“There’s some amount of fan interest there,” he said. “Our core fans are focused on them and interested in them. When you get beyond that, to our casual fans, I don’t think it’s that clear in terms of the importance of them.”

The incredibly long decision-making process regarding aero kits for 2014 has left Chevy and Honda, the two main proponents (and potential manufacturers of) the custom bodywork, rather frustrated.

Both manufacturers have given the series input on what’s needed to bring the aero kits to market, and with a lead time of 12 months for design, R&D and testing, a green light today from IndyCar would push their introduction uncomfortably close to the beginning of the 2014 season.

Costs are also a concern. With Chevy and Honda already underwriting a significant portion of each engine lease—reportedly $500,000 or so per entry—there’s little interest in producing aero kits if that venture also comes with taking another financial loss.

The price of aero kits, expected to still fall in the $65,000 range, would be feasible if the (yet to be published) rules are written to keep costs contained, but it’s likely INDYCAR’s engine manufacturers would pass on aero kits if the costs involved came with subsidizing each unit sold.

It’s a bit of a Catch-22 at the moment for the series; in order to go ahead with aero kits, Belskus confirmed he would want to have buy-in from multiple manufacturers up front, while the potential manufacturers—at least Chevy and Honda—are unwilling to commit until the rules and finances prove to make sense.

It was believed that Honda was the main driver behind bringing aero kits to bear, but Chevy IndyCar program manager Chris Berube not only confirmed the Bowtie's support of aero kits, but also shared the same concerns as their main rival.

“We have been behind aero kits since day one,” he said. “It was a key element of our return to the IndyCar Series. We’re equally frustrated that we’ve passed the date where rules are supposed to be published. We’re committed to using them if it makes sense.”

Berube also touched on the must-make-business-sense aspect of aero kits, and closed with a direct reminder of where the topic currently rests.

“We’re not looking to be a loss-leader here,” he explained. “We’re not looking to profit from it, but we’re not looking to lose money. The bottom line is the team owners are the third part of this equation and we need to see what they want. The ball is in IndyCar’s court as it has been since last July.”

Marshall Pruett is SPEED.com's Auto Racing Editor, covering IndyCar and sports cars. Now in his 27th year in the sport, Pruett was an open-wheel mechanic, engineer and manager before joining SPEED. He also contributes to RACER, Road & Track and Racecar Engineering. Follow him @MarshallPruett.