The Dallara DW12 has underpinned IndyCar since 2012, with only incremental tweaks in the meantime.
The 2028 car, announced earlier this year, promises safety and sustainability upgrades, but little of the radical change that drivers and fans have been clamouring for.
While the series continues to deliver thrilling racing on track, its long reliance on the decade-old Dallara chassis underlines how slow IndyCar has been to adapt.
Formula 1 has surged in America thanks to Netflix, new races in Miami and Las Vegas, and record investment. NASCAR has retained its mainstream grip. IMSA has grown thanks to a global prototype ruleset that lured back big manufacturers.
“I think a lot of the powers that be don’t realise once you sink a product how long it takes to get it back,” four-time IndyCar champion Mario Andretti told Motor Sport.
“It’s so tragic that you have unprecedented talent lined up in the series, but nobody knows about it.
The Dallara chassis is showing its age now
IndyCar
“If you take [six-time champion] Scott Dixon somewhere, he won’t be recognised. When the cop stopped you and said, ‘Who do you think you are, Stirling Moss?’, all that is gone. I don’t hear, ‘Who do you think you are, Dario Franchitti?’ And these guys have won their share. They’ve won championships, they’ve won Indy. How do you explain that?”
IndyCar is leaning heavily on the Indy 500’s success. Roger Penske’s stewardship has turned the event into a record-breaking blockbuster, but the rest of the calendar has seen dwindling TV numbers and little growth.
The much-trumpeted new £97m Fox Sports TV deal secures coverage but hardly feels like the game-changer the series needs.
Against that backdrop, waiting until 2028 for a car that is already being criticised as too heavy and too conservative looks like a half-measure.
The Indy 500 is still thriving
IndyCar
“As a driver, I want a car that I can feel well, that I have complete control over,” Newgarden said. “We’ve gotten away from that over the years with more and more downforce and the way the tyres have changed.
“In my opinion, it’s gone away from feel and control. You’re more reliant on the pure speed and capability of the car rather than relying on both the car and the driver. The balance has shifted too much to rely purely on the car.”
The 2025 finale showed again that IndyCar’s racing can be fascinating but unless the series finds a way to make the world notice – with faster cars, bigger stories, and more relevance – there is a danger that by the time change finally comes, it will be too late.