2015 Indy Car | Page 5 | FerrariChat

2015 Indy Car

Discussion in 'Other Racing' started by BartonWorkman, Jan 30, 2015.

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  1. rdefabri

    rdefabri Three Time F1 World Champ

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  2. BartonWorkman

    BartonWorkman F1 Veteran
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  3. Gatorrari

    Gatorrari F1 World Champ
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    Making ugly cars uglier.....

    Of course, these are for the road courses. I wonder what they're going to come up with (if anything) for Indy?
     
  4. BartonWorkman

    BartonWorkman F1 Veteran
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    Indy seems to be the only race where these cars look halfway decent with the low-drag
    set ups.

    These aero kits look like a fifth grader's idea of what a racing car should look like.

    BHW
     
  5. brian.s

    brian.s F1 Rookie
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    Well the local carbon and paint guys are rubbing their hands in anticipation!
     
  6. TeamF1Jr

    TeamF1Jr Formula 3
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    #106 TeamF1Jr, Mar 11, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  7. TeamF1Jr

    TeamF1Jr Formula 3
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  8. BartonWorkman

    BartonWorkman F1 Veteran
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  9. Turbopanzer

    Turbopanzer F1 World Champ

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    5 cars with Andretti, 4 cars with Penske, 3 cars with Ganassi.....pretty soon there will only be a race against about 6 owners. Doesn't make for much to watch does it?
     
  10. GuyIncognito

    GuyIncognito Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    I think the bigger problem is how much power those owners now have over IndyCar. Penske/Andretti/Ganassi now "own" the sport in the way Hendrick owns Cup.
     
  11. rdefabri

    rdefabri Three Time F1 World Champ

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    Problem is that's the fast path to extinction.

    A very obscure analogy - collegiate wrestling. It's dominated primarily by the Midwest schools in the Big Ten conference (Iowa, Ohio State, Penn State, etc.), and some of their actions to preserve themselves has detrimentally impacted broader wrestling. Not good, since wrestling as a viable collegiate sport is shrinking rapidly...

    IndyCar is doing the same thing.
     
  12. GuyIncognito

    GuyIncognito Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    yep, drives out competition with high barriers to entry...then when those people/teams want to do something different, leave the sport etc, who's going to replace them?
     
  13. Turbopanzer

    Turbopanzer F1 World Champ

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    No one. Hence the reasoning for opening the rules again. Older equipment was always part of the landscape for Indy Car. Small teams, small budgets and drivers of many origins. Look at the 70's and the early 80's. Doesn't take a lot to see when the small guy gets bounced out that they find something else to occupy their time. That includes the fans.
     
  14. GuyIncognito

    GuyIncognito Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    how "old" of equipment would you propose? you have a tube frame chassis and an Offy lying around? :)

    I do think that certainly non-aero kit updated DW12's should be allowed to race, but I don't recall a time (at least in the last 30 years) when guys were showing up to the Indy 500 with a chassis more than 5 years old (i.e. if your argument is that old Reynards, Lolas, G-Forces, etc should be out there, I don't buy that argument)
     
  15. Turbopanzer

    Turbopanzer F1 World Champ

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    Any car that can meet the safety regulations. That is a priority. Good example...the Panoz. Same for the Falcon, G-Force or any other unit that can be upgraded. Costs far less than new and if you don't make the show, you still didn't go broke in the process. Same for engines and transmissions and any other equipment. Safety should be the sanctioning body's only concern. Most of theses cars were built for 240mph+. At the current speeds, I don't see it a problem safety wise. And they are still better looking than the current "crapfest" we have now.

    Can I put on 4 new shoes on Jim Hall's 2K and stick it in the qualifying line? :D
     
  16. GuyIncognito

    GuyIncognito Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    yeah I think that safety and relative speed would be the key points. lots has changed on the safety side even in the last 5-10 years. building an equivalency for different powerplants would be the usual cluster, or adapting the new engines to old chassis. the DW12 w/ aero kit is just now breaking track records again (for example, the track record at St Pete was broken last week, and the record was 12 years old!) so while the older chassis might be fast enough, I wonder about safety, and what motor/gearbox you'd use, etc.

    but it is a good point...Bettenhausen survived for years with a 1-2 year old Penske chassis, a few others would use previous year Lolas, Marches, etc...no reason we couldn't do that now.

    another thing I was thinking about over the weekend, what happened to all the guys like Hiro Matsu****a, Charles Nearburg, etc? I guess those types of guys are all sports car racing now, which is a shame, they filled grids, kept teams alive, and created passing opportunities ;)
     
  17. Turbopanzer

    Turbopanzer F1 World Champ

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    Welcome to the other side!!! :)

    Its the only way its going to survive. Get the small guy back, fans return when local hero's get a shot at the big prize. Fans return, sponsors return. Money flows in, better teams return.Better teams mean better drivers and the whole cycle starts again. Rinse & repeat.
     
  18. GuyIncognito

    GuyIncognito Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    watch all of this:

    [ame]www.youtube.com/watch?v=APc4c0Xwp3U[/ame]

    then tell me why the broadcasts are so awful to watch, and why IndyCar can't build an audience.
     
  19. kylec

    kylec F1 Rookie
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    A friend of mine went to St Pete and had some type of VIP access. He said the race was good, but everyone got excited to watch the trucks.

    On another note, I'm excited to see that Burke Lakefront Park my host a race again- I'm moving to Cleveland in July. I remember that track from Michael Andretti's Indy Car Challenge.
     
  20. GuyIncognito

    GuyIncognito Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    what's taking you to Cleveland?

    always loved that race, it was maybe the most unique race track in the world, and provided some good shows.

    [ame]www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ndPycADydo[/ame]
     
  21. kylec

    kylec F1 Rookie
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    Wife will be training there for three years.
    I have a list of places to go:
    Mid ohio 1.5 hours, detroit 3 hours, watkins glen 4.5 hours, indy 5 hours.
     
  22. rdefabri

    rdefabri Three Time F1 World Champ

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    I think the answer would be to regulate the chassis - as I noted in another thread / post, safety should be paramount.

    It's the engine spec and some degree of tinkering there that would "open" the rules. Must allow all different configs - even stock blocks - like the past. 4-cyl / 6-cyl / 8-cyl, etc.

    You can regulate displacement and boost pressure. Obviously, smaller engines / less cylinders would get more boost than a larger displacement / more cylinder engine.

    Formula must have engines with 750HP+, no traction control, limited aero, and some form of transmission (whether paddle shift or sequential manual).

    Limit ovals. Sorry guys, I like them too, but the ovals aren't the attraction - it's dedicated track courses. I'd even minimize street courses - great in person, crap on TV.

    Must haves on the schedule: Long Beach (street), Laguna Seca (track) and Indy (oval). From there, you can pick and choose, but would love to see Road America and even PIR, maybe Fontana, Toronto, Cleveland, and pick a few others.
     
  23. GuyIncognito

    GuyIncognito Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    that's a nice "to do" list :)
     
  24. Turbopanzer

    Turbopanzer F1 World Champ

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    What....no nelson's ledges???? Go for the 24 hr. Fun time is had by all. :D
     
  25. kylec

    kylec F1 Rookie
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    I forgot about that one. I'll go at least once. Maybe take my mini to a "fun day."
     

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