Moved and updated: History of the Split and RE sprinters.

[ChrisB]

After 8 years, I've finally switched ISP's... I was one of the last holdouts at Philly's old Netaxs.com... moving to Comcast.

The "History of the CART-IRL split" page is now here: (I've made updates for this year)

http://home.comcast.net/~biordi/race/cartirl.htm

And I've done a complete re-write of the text for the "Rear-engined Sprint car" page here:

http://home.comcast.net/~biordi/race/resc.htm


Here's my homepage for links to my Pocono, Nazareth, and Trenton pages:

http://home.comcast.net/~biordi/


Off topic, one project I'm kinda proud of (though only Philly/Jersey folks may remember it) is the Jack Rabbit roller coaster which used to be in Wildwood NJ:

http://home.comcast.net/~biordi/jr/index.html

[swift]

...and bookmarked.
http://www.champcarfanatics.com/forums/images/smilies/thumbsup2.gif

[emjaya]

In 1974, USAC banned the rear-engined sprint cars. Why? Because it was felt at the time that a rear-engined layout would become increasingly successful, resulting in obsolescence of the front-engined cars, necessitating everyone to buy new equipment, killing car counts because not everyone could afford it.

I wonder where sprintcars would be if USAC had not banned the rear wheeled sprint car and thereby freezing the development of the sprintcar.

This perhaps,
http://www.artemisimages.com/big/ppih0796.jpg

Instead of this,

http://www.v8central.com/sprintcars/article_imgs/Tatnell205.JPG


30 years later, we find that they were essentially right.. witness the recent wholesale equipment switch of the USAC Silver Crown series from the traditional cars to the new aero "speedway" cars. Very few teams made the switch, with many of them joining the PRA Big Car Series which was newly formed expressly to use the traditional cars.

Don't agree.The Silver Crown teams were told "this is what you have to race next year or else".Some took the "or else", some didn't.

The difference between last year and 1974 is that no-one had to buy a rear wheeled sprint car in 1974.If they wanted to keep racing their front engined cars they could have, the same as on the paved tracks ten years before.

The same thing would have happened on dirt as happened on the paved tracks, as the rear wheeled cars started to dominate, slowly the front wheeled cars would have disappeared as teams bought new rear engined cars to stay competitive.Eventually the rear engined cars would have taken over.

I'm so bored, how long until the first race next year. :)

[Ziggy]

deadhorse issue

If I could ask you ChrisB, what was your stance on the IndyCar split?

[pchall]

This perhaps,
http://www.artemisimages.com/big/ppih0796.jpg



Hmmmm... mount knobbies on the back of the DP01 and skinny grooved fronts and put Pike's Peak on the schedule next season? ;)

[NismoZ]

Now, THAT'S racing!:thumbup: (is it all paved yet?:confused: )...and interestingly enough that's the car I had in mind when we talked earlier this season about head injuries to Bourdais at Cleveland, a near miss in Atlantics at Houston and DaMatta's thing.

[ChrisB]

Here's an old jpeg I've had since '98:

http://home.comcast.net/~biordi/race/dirtformula.jpg

If CCWS or IRL really wants to claim "diversity" let's see who would be the first to put a DIRT track on the schedule!

emjaya- I tweaked that RE sprinter page and added an extra line about certain drivers who demanded that the RE cars be banned (particularly the Gehlhausen car) it was thought that it was because they just weren't as comfortable in the RE cars as they were in the FE cars. I won't name names, but this is from an email from a VERY knowledgable source I got a while back. Yes, the FE drivers could have kept their FE cars as long as they wanted, but it was felt that the changeover to RE would happen just as fast as it had happened at the Indy level (it's very nearly the same thing as being told to get new equipment or be a back marker).

ziggy- It's kinda hard for me to take sides or even be all that interested anymore now that there's no Indy/Champ racing around Philly for the first time EVER in my lifetime. I was somewhat on the side of CART because they had cooler cars, but I can't carry the torch for CART as they made just about as many dumb mistakes as the IRL. I don't really like CCWS street race focus.. but I wouldn't mind a race on the Ben Franklin Pkway!

Then again.. if CCWS or IRL did a Pikes Peak dirt setup and came to Williams Grove... :)

[Andrew Longman]

ChrisB, Thanks for the site. I send folks I know there all the time. Great work.

BTW I made it out to Williams Grove for the DIRT modified season finale. First time I'd made it out that way in many years. Brought back a lot of good memories. Fine way to spend a sunny fall afternoon:D

I'm losing hope for a race on the parkway. The art crowd shouted it down and I don't think CC want to put up with a 10th of what NASCAR went through with the locals on Staten Island:shakehead