Breaking: IndyCar announces "new" chassis manufacturer for 2012

IndyCar has broadcast its selection of a new chassis for 2012 and out of a group of entries that included BAT, Dallara, DeltaWing, Lola, and Swift, they decided to go with... drumroll... Dallara.

Perhaps it was telling that they played mostly oldies before the official live-stream, as this series seems to have a lot more history than future in many people's minds. Since the split between CART and the IRL more than a decade ago, open wheel racing in America has seen rapidly declining audiences that led to lower television revenue and a further downward spiral.

The current chassis and engine combo has made the IndyCar Series little more than a spec series, with Dallara building the chassis and Honda supplying the powerplants. Fans seem to want more competition, just like back in the day when Swift, Lola, Eagle and others were in the mix along with engine suppliers Oldsmobile, Infiniti, Cosworth, GM, et al. Well, in a bid to at least freshen the image of the league, the powers that be decided to have an open bid process to select the car of 2012.

The new engine regulations and the new chassis should go a long way towards making the series more entertaining for fans. The Dallara chassis will also help reduce costs for teams (by up to 40 percent) and the aero kits that will be available from other manufacturers will help keep a certain level of personalization for teams. The new chassis is more modern, safer and lighter at 1,380 pounds, some 185 pounds lighter than the current Dallara chassis being used. During the same press conference, it was also announced that Dallara would be building a new plant in Indianapolis to keep the car manufacturing close to home and to add jobs to the United States. Click below for gallery of the 2012 Dallara IndyCar concept.