Can help but remember those old newsreel movies of early flight fails for some reason. The more wings we put on 'em, the better they'll go! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw_C_sbfyx8 BHW
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?
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
I don't think it looks too bad from the front, it's the side that doesn't look so hot. In my view, it's better than everyone having the same thing. A lot of work went into these from Honda Performance and Pratt & Miller so I'm interested to see who wins out. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
By the way, in case you want to know, here was the work involved to get these kits together from both a manufacturer and driver perspective, worthwhile listen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=e6GYsMvwUzM https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BKLZYbk_Ag0
Simona di Silvestro has signed a deal to do Indy with Andretti Autosport which will be fielding five cars. This is about the only upside story in Indy Car racing currently and they should be doing everything in their power to see to it that she gets a full time ride this year. Simona de Silvestro adds Indianapolis 500 to Andretti deal - IndyCar news - AUTOSPORT.com BHW
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?
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.
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.
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?
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.
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)
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?
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
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.
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.
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.
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]
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.
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.