IndyCar aero kits promise more than just new look

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. -- Defending Indianapolis 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay calls the design and implementation of aero kits a Mount Everest for engineers at Honda Performance Development. There's probably more truth than hyperbole in that statement.

Honda is set to unveil its aero kits -- assemblies of aerodynamic winglets, planes and flaps that attach to the standard Dallara chassis -- at a reception Monday night in Culver City, Calif. The unveiling, held less than three weeks after Chevrolet showed off its aero kits and less than three weeks before the start of the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series season, is loaded with deadline-driven anxiety, urgency and hope.

It also comes with a sense of peak-scaling pride.

"It's really a huge uphill battle because of several factors," Stephen Eriksen, HPD vice president and chief operating officer told USA TODAY Sports on Friday at HPD headquarters. "One of those is that you know there's so much performance potential, so you're frantic to make sure you get as much of that performance potential as possible in the constraints of the time available."

But what do the aero kits -- in the works since 2012 -- mean in terms of performance and appearance? And what, if any, benefit will they have to a form of racing that's struggling to maintain an audience?

Fans will discover more Monday night, even more in a test session March 16-17 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., and then get a thorough demonstration during the IndyCar season opener March 27-29 at St. Petersburg, Fla., where IndyCar officials say lap speeds with the aero kits are expected to be as much as 2 seconds faster than last year.

"To go through this as a driver has been interesting, but for engineers, it's been Mount Everest," Hunter-Reay told USA TODAY Sports by phone. "Not only did they have a set goal, but it's also a moving target. … There are so many parts of it. It's a monumental undertaking. I've been biting my fingers trying to figure out what we get and when."

Andretti Autosport, Hunter-Reay's team, has one complete Honda aero kit in its Indianapolis shop, meeting IndyCar's March 1 deadline to deliver the kits. By the Barber test, Andretti Autosport and the four other IndyCar teams associated with Honda are expected to have more kits.

Meanwhile, Chevrolet teams have begun to receive their kits and are in the process of assembling them.

The kits come in two forms -- one for superspeedways and another for road/street courses and short ovals. Delivery of the kits has taken longer than originally expected -- the canceled season opener in Brasilia, Brazil, would have been this Sunday -- because of the complexity of the kits and IndyCar's emphasis on safety of the new parts and pieces.

"Time will tell if we've got the best kit out there," Eriksen said, "but I can look back on what we've done and honestly say we did everything we could've done. I mean everything."

Fans will notice two distinct kits from Honda and Chevy, drivers say, easily identifiable by shape and configuration of their different aerodynamic elements. Chevy's kit, which was unveiled Feb. 17 during IndyCar media day in Indianapolis, was met with skepticism on social media, but drivers who have tested Chevy prototypes said the increase in performance is noticeable, the look immediately recognizable.

"The cars will look quite different from last year," Simon Pagenaud told USA TODAY Sports by phone. "They have more grip and more downforce, and they're faster faster on the straights. …They look more sophisticated. The biggest advantage for fans is that they'll recognize the two cars immediately. We're not all driving the same identical car anymore."

Pagenaud and Penske teammates Helio Castroneves, Will Power and Juan Pablo Montoya have tested the Chevy prototype at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. They reported heavier downforce, increased grip and better handling.

"When I drove it, you could be more aggressive with the race car," Pagenaud said. "You could carry more speed going into the corners. It's very enjoyable to drive. This is a new era for IndyCar, and I'm excited about it."

HPD has kept its kit designs tightly guarded and won't release images until the sheet is pulled back on the car Monday night during a cocktail reception at a trendy restaurant.

"What you'll see when you look at both cars is that we're very different from our competitor," Eriksen said. "It's different because we've tailored it specifically to be matched to our engine. The characteristics of our engine lend themselves to better aerodynamics. We took advantage of that fact in making this kit."

The new look is only a small portion of the entire undertaking, Hunter-Reay said. It's a sudden change from one-car-fits-all to a distinct, complicated vehicle that offers something for everyone.

"It took a lot of smart people to put all of this together," Hunter-Reay said. "I was enthused about it from the get-go because I could be in a position to help build what is a completely different racecar than what we've seen in the past."

Follow Olson on Twitter @jeffolson77