Technology and the Indy Racing League

Rule changes and new participants next season mean the series is going to get much more technically interesting.

The founding principle and recipe for steady growth of the Indy Racing League (IRL) has been strict control of costly technology. In fact, the original engine formula for the series was supposed to be for “stock block” engines that could permit teams on a budget to build race engines from junkyard motors. But a production-car-based racing engine is a formula for frequent engine failures, which is more expensive than using purpose-built racing engines that run reliably. Therefore, the IRL has steadily evolved its engine rules over the years to permit more race-specific designs while maintaining price caps for engines.

For 2002, this engine evolution has produced significantly overhauled engines from both of the series' current engine suppliers: General Motors Corp. and Nissan North America, Inc. While these engines retain some production-based dimensions that are less than ideal for racing (such as cylinder bore center spacing and deck height), all of the remaining aspects of the engines have been totally optimized for oval racing with a series-mandated 10,700 rpm rev limit. Rules will loosen further for 2003, and Toyota has announced that it will join the series as an engine supplier for next season. Thus, the all-new engines for 2002 will only see use for one season before they are replaced with more advanced engines next year. The interim engines are serving to help develop the 2003 engines, so the effort put into them will not go to waste.