FORT WORTH, Texas — The new Dallara DW12 chassis being used by Izod IndyCar Series drivers this year is expected to make the series safer.
But drivers know that while safety is a primary concern in the series, especially in the wake of Dan Wheldon's death last year, the cars can only do so much.
"Once drivers put their helmets on they're really not thinking about the safe side of things," Target Honda driver Scott Dixon said. "We're all very competitive. The safety aspect is a huge part of the sport in many areas and something we rely on a lot of other people to make it better. The drivers try to bring up valid points as often as possible that may help in different situations."
Drivers put the new cars through an extensive workout at Texas Motor Speedway on Monday as 10 drivers ran laps at the 1-1/2-mile quadoval in an open test. The cars, which replaced the old model the series had used for eight years, are supposed to be safer because they keep cars from leaving the track and now have rear wheel guards in an attempt to curtail wheel-to-wheel incidents. The cockpit the drivers sit in also has been ramped up safety wise, with the introduction of the "safety cell."
The cars have less horsepower than the old model but are more efficient engine wise. Cars in Monday's morning practice ran as fast as 212.371 mph, with Dixon achieving that speed. That's only two or three mph slower than the cars were running at TMS last year.
The cars haven't raced on an oval track yet this year with the first four races on road courses. The next race will be the cars first oval test at the Indianapolis 500. That race begins a stretch of four oval races in a five-race stretch that includes the June 9 Firestone 550 at TMS.
"First and foremost today's test is a really good shakedown run for everybody to shake down speedway packages," series president of competition Beaux Barfield said. "They're not identical to what teams will experience at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 500, but it's a good opportunity for those guys to get up to speed and get comfortable here."
Getting comfortable at a track like TMS has been a big question for drivers in the series when it comes to a track where they race wide open.
"There's always concern, especially after what happened in Vegas," Dixon said. "Once again it's obviously something that's part of our sport but you never want to see it. In some ways we're quite lucky because it doesn't happen too often. It's time to re-evaluate situations. I think Vegas was a bit of a one-off in the way the track is and how much grip there is and you get such a big pack together. Texas we've had races like that in the past."
The new chassis is still a work in progress. The cars haven't been in a race yet so drivers don't know for sure how the cars will react on the high-speed tracks.
One thing that could help is that teams have options in how they set up the cars now because of the new rules. There are now also three engine manufacturers in the sport, which also creates differences in the cars.
"We don't have as many ovals as we did in the past," Helio Castroneves said. "The precaution's been taken already. This is a new car and we don't know what the best package is for this car. The entire community in the IndyCar Series has spent time working together so that when we go back last year we can attack ovals the way we use to be and more importantly, safe. Right now it's a big question mark, but we're doing the right steps."
