Not such a good article

[pfc_m_drake]

http://www.speedtv.com/commentary/28447/


If not a certified visionary, Chip Ganassi certainly qualifies as a guy who is not afraid to think outside of the box. Who brought Reynard to IndyCar racing in 1994? Who was the first to put together the vaunted Reynard/Honda/Firestone "package" in CART?
...
Who was the first CART team owner to break ranks with his compadres and field cars at the Indianapolis 500 in Y2K?

With regard to point #1 - Steve Horne's Tasman Motorsports team was the first to run the Reynard/Honda/Firestone package in 1995. In fact, you might remember a guy by the name of Scott Goodyear who would have won the Indy 500 that year using said 'package' had he not passed the pace car.

With regard to point #2 - Derrick Walker ran Mike Groff in the 1996 Indy 500 because of his sponsor's (Valvoline) desire to be at the Indy 500.

These are noteworthy because Phillips goes on to comment that he believes that some mechanical failures in CC are due to the age of the Lola chassis. It's funny that he says that, because just this very day (before reading this article) I was thinking:

a) That we hadn't seen any repeat of the Herdez/HVM rear wing failures that happened on a different occasions a couple of years back. AND
b) The fact that Paul Tracy was able to run so effectively after his collision with Bourdais at Cleveland a few weeks back spoke as a testament (to me at least) to just how safe the Lolas are.

I like David Phillips, and I think he's usually spot on with what he writes. However, I think he was sleeping through this one - when you blow a bunch of facts in your first paragraph, I guess it's hard for me to accept the rest of your article at face value.

[devilmaster]

I'd send him a link to this thread.... or a cut and paste of what you wrote.... phillips isn't the type of guy that strikes me as getting pissy about being called on something....

[Wally]

Good calls Drake...... :thumbup:

[nrc]

All the pieces have have broken lately have been pieces that are easily replaced.

If anyone is running suspension or steering parts that are any older than they've ever used in the past it's either because teams are cutting corners or Lola has quit making those parts. Instead of speculating, why doesn't he just ask? Are you using older parts? Why?

If there's really anything new going on it may just be that teams are going to have to learn that a schedule full of street courses puts more wear and tear on the the parts.

[pfc_m_drake]

Steve - I'll send him a link to this thread...although I can't seem to track down his e-mail, but I'll try some common patterns and I'll probably hit on one of them.

nrc - some of the things that are in the article make me wonder if David even wrote it at all. Honestly, Servia's steering failures strike me as similar to the old 'electrical' failures during the days of the engine wars...particularly because the PKV team apparently can't identify the 'problem'.

[GOFAST1]

Looks like he did not get a free sandvich at Champcar hospitality tent and nascar chanel pays good for any trash that paints competition in a bad light.

[mueber]

Looks like he did not get a free sandvich at Champcar hospitality tent and nascar chanel pays good for any trash that paints competition in a bad light.

Wow...a post worthy of Track Forum. How sad.

Chip's about money 24/7. We all know that. Hopefully we all realize that Penske, Rahal, Pat Patrick, etc. are all about money too, and that is why CART failed. With a long-term perspective they, and Boy George, could have made more money, but that's another discussion.

As much as I despise Ganassi, it is a shrewd move.

[pchall]

Phillips apparently has just mailed in a number of his commentaries lately. In this one he is reaching awfully hard to make Ganassi appear smarter as a team owner than he really is. Remember where the "I" is in TCGR. ;)

[Andrew Longman]

Drake, good call. And agree that the Servia comments may be masking something else.

Devil, I agree Phillips is usually better than this and I don't get the impression he would not want to know he made a mistake.

As far as cars being old and parts failing, I see this as speculation and trying to create a story where there is not likely to be data to support it.

Yes the design of the car is six years old, but some of the cars in question are less than three years old. And the parts in question are probably less than that. Suspension parts fail all the time from impact with walls and curbing and are replaced, often before they fail. I find it very unlikely that any team is running suspension parts that are more than year or two old.

In any case, that would be an easy thing to find out if he just asked the teams.

And this is not new. We've seen suspension failures for years. Remember when at Vancouver I think, NH was welding additional pieces of metal to contol arms during the race weekend because of failures.

[Insomniac]

These are noteworthy because Phillips goes on to comment that he believes that some mechanical failures in CC are due to the age of the Lola chassis. It's funny that he says that, because just this very day (before reading this article) I was thinking:

a) That we hadn't seen any repeat of the Herdez/HVM rear wing failures that happened on a different occasions a couple of years back. AND
b) The fact that Paul Tracy was able to run so effectively after his collision with Bourdais at Cleveland a few weeks back spoke as a testament (to me at least) to just how safe the Lolas are.

I thought the gearbox/drive train were all considered part of the chassis? If so, then the statement is somewhat accurate.

Edit: DP was focusing on suspension, and I'm not sure where teams buy those, but don't most develop that? I remember back to Denver that one year when the suspension kept failing and TCGR made modifications to their's.

[Wabbit]

With regard to point #2 - Derrick Walker ran Mike Groff in the 1996 Indy 500 because of his sponsor's (Valvoline) desire to be at the Indy 500.


Didn't Walker run IRL teams and CART teams for the first several years of the split? If so, this doesn't really count.

[racer2c]

Looks like he did not get a free sandvich at Champcar hospitality tent and nascar chanel pays good for any trash that paints competition in a bad light.

BiF? Is that you BiF?

[pfc_m_drake]

Didn't Walker run IRL teams and CART teams for the first several years of the split? If so, this doesn't really count.
The first year it was only Mike Groff at Indianapolis. It gets a little fuzzy because he ran Robby Gordon in another race (Las Vegas?) later that year in anticipation of running the following year's Indy 500 (recall that the 25/8 rule was in place, so the idea was to collect points to avoid being locked out the following year).

Then I think in 2000 they came back with Sarah Fisher full time in the IRL.

So I guess it depends on how you want to score running that additional race for points purposes, but at best I think it's a very fine technicality that's not worth splitting hairs over.

[NismoZ]

Speaking of parts and pieces did I read recently that suspension bits for the new DP01 are going to be farmed out to...Dallara? :confused:

[extramundane]

Speaking of parts and pieces did I read recently that suspension bits for the new DP01 are going to be farmed out to...Dallara? :confused:

Damn flying backbreak crapwagon! :gomer:

[cyclepath]

All the pieces have have broken lately have been pieces that are easily replaced.

If anyone is running suspension or steering parts that are any older than they've ever used in the past it's either because teams are cutting corners or Lola has quit making those parts. Instead of speculating, why doesn't he just ask? Are you using older parts? Why?

If there's really anything new going on it may just be that teams are going to have to learn that a schedule full of street courses puts more wear and tear on the the parts.
Right on!! all parts on the car have a lifecycle and the teams record the milage on just about every part on the car (the more critical). most cars have '06 parts on 3+ yr old tub. there are I belive 5 '06 tubs out there. But even new parts just happen to break.

[pfc_m_drake]

Drake, good call. And agree that the Servia comments may be masking something else.

I'll preface this by saying that I like Servia a *LOT*, but my first thought was something along the lines of:

"Yes, we had a steering failure....the driver failed to steer the car properly so we ended up in the wall."

But in all seriousness, I think he just needs luck to fall his way a time or two and he's going to end up with some really good finishes - if not a win or two.

[Andrew Longman]

I'll preface this by saying that I like Servia a *LOT*, but my first thought was something along the lines of:

"Yes, we had a steering failure....the driver failed to steer the car properly so we ended up in the wall."

But in all seriousness, I think he just needs luck to fall his way a time or two and he's going to end up with some really good finishes - if not a win or two.

Actually Legge said something similar about her brush with the wall at TO. Something along the line of something broke and the car just wouldn't turn.

Somehow I think she just got into some marbles, but I wasn't driving.