APRIL 12, 2002
Penske to build own chassis
Penske is looking at building its own IRL chassis, a move that could prevent Lola from entering the series next year according to this week's Autosport.
The team is one of five constructors that have lodged plans to build chassis for the series next year. The organizers are thought to favor a limit of just three suppliers, with current builders Dallara and G-Force likely to be retained out of loyalty, this leaves Penske vying with Lola and Dome for the final slot.
"Quite a few manufacturers have submitted letters of intent, and we are one of them," confirmed Team Penske president, Tim Cindric. "That doesn't mean you are ready to commit to that. I would call it an initial straw poll to determine who might be interested. But we know the rules and we wouldn't have submitted a letter if we weren't to follow them."
Penske would have to supply other teams with its cars in order to compete in the IRL. After enjoying considerable success as a constructor in the past, Penske stopped building its own cars three years ago. Its last car, the PC27, proved troublesome and was ditched in favor of a Reynard chassis, which the team used to win back-to-back CART titles.