| 29 February 2012
Now, we're not talking about the famous reality TV family (if you want them, go to TMZ). We're talking about the new rear wheel guards on the Dallara DW12, which have been dubbed by some as the "Kardashians" and are meant to lessen the impact of wheel-to-wheel and rear contact.
While the current set of guards will remain intact for most events on this year's IZOD IndyCar Series calendar, the INDYCAR sanctioning body has announced that Dallara will provide, free of charge, a second set of guards for the Indianapolis 500 and the season finale at ACS on Sept. 15.
The linked article above has model photos of the new taller and lighter guards, which have gone through wind tunnel testing in model and full size according to the series. While this new set won't be utilized at Texas Motor Speedway this summer, the series hopes to have some prototypes on hand for that track's big Open Test session on March 13. Says INDYCAR vice-president of technology Will Phillips to INDYCAR.com:
"Dallara worked hard to make sure it wouldn’t vibrate and tested it on a rig. We have to run it on the track to make sure it performs as expected. We’re working to see when we could get some production prototypes, and if we’re able to have them for the Texas Open Test we might ask a few teams to test them for us (one per manufacturer)."
While this second set of guards won't exactly appease those fans looking for a more "open-wheel" look from the new IndyCars, it will likely go over better with the base as a whole if they help provide better performance on the track. Just another something to keep an eye on next month in Fort Worth.
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