IndyCar – St. Petersburg Practice 2
The second practice session for the IZOD IndyCar Series offered some surprises and some similarities to the morning practice. Once again, Will Power was at the top of the time sheets, throwing down a blistering 1:02.3200 sec lap time! Will Power at St. Petersburg - Photo by Chris Jones, IndyCar.com That’s close to the 1:02.1355 sec ICS record time he set in 2008 in his first IndyCar race in 2008. To put it more into perspective, the closest... [Read More...]
IndyCar – New Fuel Probe for 2010
Hopefully a recently announced change to the refueling system for the 2010 IndyCar season will see a reduction in the number of premature drive-offs and fuel spills that lead to the fiery pit-lane incidents that we saw in 2009. Meira ablaze at IndianapolisTwo such incidents stand out in my mind: Meira’s fire at Indianapolis, and Tony “The Torch” Kanaan’s fire in Edmonton. In both of these incidents, fuel was sprayed over... [Read More...]
IndyCar – Interesting Changes for 2010 and THE KNOB IS GONE!
The IZOD IndyCar Series had its annual pre-season safety meeting today at which several changes were announced for the 2010 season. Some of which were already known, some were speculated, and one comes as a bit of a surprise. So Long Fuel Knob! The knob is gone! However, don’t get too elated thinking that we’ll see the end of fuel mileage races. We’ll still have those, but “making fuel” will now be relient on the... [Read More...]
IndyCar – IZOD IndyCar Broadcast Schedule
Now that the deal for the Brazil race is finally complete, the broadcast schedule for the IZOD IndyCar Series has been finalized and published. …sorta. The network allocations have been made, and the race dates have been finalized, but the race times are still being debated. Many things remain the same as last year’s schedule including ABC showing the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. Most of the races will be on Versus, with only five races,... [Read More...]
IndyCar – Danica’s New Ride
Not that its a big surprise, but Danica confirmed the three-year deal everyone knew she had with Andretti Autosport. The mild surprise is her change in primary sponsorship. Motorola is out and no where to be seen on the new car. GoDaddy.com is now featured prominently adding yet another green car to the grid. I guess Andretti Autosport either isn’t superstitious, or has never heard that green is an unlucky colour for race cars. Either way,... [Read More...]
IndyCar – A Motorcycle Sportscar?
So on Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee last night and in today’s Pit Pass column in the Indianapolis Star, the topic of the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series chassis was discussed. There are two different options currently being considered, an evolution of the current configuration and a completely revolutionary design. The revolutionary design track is been described as a radical departure from past designs, and while I’m all for cool... [Read More...]
IndyCar – Will Power Gets a Full-Time Seat
This is a move that we’ve all been expecting ever since Long Beach last April. The acquittal of Helio and his return to IndyCar racing was celebrated by all (ok, almost all), and collectively we were happy to have him back. At the same, though, we were sad for Will Power who has shown himself to be an amazing driver over the past few seasons, and especially this season. What is even more impressive, and what will keep Will in a competitive... [Read More...]
OP-Ed – Rebuilding the 500 – Part 5 of 5 – Money
Rebuilding the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race Show Me The Money! During the 1950’s and 60’s, the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race saw tremendous growth. There are multiple reasons for this, of course, but one part of this was the continuing increase in prize money offered for the event. From 1950 to 1970, the total event purse experiences a five-fold increase! Even accounting for inflation, the purse increased three-fold. Say what you will about... [Read More...]
OP-Ed – Rebuilding the 500 – Part 3 of 5 – Creative Engineering
Rebuilding the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race The Engines Now what can you allow and not allow beyond the standardized tub and safety features? For one, I think you can open up the engine design. Put a cap on the output power of the engine, but allow teams to achieve that power however they wish. Want to run a four-cylinder twin-turbo engine? Great. Twelve-cylinder normally aspirated? Fantastic. Heck, throw one of those super cool Wankel engines in there!... [Read More...]
OP-Ed – Rebuilding the 500 – Part 2 of 5 – Safety First
Rebuilding the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race Opening Up The Rules One aspect of the 500 that drew in crowds of fans, competitors, and manufacturers was that the rules were open enough for teams to build their own car and develop their own innovations. If the current culture of IndyCar racing had existed in mid-20th century, we would never have had seen diesel power, turbo chargers, that amazing gas turbine engine, and most amazing of all no wings. We... [Read More...]
