INDYCAR: DW12 extended four more years

The spec Dallara DW12 chassis will be used through the 2020 Verizon IndyCar Series season, and could be replaced by an all-new chassis the following year.

According to IndyCar president of competition Jay Frye, the DW12 will bridge the series' move from custom aero kits produced by Chevy and Honda through the new-for-2018 universal aero kit that will be used by every engine manufacturer.

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"If you look at it in years, in 2017 the kits are frozen, and then there will be another program in 2018, 2019, and 2020 with the universal kit, so in 2021, you could do something drastically different with the chassis," Frye told RACER.

Providing a three-year period of stability for teams (and manufacturers) with the universal kit is another driving factor behind extending the life of the DW12.

"One of the main goals of this program is to get another [engine manufacturer] to come in, and with the new universal kits on the way – it helps that initiative," Fry said. "And at the same time, we want everyone in our paddock to have a decent period of time with the universal bodywork before we make another change, so 2021 would be the next window for something that's possible on the chassis side."

The DW12 tub has received numerous updates since it went into production. Additional Zylon side impact material was added in 2012 after a pair of crashes involving Sebastien Bourdais at Sonoma and Justin Wilson at Fontana resulted in the sides of the cockpit cracking or collapsing when struck at a high rate of speed. The top of each DW12 cockpit was also strengthened during the update process. And with the pending installation of windscreens in late 2017 or early 2018, the venerable Italian chassis is scheduled to undergo at least one more substantial update before a new design is commissioned.

Provided the DW12 is replaced at the end of 2020, it will retire after nine years in service.