IndyCar: Could the DW12 chassis be extended through 2022?

The DW12 chassis has served IndyCar since the 2012 season. But could the universal body be continued beyond its nine-year limit into 2022?

Since the introduction of the new chassis, known as the DW12, to the IndyCar Series, it has been praised by many. While the aero kit phase for manufacturers Chevrolet and Honda may have represented a setback in equal competition, that will be corrected in 2018 with universal aero kits. But could the lifespan of the DW12 be expanded into the next decade?

In an interview with Motorsport.com, Jay Frye, president of competition and operations for IndyCar, expressed his openness to the idea of extending the use of the DW12 or IR12 chassis. Originally planned to be phased out in 2021, both IndyCar and Dallara are supposedly open to the idea of keeping the current body around. As of now, no concrete plan is in place for its replacement.

Frye had this to say about the future of the DW12 chassis in the Verizon IndyCar Series, according to Motorsport.com:

"The car is locked in for 2018, ’19, ’20. At some point do we put the stake in the ground and say 2022 is when we’re going to have a completely new car? We might just go, ‘Hey this car, we’re just getting started with it, everybody likes it, it looks right, do we just extend this thing for one year?’In May we’ll start to talk about a new car for 2021 or ’22, and then, by the fall, we should know what we’re going to do in ’21 and then we go forward.There’s got to be a process to that too when that comes, so that it all fits together."

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Considering all that IndyCar has on its plate, it’s no wonder that the conversation about the “car of the future” has shifted to the back-burner. The series will be searching for a new title sponsor after Verizon leaves following the 2018 season. In addition, the championship has yet to announce its new television deal, or where it currently stands. Contracts with NBCSN and ABC expire at the end of the upcoming season.

Beyond the potential conversations about new chassis, IndyCar officials remain hungry to find a new third engine manufacturer to join the series. Since the unceremonious departure of Lotus after just one year in the championship, Honda and Chevrolet have shouldered the load of supplying enough engines for all teams, plus additional entries in the Indianapolis 500. With the dissolution of manufacturer-specific aero kits, many officials suspect that more manufacturers will be interested as the workload will become less onerous.

Frye added this about the current hunt for a third engine partner for the IndyCar Series:

"Another OEM partner is a huge goal of ours. They all have a three, a five or a 10-year plan. We can go to them and say: ‘Here’s our plan, here’s where we’re going forward, here’s how it’s going to work’. I think they appreciate that.I think the [manufacturer] aerokit … eliminated a lot of them. They weren’t really interested in being part of the process. So a [new spec aerokit] was step one, step two is the plan, they see that. There’s been enthusiasm and they’re curious about what we’re doing. I was surprised by how much they know about what we’re doing, which is another good indicator that they’re paying attention.This doesn’t mean that any of them are coming for sure, but there’s a couple that I would say are active and we’re encouraged by."

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What do you think of the DW12 chassis the IndyCar Series is currently using? Is is a good car model, or should they replace it sooner than later?