LAS VEGAS (AP) — IndyCar’s new Dallara chassis will be named in honor of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon.
Wheldon, who was killed Sunday in a fiery, 15-car pileup at the season-ending race in Las Vegas, conducted most of the testing on the new 2012 IndyCar.
In a statement Tuesday, company president and founder Gianpaolo Dallara says: “Dan lives in the memory of everybody at Dallara. … We will honor his memory for the years to come by dedicating the Dallara IndyCar2012 in his name. He deserves that.”
Flags at the company’s Italian headquarters were lowered to half staff Monday.
IndyCar vice president of technology Will Phillips, who oversaw the testing program, says Wheldon did everything he could to make the car safer and stronger and that his assistance will be “sorely missed.”
