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July 24, 2017 | By Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Fans are welcome to watch the inaugural test of the Dallara universal aero kit to be used by all Verizon IndyCar Series teams starting in the 2018 season on Tuesday, July 25 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The test will take place from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (ET) on the 2.5-mile oval. Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya and series veteran Oriol Servia will be behind the wheel during the test. Fans can watch testing for free from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. from the Turn 2 viewing mounds, IMS Museum parking lot and South Terrace Grandstands. Free parking is available in the Museum lot for fans. The universal kit will be fitted to the current Dallara IR-12 chassis used by all teams during the test. The two test cars will represent the engine manufacturers competing in the Verizon IndyCar Series. Team Penske will provide the Chevrolet-powered Dallara chassis to be driven by Montoya. Servia will drive a Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Dallara with a Honda engine. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway test will mark the public debut of the new car look. Computer-generated images of the universal kit were initially released in January and followed up with more detailed images in May. As with the current kits, the universal kit will come in two specifications: one for superspeedways and the other for road courses, street circuits and short ovals. Testing at Indianapolis, Mid-Ohio, Iowa and Sebring will be used to confirm the baseline standards for the package, starting with the superspeedway kit July 25 at Indianapolis. Dallara was named last month to manufacture the kit following a yearlong process at INDYCAR to establish the parameters for a sleeker, bolder bodywork kit whose look is inspired by past favorite chassis that competed in Indy car racing. Chevrolet and Honda have been supplying aero kits to their contracted teams since 2015, but that will cease at the end of this season. The new universal kit is expected to be more cost-effective, with the intent to draw additional engine manufacturers to the Verizon IndyCar Series since they no longer need to supply aero kits, as well. The universal kit contains additional safety enhancements and is intended to deliver even greater on-track racing since most of the aerodynamic downforce will be generated from underneath the car. That will create less air turbulence for trailing cars, allowing for more overtaking opportunities.