RaceGrrl
08-18-04, 01:18 PM
The September issue of Popular Science contains an article called "Formula None," about Trevor Harris' idea of a racing series with no rules. It's an interesting read (for this layperson) and does mention ChampCar and the testing at TMS a few years ago.
The fact that the writer refers to the ChampCars and "Indy" cars almost interchangeably is a problem that CCWS needs to work on. We have to forge our own identity, separate from Indy. The average person reading this article wouldn't know when he's referring to ChampCars or crapwagons.
Link to article (http://www.popsci.com/popsci/futurecar/article/0,20642,681879-2,00.html)
This will translate into cornering speeds so preposterous that humans may not be able to keep up. Three years ago, an Indy car race at Texas Motor Speedway was canceled after most of the drivers experienced headaches and dizziness—and that was at a mere 235 mph. It turned out their symptoms were probably caused by inner-ear imbalances due in part to high G-forces. And as speeds ratchet up beyond 300 mph, G-loads are going to get worse, making drivers look like those poor astronauts-in-training wearing ghoulish, stretch-face grins while riding high-speed centrifuges.
And drivers aren’t the only ones who might look weird. Another consequence of a no-rules aero package is that cars wouldn’t resemble the missiles we’re accustomed to seeing. The wheels would be enclosed to minimize drag. So would the cockpit. But ground effects and suction technology work best in big areas rather than small, arguing for a large, boxy shape. “The ideal sucker body is a pickup truck,” says Lee Dykstra, technology director for the Champ Car series. Then again, the bodywork could be designed to change shape as circumstances warrant—angling straight up to serve as an air brake, for example. “Computers would allow you to use variable aerodynamics,” says designer John Ward, a race engineer in the Indy Racing League, “so you’d decrease drag on the straights and increase downforce in the corners.”
The fact that the writer refers to the ChampCars and "Indy" cars almost interchangeably is a problem that CCWS needs to work on. We have to forge our own identity, separate from Indy. The average person reading this article wouldn't know when he's referring to ChampCars or crapwagons.
Link to article (http://www.popsci.com/popsci/futurecar/article/0,20642,681879-2,00.html)
This will translate into cornering speeds so preposterous that humans may not be able to keep up. Three years ago, an Indy car race at Texas Motor Speedway was canceled after most of the drivers experienced headaches and dizziness—and that was at a mere 235 mph. It turned out their symptoms were probably caused by inner-ear imbalances due in part to high G-forces. And as speeds ratchet up beyond 300 mph, G-loads are going to get worse, making drivers look like those poor astronauts-in-training wearing ghoulish, stretch-face grins while riding high-speed centrifuges.
And drivers aren’t the only ones who might look weird. Another consequence of a no-rules aero package is that cars wouldn’t resemble the missiles we’re accustomed to seeing. The wheels would be enclosed to minimize drag. So would the cockpit. But ground effects and suction technology work best in big areas rather than small, arguing for a large, boxy shape. “The ideal sucker body is a pickup truck,” says Lee Dykstra, technology director for the Champ Car series. Then again, the bodywork could be designed to change shape as circumstances warrant—angling straight up to serve as an air brake, for example. “Computers would allow you to use variable aerodynamics,” says designer John Ward, a race engineer in the Indy Racing League, “so you’d decrease drag on the straights and increase downforce in the corners.”