturers.

But as IndyCar has found, the same willingness for new OEMs to spend millions on a comparatively abstract technology like aero kits has been missing. Without a natural link between aero kits and what's sold on the showroom floor, and a lack of open-wheel aerodynamic expertise for most brands, custom bodywork has been a major stumbling block in negotiations.

IndyCar has also been under pressure from its current OEMs to bring a third brand into the series to lighten their supply load from 50/50 to something closer to a three-way share. Put it all together, and with the aero kit reticence shown by OEM's looking in, and the steady calls from Chevy and Honda to bring another brand to the party, axing custom aero kits might be the easiest decision IndyCar has ever had to make.

Without confirming IndyCar's future aero kit strategy, Miles added a second form of motivation for going to a newly-designed spec kit instead of reverting to the original (and unloved) 2012-'14 Dallara DW12 bodywork.

"We're not interested in simply cutting costs or simplifying IndyCar if it came at the expense of the appeal or performance of our racing," he said. "We want to have more appealing racing, which is why we're testing some things and evaluating the best way to preserve the quality racing we have and potentially introduce something new to the mix that helps with some of the bigger items on our agenda."

That agenda goes beyond courting new OEMs, and has been led by IndyCar president of competition Jay Frye. It includes allowing teams to modify some areas of the DW12 that have been off-limits, the possible shift away from its current spec brake system supplier, the addition of dome skids and rear beam flaps that worked to perfection during the month of May, an increase in the number of steel tethers to hold bodywork in place during a crash and some form of cockpit protection device – expected to arrive later in 2017.

Once known as a series that lacked imagination, Miles, Frye, competition team members Bill Pappas and Tino Belli and many others within the organization have demonstrated a welcome and active embrace of change and improvement.

"As Jay was on-boarded for the new job as president of competition and operations, a lot of time was spent thinking on our priorities as we look to the future," Miles said. "Some of them were very clear, and some of them have been worked on collaboratively with our stakeholders – using the expertise in the paddock. It's very much a follow-on from a common sense-driven set of priorities."

IndyCar's 2017 racing schedule, and a road map for the technical changes and innovations from Frye's team, should be revealed in increments as the series heads towards the season finale at Sonoma Raceway on Sept. 18.