The Foyt Futility Watch -- Watkins Glen Edition [Archive]

racermike

07-03-09, 12:57 PM

Also with TG out of the picture, Brian Barnhardt will now be everywhere this weekend probably. (in race control, working pit and paddock, flagging on turn 4, driving safety car 1, running camera on turn 2, main concession stand during breaks, porta-potty cleaner at end of day, tire changer for Castroneves, relief wrecker driver, Hospitality chief for Ganassi, grid girl, and sweeper truck driver)

Did I leave anything out?

:D

TKGAngel

07-03-09, 01:17 PM

^^ I think you forgot chief cook and bottle washer. Either way, he's giving meaning to jack of all trades and master of none.

And Moraes is stuck at JFK after flight delays and is facing the possibilty of having to drive from NYC to the Glen.

cameraman

07-03-09, 05:05 PM

It's about a five hour drive, oh well.

SurfaceUnits

07-03-09, 05:22 PM

bet he mows down a line of orange barrels and backs it into a wall before he gets to the track, crapwagon driving fool

pchall

07-03-09, 07:17 PM

And Moraes is stuck at JFK after flight delays and is facing the possibilty of having to drive from NYC to the Glen.

Tony should just send one of his Gulfstream G3/G4 biz jets to pick him up.

Oh, I forgot. Tony had to put those up for sale.:rofl:

JT265

07-03-09, 10:23 PM

bet he mows down a line of orange barrels and backs it into a wall before he gets to the track, crapwagon driving fool
:rofl::laugh::rofl:

pchall

07-03-09, 11:25 PM

More "condensing"?

http://episteme.arstechnica.com/evefiles/photo_albums/4/7/8/478008837931/973009300041_DAA522290156BF51369CB7250075AD06.jpg

I was thinking more like selling dehydrated water.

http://corkymoo.com/sell/water.jpg

Firestone Racing brings three types of tires to Watkins Glen this weekend. IndyCar Series teams have six sets of primary dry racing slicks, five sets of rain tires and three sets of alternate "red" tires.

Each entry must declare to the Indy Racing League within one hour after qualifying on which dry-condition tire spec it intends to start the race. All cars must use at least one primary set and one new alternate set during the race, each for a minimum of two green-flag laps.

Firestone Racing is bringing a new primary tire specification to Watkins Glen, while alternate tires will be used here for the first time. The rain tire is the more durable, "road course rain" specification.* The primary spec is a durable road course compound and construction, designed to withstand the high speeds encountered on the IndyCar Series' longest permanent road course. The alternate tires are identical in construction to the primaries but contain a softer tread compound, which will provide more grip and faster lap times, yet will trade off compound durability in exchange for those shorter- term advantages.

* As opposed to the less durable "oval course rain" specification designed for racing in dehydrated rain conditions, or what?

No, I'm not making this up. I swear it. I really do swear it.

Methanolandbrats

07-04-09, 12:15 AM

"Firestone Racing brings three types of tires to Watkins Glen this weekend. IndyCar Series teams have six sets of primary dry racing slicks, five sets of rain tires and three sets of alternate "red" tires.

Each entry must declare to the Indy Racing League within one hour after qualifying on which dry-condition tire spec it intends to start the race. All cars must use at least one primary set and one new alternate set during the race, each for a minimum of two green-flag laps.

Firestone Racing is bringing a new primary tire specification to Watkins Glen, while alternate tires will be used here for the first time. The rain tire is the more durable, "road course rain" specification.* The primary spec is a durable road course compound and construction, designed to withstand the high speeds encountered on the IndyCar Series' longest permanent road course. The alternate tires are identical in construction to the primaries but contain a softer tread compound, which will provide more grip and faster lap times, yet will trade off compound durability in exchange for those shorter- term advantages."

Did Scooter Goodyear write that? :gomer:

pchall

07-04-09, 12:15 PM

Camping World GP At The Glen Round 9
Watkins Glen International 3.37 mile(s)
Results of Session July 4, 2009
Practice 1 IndyCar Series

1 6 Briscoe, Ryan D/H/F 01:29.7715 135.143
2 10 Franchitti, Dario D/H/F 01:29.9424 134.886
3 26 Andretti, Marco D/H/F 01:30.0892 134.667
4 02 Rahal, Graham D/H/F 01:30.2503 134.426
5 5 Moraes, Mario D/H/F 01:30.3020 134.349
6 18 Wilson, Justin D/H/F 01:30.4157 134.180
7 11 Kanaan, Tony D/H/F 01:30.4338 134.153
8 9 Dixon, Scott D/H/F 01:30.4947 134.063
9 3 Castroneves, Helio D/H/F 01:30.5572 133.971
10 27 Mutoh, Hideki D/H/F 01:30.5979 133.910
11 7 Patrick, Danica D/H/F 01:30.6576 133.822
12 13 Viso, EJ D/H/F 01:30.8014 133.610
13 4 Wheldon, Dan D/H/F 01:30.8392 133.555
14 06 Doornbos, Robert (R) D/H/F 01:31.1722 133.067
15 98 Antinucci, Richard (R) D/H/F 01:31.6809 132.329
16 14 Hunter-Reay, Ryan D/H/F 01:31.7804 132.185
17 15 Tracy, Paul D/H/F 01:32.0303 131.826
18 24 Conway, Mike (R) D/H/F 01:32.3092 131.428
19 2 Matos, Raphael (R) D/H/F 01:32.3355 131.390
20 20 Carpenter, Ed D/H/F 01:32.8942 130.600
21 23 Duno, Milka D/H/F 01:34.4816 128.406

Looks like Eric Bachelart's Conquest entry for Alex Tagliani didn't unload a car this weekend.

SurfaceUnits

07-04-09, 06:29 PM

why should eric spend money on something :tony: won't spend his money on

pchall

07-04-09, 07:02 PM

IndyCar Series
Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen at Watkins Glen International
Sunday, July 5, 2009

STARTING LINEUP

ROW 1

1 Ryan Briscoe 1:28.5970 136.935

2 Justin Wilson 1:29.3106 135.841

ROW 2

3 Scott Dixon 1:29.7279 135.209

4 Mario Moraes 1:29.8003 135.100

ROW 3

5 Graham Rahal 1:29.9526 134.871

6 Dario Franchitti no time no speed***

ROW 4

7 Mike Conway 1:29.1715 136.052

8 Danica Patrick 1:29.2076 135.997

ROW 5

9 Marco Andretti 1:29.3539 135.775

10 Tony Toucan 1:29.4131 135.685

ROW 6

11 E.J. Viso 1:29.5661 135.453

12 Dan Wheldon 1:29.9137 134.929

ROW 7

13 Hideki Mutoh 1:29.7943 135.109

14 Helio Castroneves 1:29.8662 135.001

ROW 8

15 Paul Tracy 1:30.6167 133.883

16 Ryan Hunter-Reay 1:30.4001 134.203

ROW 9

17 Robert Doornbos 1:30.6266 133.868

18 Raphael Matos 1:30.4981 134.058

ROW 10

19 Milka Duno 1:33.6824 129.501

20 Richard Antinucci 1:31.1910 133.039

ROW 11

21 Ed Carpenter 1:31.6852 132.322

*** Note: Franchitti lost his two fastest laps for causing a full-course caution during Firestone Fast Six.

If you think that grid is all effed up, here's why:

PEAK PERFORMANCE POLE QUALIFYING:

PEAK Performance Pole Qualifying consists of three segments. In Segment One, two groups each receive 20 minutes of track time. The fastest six cars from each group advance to Segment Two while the remaining cars are assigned positions 13-26 based on their fastest laps with drivers from group one taking the odd-numbered positions and drivers from group two taking the even-numbered positions.

During Segment Two, the 12 advancing cars receive 15 minutes of track time. The fastest six advance to the Firestone Fast Six while the remaining six cars are ranked in positions 7-12 based on their fastest laps.

During the Firestone Fast Six, the six cars receive 10 minutes of track time, with a guarantee of five minutes of green flag time. At the end of the session, the cars are ranked 1-6 based on their fastest laps.

opinionated ow

07-05-09, 02:10 AM

How does Milky Doughnuts end up in front of Richard Antinucci and Special ED? :confused:

grungex

07-05-09, 02:35 AM

Rahal gets ****ed out of his 5th place spot with a ten-spot penalty for suddenly being five pounds underweight...

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/76706

pchall

07-05-09, 07:36 AM

How does Milky Doughnuts end up in front of Richard Antinucci and Special ED? :confused:

This might explain it:

The fastest six cars from each group advance to Segment Two while the remaining cars are assigned positions 13-26 based on their fastest laps with drivers from group one taking the odd-numbered positions and drivers from group two taking the even-numbered positions.

Milky Donuts was in the first group...

IRL road course qualifying is really effed up. Even more screwed than the various gimmicks F1 has tried to juice up the TV show for their qualifying. Why do they make it this complicated to qualify in front of nobody?

http://easycaptures.com/fs/uploaded/286/9275113649.jpg

opinionated ow

07-05-09, 07:41 AM

This might explain it:

Milky Donuts was in the first group...

IRL road course qualifying is really effed up. Even more screwed than the various gimmicks F1 has tried to juice up the TV show for their qualifying. Why they make it this complicated to qualify in front of nobody?

http://easycaptures.com/fs/uploaded/286/9275113649.jpg

I missed that bit with the split sessions...:irked:

JT265

07-05-09, 08:38 AM

Pros: Lots of room to set up camp.

Cons: The noise and the smell of the crap would be like camping at a hot smelly landfill. :yuck:

Andrew Longman

07-05-09, 09:08 AM

http://easycaptures.com/fs/uploaded/286/9275113649.jpg

Sweet look of an ugly car coming up through the esses.

BTW that parking area behind the white stands in the picture will be largely full, even on Friday, in a few weeks for the Cup race. Doesn't look to be a soul there.

pchall

07-05-09, 10:32 AM

Sweet look of an ugly car coming up through the esses.

BTW that parking area behind the white stands in the picture will be largely full, even on Friday, in a few weeks for the Cup race. Doesn't look to be a soul there.

That's the reason why I posted that picture. Even on a practice day that parking lot should be heavily used. That says even more than showing a shot of the empty stands in the esses.

SurfaceUnits

07-05-09, 11:22 AM

who has that recent quote from honda where they say the irl is its pinnacle of motorsports

High Sided

07-05-09, 11:37 AM

That's the reason why I posted that picture.

i thought it was to show that even the cows car less :tony:

dando

07-05-09, 01:24 PM

OK, so I'm watching the EPIC men's final @ Wimbledon, so I check out the opening of the WG race....first they had a 'report' on :tony: leaving IMS and the IRL praising his sorry @ss as a 'visionary'. :saywhat: :shakehead And then they intro the starter as Turner Gill as head coach of the Buffalo Bulls...only ABC/E$PN had him listed as the head coach of the Buffalo Bills. :irked:

-Kevin

Methanolandbrats

07-05-09, 01:40 PM

Pretty good race up front. Marco the Tard got cornholed by somebody, cut a tire. Leaves the pits pissed and almost takes out the leaders trying to keep from going a lap down :shakehead

Methanolandbrats

07-05-09, 02:10 PM

Curly Judd drives it into the sandbox. PT up to P7, one more spot and he'll be sniffing Danicle's backside.

Methanolandbrats

07-05-09, 02:14 PM

Morias mistakes Special Ed's car for a speedbump...gets drive through for running over Ed.

Methanolandbrats

07-05-09, 02:21 PM

Tracy out at half distance, looped it, backed it in.

NismoZ

07-05-09, 02:43 PM

With 24 left and 1 stop to go Wilson is exactly where he belongs. I can't think of a better result. Dale Coyne Racing WINS!:D We used to make fun of operations like his, but...Other surprise is Danica. Qualified well, has raced well and is deserving. No complaints. A little upsetting to hear the NHL grumbling over 12th/13th :shakehead A block is a block I guess. These cars belong on a track like this. Hate to say it but if this circus continues I don't see how they CAN'T be included on an RA schedule. I want to see Summerton and Hildebrand here too, unless they can climb "higher?" 19 to go...GO JUSTIN!:thumbup:

Methanolandbrats

07-05-09, 02:59 PM

Coyne :thumbup:

Methanolandbrats

07-05-09, 03:02 PM

Yellow.......:mad:........Pride of Tokyo backs it in and ruins the whole damn race.

trish

07-05-09, 03:04 PM

I didn't realize the race was on already. I thought it started at three o'clock. Anyway, Fox 5 has run two good movies so far.

NismoZ

07-05-09, 03:05 PM

Oh, my...yellow, restart, different compounds, sprint to the end. My $ are still on the tall guy. Have to say this is the kind of race "Indy" cars need in order to thrive. Gee, I didn't see the Richmong race but I'm hearing it wasn't quite this good?:D "A David and TWO Goliaths." Well said, Dale!:thumbup:

dando

07-05-09, 03:05 PM

C'mon Coyne/Wilson. :thumbup:

-Kevin

Methanolandbrats

07-05-09, 03:11 PM

Damn, Wilson is really peddling that thing, hope he keeps it together. :thumbup:

NismoZ

07-05-09, 03:14 PM

Starting this post with 6 to go...man, where did these guys get the idea for different tire compounds and paddle shifters and all that crap? :tony: was real smart!:rofl: Gonna order me up some reds if Justin takes it. Hang on Brit! (I wonder how many of the 'istas wonder how Wilson got so good so fast!?:D) Gee, a one man show up front...I love it. :tony: ought to get fired more often! I don't have any cigars, but I'm looking for SOMEthing to start a new tradition with...where's my wife!?? ;) Gotta tell ya. best "Indy" car race I've seen in QUITE awhile! Congrats Dale/Justin!!:thumbup:

dando

07-05-09, 03:15 PM

Congrats, Dale. :thumbup: :thumbup: :cool:

-Kevin

NismoZ

07-05-09, 03:16 PM

Hey Dale, how do you feel? Dale: "It took too long!":rofl:

Don Quixote

07-05-09, 03:17 PM

:thumbup: :thumbup:
Too long indeed!

Methanolandbrats

07-05-09, 03:17 PM

That was a great race. The week Tony is purged they stage a good show on a real track...some kind of Karma thing :)

grungex

07-05-09, 04:06 PM

Awesome to see Coyne in victory lane, actually brought a tear to my eye...

extramundane

07-05-09, 04:25 PM

Since I'm laid up with a bum knee and have fortified myself with substantial amounts of medication, I watched the thing. Congrats to Coyne and all, but that was a boring dronefest.

The highlight was during the TG kiss-up package when, among all the ass-kissing from Barnhart & RHR, Little Rahal opined that it might be better to have someone else in charge. :rofl:

pchall

07-05-09, 04:26 PM

Camping World GP At The Glen Round 9
Watkins Glen International 3.37 mile(s)
Unofficial Lap Report July 5, 2009
Race IndyCar Series

1 2 18 Wilson, Justin D/H/F 60 0 0.0000 01:48:24.1947 111.915 Running
2 1 6 Briscoe, Ryan D/H/F 60 0 4.9906 01:48:29.1853 111.830 Running
3 3 9 Dixon, Scott D/H/F 60 0 5.1632 01:48:29.3579 111.827 Running
4 13 3 Castroneves, Helio D/H/F 60 0 7.0755 01:48:31.2702 111.794 Running
5 8 26 Andretti, Marco D/H/F 60 0 8.5595 01:48:32.7542 111.768 Running
6 6 24 Conway, Mike (R) D/H/F 60 0 9.3646 01:48:33.5593 111.755 Running
7 10 13 Viso, EJ D/H/F 60 0 11.3804 01:48:35.5751 111.720 Running
8 9 11 Kanaan, Tony D/H/F 60 0 13.0020 01:48:37.1967 111.692 Running
9 17 06 Doornbos, Robert (R) D/H/F 60 0 13.2633 01:48:37.4580 111.688 Running
10 11 4 Wheldon, Dan D/H/F 60 0 18.0412 01:48:42.2359 111.606 Running
11 7 7 Patrick, Danica D/H/F 60 0 18.5656 01:48:42.7603 111.597 Running
12 18 2 Matos, Raphael (R) D/H/F 60 0 18.9342 01:48:43.1289 111.591 Running
13 15 02 Rahal, Graham D/H/F 60 0 23.0413 01:48:47.2360 111.520 Running
14 4 5 Moraes, Mario D/H/F 60 0 23.3821 01:48:47.5768 111.515 Running
15 5 10 Franchitti, Dario D/H/F 59 1 14.6566 01:48:38.8513 109.803 Running
16 21 20 Carpenter, Ed D/H/F 59 1 31.1807 01:48:55.3754 109.525 Running
17 19 23 Duno, Milka D/H/F 58 2 44.7266 01:49:08.9213 107.446 Running
18 12 27 Mutoh, Hideki D/H/F 51 9 -01:32:11.3018 111.860 Contact
19 20 98 Antinucci, Richard (R) D/H/F 47 13 26.4414 01:48:50.6361 87.312 Running
20 14 15 Tracy, Paul D/H/F 29 31 -00:52:58.6435 110.685 Contact
21 16 14 Hunter-Reay, Ryan D/H/F 0 60 -00:00:02.0852 n/a Contact :rofl:

End of Lap 60: Time of Race: 01:48:24.1947 Avg Speed: 111.915 Lead Changes: 8 Caution Laps: 10
Fastest Lap: 133.061 mph ( 91.1760 sec) on lap 18 by 6 - Ryan Briscoe
Fastest Leader Lap: 133.061 mph ( 91.1760 sec) on lap 18 by 6 - Ryan Briscoe

cameraman

07-05-09, 06:53 PM

1 2 18 Wilson, Justin D/H/F 60 0 0.0000 01:48:24.1947 111.915 Running
...
17 19 23 Duno, Milka D/H/F 58 2 44.7266 01:49:08.9213 107.446 Running
...
19 20 98 Antinucci, Richard (R) D/H/F 47 13 26.4414 01:48:50.6361 87.312 Running

Lemme get this straight, this Richard Antinucci fellow was 20 mph slower than Milka:eek:

stroker

07-05-09, 07:51 PM

Lemme get this straight, this Richard Antinucci fellow was 20 mph slower than Milka:eek:

I think he was 13 laps down for some reason.

Napoleon

07-05-09, 07:53 PM

Wow, Coyne won. I was flipping channels and I came across the race with something like 5 laps to go and they were showing Coyne and I thought "na, he can't be winning"

Congrats to Dale.

pchall

07-05-09, 10:49 PM

Lemme get this straight, this Richard Antinucci fellow was 20 mph slower than Milka:eek:

According to the race results .pdf he caused one of the yellows. Must have gone back out after 17 laps worth of repair time to be running at the end.

Sean Malone

07-06-09, 10:30 AM

I know the majority here would probably rather spend the day watching a wall over watching an IRL race but the few minutes they dedicated to the news of TG resigning had some interesting overtones, in my opinion YMMV.

Barnhardt – Of course he was the most complimentary towards TG, of the people interviewed, saying how much Tony has done for the sport. Tony’s ‘official legacy’ it appears is *insert TV graphic and bullet point list*; Bringing F1, MotoGP and NASCAR to IMS, SAFER barrier and ‘Starting the IRL’. Brian ended his compliment by saying that “American open wheel racing is better because of Tony”. Unbelievable.

Helio – Sidestepped saying anything about Tony, made a general comment about how he thinks they still have a product that can ‘grow’.

Graham Rahal – “I think it’s a good thing”. I laughed out loud!

Goodyear – mentioned the owners met last week with the IRL brass about the plans for the series. He also mentioned something about the “unknown” aspect of the series or whether it was even going to be there next year.

So to me, it seemed like no tears over TG’s announcement (why would there be?) but still a feeling of an uncertain future in the air.

For the first time though I thought the 2 guys in the booth (Goodyear and some other guy) did a decent job celebrating Wilson lengthening his lead over the field and winning by 4+ seconds.

Considering all of the aspects of Champ Car that the IRL has implemented (road/street courses, paddle shifters, option tires and potentially P2P) if they introduced a decent road racing chassis, now that TG’s gone…we might have something.

I also caught a comment by Goodyear that when Rick Mears saw the Danica pedal video he was amazed at how quickly they jump on the gas as opposed to back when he was in the car (when the car had more horsepower and less downforce). The drivers have been asking for more horsepower he said. Dario and Tracy obviously didn’t have an optimum handling car and sense the downforce is so high and the horse power so low they don’t have much room for driver input to nurse a crap car. More hp, less df. Same ol’ IRL problem.

SteveH

07-06-09, 11:12 AM

I also caught a comment by Goodyear that when Rick Mears saw the Danica pedal video he was amazed at how quickly they jump on the gas as opposed to back when he was in the car (when the car had more horsepower and less downforce).

Didn't see the race, however when Rick drove there was significant turbo lag, he couldn't mash the throttle like now.

Wally

07-06-09, 11:16 AM

To Dale and Justin....:thumbup:

pchall

07-06-09, 11:53 AM

Didn't see the race, however when Rick drove there was significant turbo lag, he couldn't mash the throttle like now.

I don't remember Mears having "shift w/o lifting" either, certainly no paddles, and no power steering. ;)

DagoFast

07-06-09, 12:20 PM

I know the majority here would probably rather spend the day watching a wall over watching an IRL race...<snip>

Considering all of the aspects of Champ Car that the IRL has implemented (road/street courses, paddle shifters, option tires and potentially P2P) if they introduced a decent road racing chassis, now that TG’s gone…we might have something.

You got the first part right.

Who is this "We"? There is no "We" as far as I'm concerned. As long as the series is Hulman/George owned and controlled, I have ZERO interest in it.

Finally, just to show I have some class; Congratulations to Dale Coyne for your "win". You have joined Ron Hemelgarn, Dick Simon, A.J. Foyt and John Menard in finally finding a weak enough series to prevail in. :kudos:

dando

07-06-09, 12:23 PM

Brian ended his compliment by saying that “American open wheel racing is better because of Tony”. Unbelievable.

I wasn't sure whether I should have spit my beer or thrown it when I heard that comment. :saywhat: :shakehead

Rahal Jr. :thumbup:

-Kevin

Napoleon

07-06-09, 12:34 PM

Finally, just to show I have some class; Congratulations to Dale Coyne for your "win". You have joined Ron Hemelgarn, Dick Simon, A.J. Foyt and John Menard in finally finding a weak enough series to prevail in. :kudos:

In defense of Coyne, it was an owner like him that you would think the IRL was custom made for, yet he was loyal to the end to CART/Champcar. That is more then I can say about Gannassi and Penske. And as weak as his team has been he did bring us the likes of Paul Tracy, Servia, Moreno and some others.

Don Quixote

07-06-09, 12:42 PM

In defense of Coyne, it was an owner like him that you would think the IRL was custom made for, yet he was loyal to the end to CART/Champcar. That is more then I can say about Gannassi and Penske. And as weak as his team has been he did bring us the likes of Paul Tracy, Servia, Moreno and some others. Yep. Coyne gets a lifelong pass from me. If beating Fatassi and Liverspots is so easy, it would be done more often. :thumbup:

Sean Malone

07-06-09, 01:44 PM

Yep. Coyne gets a lifelong pass from me. If beating Fatassi and Liverspots is so easy, it would be done more often. :thumbup:

And it wasn't won via lucky pit strategy, on an oval in Japan with Helio going suspiciously slower. They gave Justin the right setup and he went out and used all the track. Great job! I don't know too much about Dale's demeanor, but after the win he seemed honestly pleased but no where near the level of your typical Brazilian crybaby (like Aroot was trying to push for, reminding me of that old SNL skit).

miatanut

07-06-09, 01:59 PM

Finally, just to show I have some class; Congratulations to Dale Coyne for your "win". You have joined Ron Hemelgarn, Dick Simon, A.J. Foyt and John Menard in finally finding a weak enough series to prevail in. :kudos:

I still feel bad for him losing second place at Cleveland in 2006 when Spastic Dan took his car out.

Qw-U0OcLg6Y

pchall

07-06-09, 02:38 PM

I still feel bad for him losing second place at Cleveland in 2006 when Spastic Dan took his car out.

That incident really sucked. I'd seen a Coynemobile come close a number of times over the years in CART and Champ Car and something always went wrong. That one was heart wrenching. It's even more poignant now that DCR may never run in a worthwhile single-seater series again. :(

Napoleon

07-06-09, 03:52 PM

I love Coyne's WTF look in that clip that miatanut posted. I never saw that race (amazingly, even though I had tickets). Who was Spastic Dan and who was driving for Coyne?

Oh and you know if that was Foyt and not Coyne you would not have just gotten a WTF look but a laptop and hammer thrown at you and a punch upside the head.

TKGAngel

07-06-09, 04:01 PM

dando

07-06-09, 04:04 PM

I love Coyne's WTF look in that clip that miatanut posted. I never saw that race (amazingly, even though I had tickets). Who was Spastic Dan and who was driving for Coyne?

Stoopid Mario was in the car for DCR. Not sure about 'Speedy' Dan....might have been the former HVM team.

-Kevin

Gnam

07-06-09, 04:05 PM

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/4821/danar.jpg

He broke a lot of stuff. He even got banned from the Zolder race for smashing into Justin Wilson during a practice session.

oddlycalm

07-06-09, 04:15 PM

when Rick Mears saw the Danica pedal video he was amazed at how quickly they jump on the gas as opposed to back when he was in the car (when the car had more horsepower and less downforce

IMO the same thing has happened in professional formula car racing in the US. Mears understands that being able to plant the trottle and steer doesn't add up to the same level of challenge. Guess what, it doesn't add up to the same result for the fans either. The systemic castration of the cars was the wrong thing to do in CCWS and the EARL is worse.

Only semi-related but MotoGP has announced plans for returning to the liter bikes within the next couple years. Their comment was that going to the smaller engines has produced boring processional racing. Rossi has said it is allowing riders that would never have been able to manage the larger bikes to be competitive. In the end the smaller bikes were just as fast around the track, obviating their reason to exist, yet making it easier for lesser riders to compete.

oc

Sean Malone

07-06-09, 04:29 PM

IMO the same thing has happened in professional formula car racing in the US. Mears understands that being able to plant the trottle and steer doesn't add up to the same level of challenge. Guess what, it doesn't add up to the same result for the fans either. The systemic castration of the cars was the wrong thing to do in CCWS and the EARL is worse.

Only semi-related but MotoGP has announced plans for returning to the liter bikes within the next couple years. Their comment was that going to the smaller engines has produced boring processional racing. Rossi has said it is allowing riders that would never have been able to manage the larger bikes to be competitive. In the end the smaller bikes were just as fast around the track, obviating their reason to exist, yet making it easier for lesser riders to compete.

oc

And even from a pure amateur level; I've done 2 track days with some guys from work who both have 1000's for the street and 600's for the track. They explained most experienced amateur track racers prefer the 600's because of the better throttle control and handling in the corners whereas the liter bikes made up their time on straights and nurse it around the corners.
Two amateurs of equal skill, one on a 600 and one on a 1000, the guy on the 600 should be able to match if not beat the 1000 (simplified). Now that same 1000 in the hands of a pro...it's a different story.
Excellent analogy OC.

grungex

07-06-09, 04:36 PM

Hard Driver

07-06-09, 10:21 PM

Pretty good race up front. Marco the Tard got cornholed by somebody, cut a tire. Leaves the pits pissed and almost takes out the leaders trying to keep from going a lap down :shakehead

Then Marco proceeds to hold everyone up. Ends up holding up third until he has totally loast touch with the leaders...

Hey Marco, you are being LAPPED... that means you aren't supposed to sit in there and race the cars that are faster than you and screw up there race.

I don't understand why he was not blacked flagged to failure to yield to the leaders.

Hard Driver

07-06-09, 10:22 PM

CONGRATULATION DALE AND JUSTIN !

Indy

07-06-09, 11:13 PM

miatanut

07-07-09, 12:21 AM

I love Coyne's WTF look in that clip that miatanut posted.

I couldn't stand Clarke and when that incident happened I was screaming at my TV. Livid! It STILL pisses me off, which is why I posted it. It was great editing when they ran Coyne's WTF look! My favorite part of that clip.

miatanut

07-07-09, 12:25 AM

If they have to keep the cars slow, and they do it by limiting technology, then why in God's name don't they go back to real manual gearboxes?

For that matter, if they have to contain costs, and they don't give a damn about technological innovation (which they do not), why not go back to no/minimal electronics? In essence spec out a 1980 Champ Car with a safer tub and let them race for real?

Because that would blow all the ride-buyers out of the water.

An Atlantic with a turbo with 100 more HP, less downforce (like about FF2000 level), and harder tires and I'd be in open wheel heaven. A smaller car, so more room on a street course, faster on the straight, slower in the corners, longer braking distances so out-braking duels would come back, tail-happy attitude, a real driver's car.

pchall

07-07-09, 07:21 AM

Because that would blow all the ride-buyers out of the water.

An Atlantic with a turbo with 100 more HP, less downforce (like about FF2000 level), and harder tires and I'd be in open wheel heaven. A smaller car, so more room on a street course, faster on the straight, slower in the corners, longer braking distances so out-braking duels would come back, tail-happy attitude, a real driver's car.

That would be a lot of fun. BTW, Cosworth has a supercharger unit for the Mazda DOHC 4. :)