With Chevy and Honda splitting the current Verizon IndyCar Series grid, RACER has learned the series is willing to allow engines other than its purpose-built 2.2-liter twin-turbo V6 powerplants in order to grow its manufacturer base.

Under former CEO Randy Bernard, IndyCar commissioned a new chassis and engine formula for 2012, signing Chevy, Honda and Lotus to supply motors to the field, yet with the British firm exiting the series after one season, IndyCar has been searching for at least one brand to join the spirited competition for the Manufacturers’ Championship.

“Currently, if you look at what we’re running, it’s a fantastic engine, both manufacturers agree the formula was just right,” said Derrick Walker (LEFT), IndyCar’s president of competition, as the series visits Michigan, home to the U.S. auto industry. “It’s smaller, it’s a V6 engine, it’s turbocharged, and it’s bloody reliable. So what we’ve got is pretty damn good. However, we’re saying – and our manufacturers’ support this position – if there’s another manufacturer that wants to come along with an engine, whoever that might be, and that engine is a bit different and they want to know how do I race in IndyCar with my formula? How do I make it work?

“IndyCar, with our manufacturers, would certainly sit down, and our manufacturers have told us, if that formula needs to be changed to suit a new manufacturer, and providing it’s something we want to make as well, then we would rather have a third or fourth manufacturer, we would rather have a competitor then stay with the same formula.”

The answer could come in the form of manufacturers who race with production-based engines – similar, if not identical to the ones – found in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Prototype category and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. If Audi wanted to try IndyCar racing, or if one of the brands racing in Global Rallycross wanted to also use its powerful turbo motor in open-wheel racing, it’s likely IndyCar would find a way to make it work – within reason.

“An equivalency type regulation is a no-brainer in the sense that it’s easy to do,” Walker continued. “It is also true that when you do it you very rarely make everybody happy. Chevy and Honda spend a lot of money, and we do not currently race with any equivalency formulas in place. But to the manufacturers’ credit, Honda and Chevrolet, in the discussions we’ve had they’ve actually turned it around to us and said we love competition, if there’s somebody out there that wants to compete in IndyCar racing and has a particular formula that makes sense to them, a model that they would consider for participation, let us know.

“Hell, they’d be as interested to have competition as we would be to have a different engine. We’ve got a mechanism for talking with any manufacturer who is interested to come along. Are we going to go so that a guy can come along with just his one-off engine that he’s developed in his garage? I don’t think so. But if a proper manufacturer wants to race in our series, has an engine – maybe one based on a road car design – and wants to invest and promote their participation, than yes, our doors are open and we’re ready to talk.”

IndyCar’s current engine formula will run through the 2016 season – a five-year span. With at least one to two years needed to design, build and develop a bespoke 2.2-liter engine that conforms to the series’ current regulations, Walker’s willingness to allow production-based engines and other motors of interest into the series also stems from a possible specification change on the horizon.

“If we say it’s good to go for someone wanting to build to our specifications, that manufacturer is probably going to take two years to get there if he’s really going to do it right,” Walker continued. “He’s going to continue to design and build his engine, he’s going to want to test it. So if you look at some period of development for that, it’s probably two years.

“We don’t want to keep new manufacturers away because they know we’re possibly going to change the formula in two or maybe three years. If everyone can come in under one formula, that would be perfect, but we also need to be realistic that if a manufacturer has something they want to race in our series, and we can make it work in a way that’s fair to those who built to [the 2.2-liter formula], we must be flexible.”