RIP - IndyCar Driver Dan Wheldon
Lexus Champion
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 11,204
Likes: 11
From: The Woodlands, TX
he and his wife had each other's initials tattoo'd hours before his death ...
http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/dish...ct-hours-death
http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/dish...ct-hours-death
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 22,608
Likes: 105
From: Waiting for next track day
OH GOD DAMN IT!!!! DIDN'T THEY LEARN THE FIRST TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That racing track is pure bulls#it!! Who ever thought of fitting 30+ cars on 1.5mile oval while doing 200mph should be suspended for life and he/she/them is/are directly responsible for death of our beloved Danni. That track can barely fit 15 cars to race safely.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway needs to go off calendar for all major racing series. Too much risk, way too much risk. How many more people need to get injured or die there for somebody to say this track is outdated for our needs and standards.
That racing track is pure bulls#it!! Who ever thought of fitting 30+ cars on 1.5mile oval while doing 200mph should be suspended for life and he/she/them is/are directly responsible for death of our beloved Danni. That track can barely fit 15 cars to race safely.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway needs to go off calendar for all major racing series. Too much risk, way too much risk. How many more people need to get injured or die there for somebody to say this track is outdated for our needs and standards.
Out of Warranty
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 14,925
Likes: 13
From: Houston, Republic of Texas
It's beginning to appear that the organizers of IndyCar and the Las Vegas Motor Speedway itself may bear the greater part of the blame for this past weekend's accident that claimed the life of Dan Wheldon. Designed for NASCAR, the mile and a half "D" oval is an excellent venue for "stock car" racing, but with its high banking and smooth surface, it allows IndyCars to maintain too much speed around a relatively small track for their enormous capability.
One reason for this speed is that the open-wheel formula's wings, side pods, etc. produce so much aerodynamic downforce that the cars have no problem cornering at full throttle on the high banks, meaning the successful driver runs with his right foot planted all the way around the course. While a Cup car can circulate the course at over 170 mph, an IndyCar can do so at nearly 220. On a "short" course with 41 other cars in the pack, this is a recipe for disaster. Add to this unnatural situation the "dirty air" spilling off the wings and pods of an IndyCar at speed and you have a serious problem with wake turbulence for everyone on the track behind those in the first row. With the formula designed to produce close racing, you end up with a "pack" of cars circulating the course in one or more tight groups - again, leading to crowding, loss of downforce, contact, and someone going into the wall or catch fence at over 200 mph. That's not survivable.
While IndyCar has its roots in the bullrings of the Midwest, and its crowning race is at its namesake track at Indianapolis, with few exceptions the current formula is ill-suited to oval track racing. The Indianapolis track is quite long and relatively flat with four distinct corners. Here, with the variables in racing line, four corners separated by long and short straights, IndyCars will separate into smaller clusters of vehicles, using greater angles of attack on the rear wings to produce sufficient downforce in the corners, and resulting in higher drag, for which the powertrain must be set up. It's not a matter of ultimate speed, but driving skill.
A glance at the qualifying speeds at both Indy and LVMS show the NASCAR Cup cars run considerably slower on the same tracks - the result of a totally different approach to racing. Cup cars are enclosed, with both wheels and driver in a closed environment, unlikely to run up and over another competitor. Because they have much higher weight minimums, they can offer a tremendous amount of chassis strength and driver protection, unavailable in open-wheel racing.
IndyCars are tailored after F1 cars - with wide tires, light weight, and large aero-aids, that mean they race primarily in the air rather than on the ground. That's great for the traditional twisty courses and "'round-the-houses" venues of F1 and almost half of the IndyCar tracks, but on a high-speed oval, there's trouble ahead. With the track itself dictating terminal speeds, the velocity of an IndyCar is only limited by the driver's willingness to hang his butt out over the line, lap after lap, and pray he can haul it back in as he transitions onto the straight. When you qualify over 40 cars for a single race on a relatively short track, something bad is eventually going to happen. Last Sunday it did.
One reason for this speed is that the open-wheel formula's wings, side pods, etc. produce so much aerodynamic downforce that the cars have no problem cornering at full throttle on the high banks, meaning the successful driver runs with his right foot planted all the way around the course. While a Cup car can circulate the course at over 170 mph, an IndyCar can do so at nearly 220. On a "short" course with 41 other cars in the pack, this is a recipe for disaster. Add to this unnatural situation the "dirty air" spilling off the wings and pods of an IndyCar at speed and you have a serious problem with wake turbulence for everyone on the track behind those in the first row. With the formula designed to produce close racing, you end up with a "pack" of cars circulating the course in one or more tight groups - again, leading to crowding, loss of downforce, contact, and someone going into the wall or catch fence at over 200 mph. That's not survivable.
While IndyCar has its roots in the bullrings of the Midwest, and its crowning race is at its namesake track at Indianapolis, with few exceptions the current formula is ill-suited to oval track racing. The Indianapolis track is quite long and relatively flat with four distinct corners. Here, with the variables in racing line, four corners separated by long and short straights, IndyCars will separate into smaller clusters of vehicles, using greater angles of attack on the rear wings to produce sufficient downforce in the corners, and resulting in higher drag, for which the powertrain must be set up. It's not a matter of ultimate speed, but driving skill.
A glance at the qualifying speeds at both Indy and LVMS show the NASCAR Cup cars run considerably slower on the same tracks - the result of a totally different approach to racing. Cup cars are enclosed, with both wheels and driver in a closed environment, unlikely to run up and over another competitor. Because they have much higher weight minimums, they can offer a tremendous amount of chassis strength and driver protection, unavailable in open-wheel racing.
IndyCars are tailored after F1 cars - with wide tires, light weight, and large aero-aids, that mean they race primarily in the air rather than on the ground. That's great for the traditional twisty courses and "'round-the-houses" venues of F1 and almost half of the IndyCar tracks, but on a high-speed oval, there's trouble ahead. With the track itself dictating terminal speeds, the velocity of an IndyCar is only limited by the driver's willingness to hang his butt out over the line, lap after lap, and pray he can haul it back in as he transitions onto the straight. When you qualify over 40 cars for a single race on a relatively short track, something bad is eventually going to happen. Last Sunday it did.
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