Swift Unveils More Info

"Our goal is no less than for the 100th anniversary of the Indy 500 to be run exclusively with Swift chassis. We are very proud to release come of our conceptual designs today that were developed specifically for the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series program. IndyCar fans love to see the engines and mechanical bits normally shielded behind bodywork. These concepts incorporate retro-styling cues that harkens to the 50s, 60s, and 70s IndyCar eras. Our wind tunnel tests have shown the engine cover has very little effect on aerodynamics compared to most other components on the car. We saw an opportunity to showcase the engine and other 'jewelry' while preserving efficiency with a much smaller fairing" - Swift's director of motorsports, Casper Van der Schoot

"As we listened to the IZOD IndyCar Series they also challenged us to help evolve the fan's racing experience. The Mushroom Buster will promote closer racing and passing, but we also wanted to help communicate the car's critical information in real time to the fans. To-that-end, we are pioneering a new lighting technology which we've dubbed 'SwiftLights'. SwiftLights will display car information like throttle, brake and fuel levels as well as race position. Our light sheets are made from a 1mm thick clear plastic which can be molded over complex shapes like an IndyCar's bodywork. Swiftlights are light-weight, efficient, inexpensive, safe and extremely bright. TV-like sheets have also been demonstrated with this technology, offering amazing possibilities for team and series sponsors" - Swift's chief Scientist, Mark Page
"Whatever our final IndyCar concept design Swift will incorporate its pioneering new technology to improve passing, which we've named 'Mushroom Busters' in reference to the mushroom shape of a car's aerodynamic wake signature. The 'busters' sweep up the wake behind the leading car, thus improving the handling of the following car. We have already effectively utilized Mushroom Busters in our Formula Nippon car design, the 017.n and believe we can now take the technology much further on the IndyCar" - Swift chief designer, Chris Norris

Huge thanks to Swift's Kanna Place for the information

Swift Unveils 2012 Concept

Just days after Dallara released their concepts for the 2012 IndyCar, and 2 days before DeltaWing is slated to show off their chassis, Swift has released their design.

Concept 1

Concept 2: Notice rear wing, sidepod, and front wing changes

"Given Swift is the leading U.S. race car design and manufacturing company and our 27 year history was founded in motorsport, it is only natural that we aspire to partner with the nations' premier open wheel formula, the IZOD IndyCar Series.

Individually, each one of these partnerships is critical to Swift's continuing commitment to motorsport; however, collectively and in conjunction with one another they will help us set new industry standards in innovative design, manufacturing and support.

Speed to market is critical in any business, but probably more so in racing as the green flag doesn't wait for anyone," Refsdal said. "Rapid development is just as much about the speed and quality of the design process as it is manufacturing. We are evolving our four year exclusive certified composite repair relationship with Mark One Composites, Inc. to provide further manufacturing and inventory support directly to teams from its Indianapolis based facility." - Jan Wesley Refsdal, Swift President

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Stock Car Star Looking To Attempt IRL Race

It appears that a stock car star could soon be making his debut in an IZOD IndyCar Series race, just not Indy. This from motorsports writer, Norris McDonald:

....Yes, some pretty good open-wheel people have had difficulty making the adjustment to stock cars. Dario Franchitti just couldn’t do it, that’s true. But the rest of them acquitted themselves pretty well, in my books (okay, they didn’t win races but when was the last time Dale Jr. was in Victory Lane?)

My point – yes, there’s one coming – is that we’ve never had an example of anyone going the other way. We’ve never (in recent years, anyway) had a stock car racer of the first rank switch over and try to drive open-wheel cars.

Until now.

The news today is that – although I can’t name the driver and I can’t name the series and I can’t name the team – is that one of the stars of NASCAR (hint: he’ll be one of the 24 racing in the Budweiser Shootout, a.k.a. Bud Crashfest, at Daytona tonight – FOX, TSN2 at 8 p.m.) is negotiating with an open-wheel team to drive in a race sometime this season.

The deal is in the early stages, but the driver has told the team owner that he’s always thought about doing it and the only condition is that it would have to be at a track he’s familiar with so he could just pretty much jump in the car and get out there.

A deal is still not set, but it's still a very interesting scenario. After counter checking the IZOD IndyCar Series schedule with the Cup schedule, only a couple races make since:

Brazil - Not Familiar

St. Pete -Not Familiar

Barber - Not Familiar

Long Beach -Not Familiar

Kansas - Cup Race Same Day

Indy - Cup Race Same Day

Texas - Possible but Cup Race Next Day

Iowa - Cup Race Same Day

Watkins Glen - Possible but Cup Race Previous Day

Toronto -Not Familiar

Edmonton - Not Familiar

Mid-Ohio - Not Familiar

Infineon - Possible but Cup Race Previous Day

Chicagoland - Possible With Off Week For Cup

Kentucky - Possible but Cup Race Next Day

Twin Ring Motegi - Not Familiar

Homestead - Possible but Cup Race Next Day

Assuming he'll want to race on an oval, only Texas and Chicagoland meet the drivers criteria, and if it's a race early in the season like the article said, only Texas makes since. Remember, in 2008 Earnhardt jr. was offered $100,000 by Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage to run the tracks Open-Wheel round.

Drivers in Bud Shootout without previous IndyCar experience:

• Kevin Harvick
• Kasey Kahne
• Jamie McMurray
• Kyle Busch
• Denny Hamlin
• Jeff Gordon
• Joey Logano
• Brian Vickers
• Dale Earnhardt Jr.
• Jeff Burton
• Jimmie Johnson
• Ken Schrader
• Greg Biffle
• Matt Kenseth
• Carl Edwards
• Bobby Labonte
• Ryan Newman
• Mark Martin
• Michael Waltrip
• Kurt Busch
• Derrike Cope

Dallara: New Car To Be Built In Speedway

Just a day after the first images of Dallara's 2012 concept car was first publicly shown on IndyCar blogs, a little more information is coming out. According to Dallara founder Mr. Gian Paolo Dallara: ”The new Dallara Indy car will be built in Speedway, Indiana and it will set new standards in terms of safety, fuel efficiency, raceability, technology performance and cost containment. We can achieve all of these objectives. Dallara as a company, a trusted, credible, stable and loyal partner for the Indy Racing League for the past twelve years, commits to support, service and develop this new car by locating a dedicated facility near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway”

More angles of the concepts have also been released:

Stay tuned over the next few days as I hope to release photos of the DeltaWing, Lola, and Swift 2012 concept cars as well.

Dallara's 2012 Concepts

Dallara will officially release these concepts tomorrow

The chassis will:

• Ligher and more efficient
• Built at a much lower cost
• Manufactured in the United States

Stay tuned, as I hope to post more concepts from other manufactures over the coming days.

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