The 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series was the 17th season of the IndyCar Series, and the 101st season of American open wheel racing. Its premier event was the 96th Indianapolis 500, held on Sunday, May 27. The series was sanctioned by IndyCar, and took place in three countries on two continents. Chevrolet returned to the series for the first time since 2005 while Lotus debuted, with the latter leaving the IndyCar Series after the 2012 season due to poor performance.
Three-time defending IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti entered the season seeking his fourth consecutive championship and fifth overall. Meanwhile, two-time championship runner up Will Power sought his first title. Heading into the final race of the season, Power led Ryan Hunter-Reay by 17 points in a two driver fight for the championship. After Power wrecked on lap 55, Hunter-Reay was able to finish 4th, and claimed the championship by 3 points.
Among the numerous stories going into the season was the departure of Danica Patrick, who left IndyCar to compete in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Joining the series was former Formula One driver Rubens Barrichello. A highlight of the season was the introduction of a new chassis and engine package.
After losing Las Vegas as a venue in the aftermath of the death of Dan Wheldon, the series welcomed the return of such venues as Detroit and Fontana. In addition, midway through the season, the inaugural Indy Qingdao 600 scheduled to take place in China was cancelled by the promoter.
It was a triumphant return for Chevrolet after returning from a 6-year absence, and an average year for Honda topped by an unexpectedly good performance at the 500 after poor qualifying, and thus Chevrolet ended the Japanese engine manufacturer's nine-year supremacy.
Drivers and teams All chassis are composed of a Dallara DW12 "IndyCar Safety Cell" base and aerokit in 2012. All teams will run Firestone tires.
Team Engine No. Driver(s) Rounds A. J. Foyt Enterprises Honda 14 Mike Conway 1–14 Wade Cunningham 15 41 5Andretti AutosportChevrolet 26 Marco Andretti All 27 James Hinchcliffe All 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay All AFS Racing / Andretti Autosport 17 Sebastián Saavedra 5, 13, 15 Andretti Autosport / Conquest Racing 25 Ana Beatriz 4–5 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 9 Scott Dixon All Dario Franchitti All 38 Graham Rahal All 83 Charlie Kimball 1–11, 13–15 Giorgio Pantano 12 Dale Coyne Racing Honda 18 Justin Wilson All 19 James Jakes All Dragon Racing LotusChevrolet 6 Katherine Legge 1–5, 7–9, 13, 15 7 Sébastien Bourdais 1–6, 10–14 Dreyer & Reinbold RacingPanther/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing LotusChevrolet 22 Oriol Servià All Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 20 Ed Carpenter All KV Racing Technology Chevrolet 5 E. J. Viso All 8 Rubens Barrichello All KV Racing Technology with SH 11 Tony Kanaan All Lotus–Fan Force UnitedLotus 64 Jean Alesi 5 Lotus–HVM Racing Lotus 78 Simona de Silvestro All Panther Racing Chevrolet 4 J. R. Hildebrand All Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 15 Takuma Sato All 30 Michel Jourdain Jr. 5 Schmidt–Hamilton Motorsports Honda 77 Simon Pagenaud All 99 Townsend Bell 5 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda 39 Bryan Clauson 5 67 Josef Newgarden 1–13, 15 Bruno Junqueira 14 Team Barracuda – BHA LotusHonda 98 Alex Tagliani 1–3, 5–15 Team Penske Chevrolet 2 Ryan Briscoe All 3 Hélio Castroneves All 12 Will Power All Notes (R) – Rookie 1. Charlie Kimball broke his hand in an accident while testing at Mid-Ohio on July 26. Pantano replaced Kimball for the subsequent race at Mid-Ohio. 2. Team Barracuda – BHA, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and Dragon Racing terminated their Lotus engine contracts prior to the Indianapolis 500. 3. Dragon Racing was reduced to a single-car team following the Indianapolis 500, as engine supplier Chevrolet could not supply engines for both cars. Bourdais was named to drive on , and Legge was named to drive on the and Sonoma. 4. Dreyer & Reinbold Racing formed a strategic alliance with Panther Racing prior to the Indianapolis 500, and obtained Panther's second Chevrolet engine contract. 5. Team Barracuda – BHA skipped the São Paulo race to concentrate on preparations for the Indy 500. 6. Josef Newgarden broke his left index finger in an accident during the Sonoma race. Junqueira replaced Newgarden for the following race at Baltimore.
Team and driver changes Team Penske: Team utilized full-works Chevrolet engines beginning in 2012 and thus Team Penske earned full-factory support from Chevrolet including free engines and official road vehicles. The entire three car team returns full-time in 2012. Briscoe will switch numbers from #6 to #2. Chip Ganassi Racing: Team utilized Honda engines in 2012. The entire four-car team will return in 2012. Andretti Autosport: The team utilized customer Chevrolet engines in 2012. Marco Andretti will be in the third year of a 4-year contract with the team in 2012 Ryan Hunter-Reay signed with Andretti Autosport through the 2012 season. 2011 driver Danica Patrick left the team to compete in the Nationwide series full-time along with limited Sprint Cup Schedule. The team announced on August 26, 2011, that GoDaddy will return as a primary sponsor through 2013. Andretti confirmed that Dan Wheldon had signed a deal with Andretti to replace Patrick in the #7 GoDaddy car, but was killed at Las Vegas. James Hinchcliffe drove the GoDaddy car, and the number switched from #7 to #27, the same used by fellow Canadian drivers Gilles Villeneuve and Jacques Villeneuve. The team confirmed Sebastián Saavedra and Ana Beatriz for the Indy 500. Newman/Haas Racing: The team announced that it would not contest the full 2012 season on December 1, 2011. Jean Alesi was announced to drive for the team at the Indianapolis 500. The entry was later withdrawn. Sam Schmidt Motorsports: The team ran Honda engines in 2012. The team announced Simon Pagenaud as its first driver on December 8 and that a second full-time car was "likely", but Pagenaud was the team's lone entry to start the season. On May 3, 2012, the team confirmed that Townsend Bell would drive the #99 car for Schmidt Pelfrey Motorsports. A. J. Foyt Enterprises: Mike Conway replaces Vítor Meira as the team driver. The team ran Honda engines in 2012. The team confirmed Wade Cunningham for the Indy 500. Cunningham also raced in the season finale after Conway sat out over safety concerns on oval tracks. Panther Racing: J. R. Hildebrand signed a multi-year deal in 2011 to drive the #4 National Guard car for the team. KV Racing Technology: The team ran Chevrolet engines in 2012. Driver Tony Kanaan signed a multi-year contract to return to the team in 2012. The team confirmed the return of E. J. Viso, switching to the #5 car. Rubens Barrichello was confirmed to be driving the full season with the team at a press conference in Brazil on March 1. Dreyer & Reinbold Racing: In November, the team announced that they had signed on as a Lotus works team for 2012. Oriol Servià signed to be one of the team's drivers, but efforts to field a second entry failed to materialize. HVM Racing: Simona de Silvestro returned as a full-time driver for the team in 2012. The team was the anchor team for the new Lotus engines in 2012. Dale Coyne Racing: Owner Dale Coyne confirmed that the team would return with two cars in 2012, with Honda engines. Justin Wilson and James Jakes both returned. Conquest Racing: While Éric Bachelart stated the team will have at least one full-time car in 2012. Difficulties securing an engine lease and a subsequent American Le Mans Series LMP2 program kept Conquest's IndyCar plans on hold. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing: The team purchased two DW12 chassis. The cars were powered by Honda engines. The team confirmed Takuma Sato as one of their drivers in early February 2012. The team confirmed a second car at the Indy 500, to be driven by Michel Jourdain Jr. Bryan Herta Autosport: The team budgeted money to buy two Dallara DW12 chassis. The team confirmed Alex Tagliani on January 9, 2012. Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing: Driver Ed Carpenter has left to form his own team. 2011 Indy Lights champ Josef Newgarden was the team's driver for 2012. The team will be powered by Honda engines. The team confirmed Bryan Clauson for the Indy 500. Dragon Racing: The team intended to run two full-time cars, with drivers Sébastien Bourdais and Katherine Legge. The team will be powered by Lotus engines. Legge has signed a multi-year deal with the team to drive the #6 car. However, after switching from Lotus to Chevrolet engines, they were forced to contract to a single entry after the Indianapolis 500. MSR Indy: The team is owned by Mike Shank, A. J. Allmendinger, and Columbus area businessman Brian Bailey. The team was intended to use Lotus engines. The team has purchased a DW12 chassis with the goal of running a full-time IndyCar program in 2012, and took delivery of their chassis on December 15. Unfortunately, the team did not secure the necessary funding to begin the season with often rumored, but never confirmed, driver Paul Tracy. The team originally confirmed Jay Howard for the Indy 500, but Shank released Howard in early May due to the inability to get an engine. Ed Carpenter Racing: Driver Ed Carpenter and his stepfather Tony George formed a new team, Ed Carpenter Racing. Carpenter was the full-time driver in 2012. The team confirmed a second car for the Indy 500, but the entry was later withdrawn.
The ICONIC Project
The 2012 season saw the implementation of IndyCar's new ICONIC Plan (Innovative, Competitive, Open-wheel, New, Industry-relevant, Cost-effective), the biggest change to the sport in recent history. The car used through 2011, a 2003/2007-model Dallara IR-03, and normally aspirated V8 engines (required since 1997) were permanently retired. The ICONIC committee was composed of experts and executives from racing and technical fields: Randy Bernard, William R. Looney III, Brian Barnhart, Gil de Ferran, Tony Purnell, Eddie Gossage, Neil Ressler, Tony Cotman and Rick Long. IndyCar accepted proposals from BAT Engineering, Dallara, DeltaWing, Lola and Swift for chassis design. On July 14, 2010, the final decision was made public, with organisers accepting the Dallara proposal.
New chassis Under the new ICONIC regulations, all teams will compete with a core rolling chassis, called the "IndyCar Safety Cell", developed by Italian designer Dallara. Teams will then outfit the chassis with separate body work, referred to as "Aero Kits", which consist of front and rear wings, sidepods, and engine cowlings. Development of Aero Kits is open to any manufacturer, with all packages to be made available to all teams for a maximum price. ICONIC committee member Tony Purnell gave an open invitation to car manufacturers and companies such as Lockheed Martin and GE to develop kits.
The IndyCar Safety cell will be capped at a price of $349,000 and will be assembled at a new Dallara facility in Speedway, Indiana. Aero Kits will be capped at $70,000. Teams have the option of buying a complete Dallara safety cell/aero kit for a discounted price.
On May 12, 2011, Dallara unveiled the first concept cars, one apiece in oval and road course Aero Kit configuration.
On April 30, 2011, IndyCar owners voted 15–0 to reject the introduction of multiple Aero Kits for the 2012 season, citing costs. Owners expressed their desire to introduce the new chassis/engines for 2012, but have all participants use the Dallara aerodynamic package in 2012, and delay the introduction of multiple aero kits until 2013. On August 14, 2011, IndyCar confirmed that the introduction of multiple Aero Kits would be delayed until 2013 for "economic reasons," and furthermore, it was put off for 2013 as well. Chevrolet and Lotus had already announced their intention to build aero kits.