Over the Wall at the Kansas 300

[abrewer]

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Scenes from pre-race at the IndyCar race in Kansas City this past weekend, won by Ganassi Racing's Dan Wheldon. Audio is form earlier, note the different tone and character of these Indy engines compared to the banshee's shriek of F1. The photographs were made on the MP (naturally!) with the 35f2ASPH, this time on a new film for me: Fuji 160S (which reminds me a lot of Kodak 100UC in how it handles color). Audacity did the audio tracks, cut down from several minutes of recording on my Edirol R09 MP3/WAV audio recorder; and the slideshow composition courtesy of Soundslides.

 

TURN UP THE VOLUME!!!

 

 

Pre-Race Jitters at the Kansas 300; Sunday, April 29th in Kansas City, Kansas USA

 

Thanks.

 

Allan

[elansprint72]

Very nice presentation Allan.

Can I ask some "dumb" questions, because I know absolutely nothing about this form of racing:o

 

What size engine and in what config?

Fuel- pump gas or something else?

Tyres- what are the knobblies for, just paddock use or wet races too?

Are these cars just for ovals or do they run on the twisties too?

 

Your new film seems to be working fine.

[stuny]

Allan - Very nice series, as usual.

 

Pete - You mean that F1 isn't run off-road? Intentionally? Please note in two of the "knobby tyre" photos you're just seeing practice changes, and that slicks are the standard. The one machine being rolled out on knobbies probably represents the team manager thinking it would rain any minute, and wanted an edge. Indy racing is oval track only, and in days past could even be dirt tracks, but no more. Here are some specs for "Indycars" as they are named:

 

The cars are single-seat, open-wheel, open-cockpit, rear-engined cars with aerodynamic aids. Significant features of the car formula:

 

Dimensions: Length 192-195 in. (488-495 cm) nose to tail, minimum 110 in. (280 cm) wheelbase, hub center to hub center / Width 78 in. (198 cm) at outside rear wheel rims / Height 38 in. (96.5 cm) nominal at rear wing; may vary according to IRL-mandated wing settings

Weight: 1620 lbs. (737 kg) race ready, minus fuel and driver

Construction: Monocoque central tub with nose attachment, engine and gearbox as stressed members. A tray runs under the engine as additional support and to catch leaking fluids.

Materials: Tub and bodywork all carbon fiber. Engine block aluminum; gearbox case magnesium; wheels magnesium; suspension members aluminum or carbon fiber.

Fuel: 100% methyl alcohol (methanol); no additives permitted. Onboard capacity 35 gal. U.S. (~143 l). Fuel allocation per race is 275 gal. U.S. (~1127 l) per car, not including practice and qualifying. (In real life, the fuel allocation is never a factor. In the longest race the IRL cars run, which is the Indy 500, a car that completes the entire distance will use 230-240 gallons of fuel.)

Engine: 3.5 liter displacement V-8, double overhead cam, 32-valve, normally aspirated (turbochargers banned). Engine block and heads must be based on a production design. (Note: these are the rules that have been in effect since 2000)

Drivetrain: Transmission is spec Emco longitutional 6-speed, H-pattern shifter (transverse mounting, electronics, and sequential shift not permitted); any manual clutch permitted; Halibrand-type final drive. The drivetrain is arranged so that the gearbox is at the very rear of the car; the power goes in at the front and comes back out also at the front (unlike a Stock car gearbox). The final drive is between the engine and gearbox; it serves as both the differential and the structural mounting for the rear suspension.

Suspension: 4-wheel independent; geometry varies between chassis brands. Other than active suspension being banned, there are few rules on what can be done, and many teams have suspension systems much different than what comes with the out-of-the-box chassis.

Tires: Goodyear or Firestone, primary or option compound at each race; fronts 10 in. (254 mm) wide, rears 14 in. (355 mm) wide.

Aerodynamics: Individual front wings and single rear wing; separate wing packaged mandated by IRL for 1-mile tracks and superspeedways. Front wings adjustable; rear wings usually fixed to IRL specs. Flat-bottomed chassis; underwings and tunnels not permitted. (Some contouring of the tray under the engine is permitted for a certain amount of downforce.)

Electronics: Delphi engine computer spec'ed by IRL; most cars have distributorless ignition. IRL-mandated rev limiter set at 10,300 RPM. Telemetry and electronic dash permitted; telecommand not permitted. Standard two-way driver/crew/spotter voice radio. IRL-mandated scoring transponder, accident data recorder, and onboard caution-flag signaling system.

Safety: Front crush zone and bulkhead to protect driver's feet. Form-fitted seat; foam head restraint and gel bag to cushion head in back-in accident. Energy-absorbing collapsible suspension. Collapsible gearbox and bellhousing, plus rubber attentuator on rear of gearbox. Roll bar embedded in engine air box. Double-layer fuel cell with foam lining. "Diaper" under the engine to catch fluids and debris in case of blown engine or leak.

IRL engines must be dual overhead cam (DOHC) V-8 designs.

 

Allan can no doubt fill in the gaps, and probably update my data.

[biglouis]

Allan

 

Really enjoyable, entertaining and interesting presentation. Goes without saying that it also contains fantastic photographs. Thanks very much for sharing.

 

LouisB

[biglouis]

Allan

 

Really enjoyable, entertaining and interesting presentation. Goes without saying that it also contains fantastic photographs. Thanks very much for sharing.

 

LouisB

[abrewer]

Thanks Pete, Stuart and Louis.

 

What size engine and in what config?

Fuel- pump gas or something else?

Tyres- what are the knobblies for, just paddock use or wet races too?

Are these cars just for ovals or do they run on the twisties too?

 

Stuart's info is slightly out of date in that the cars run ovals and street/road courses, the latter in the rain if necessary, just like F1. The "twisty" courses this year were St. Petersburg (last month, won by Helio Castroneves of Team Penske); with Watkins Glen, Mid-Ohio, Belle Isle (Detroit), and Sonoma (Infineon Raceway) yet to come.

 

Most teams roll trackside on the treaded tires then immediately switch to slicks for the start and the race itself. The reason has nothing to do with the weather: the treaded tires are simply higher profile, allowing more ground clearance for the (sometimes) uneven surface of the asphalt out of the garages to the grid.

 

And of course, if it's a street/road course, and if it rains, the cars race on deeply-grooved wet tires.

 

The engines are purpose-built Honda 3.5 Liter, normally-aspirated V-8's, and they run on...

 

Ethanol. One hundred percent, fuel-grade, made from corn (mostly) ethanol.

 

Thanks.

 

Allan

[elansprint72]

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Thanks for info guys; so these are pretty big cars (compared to F1), they have big wheels, not so much downforce and very small fuel tanks- I guess this means lots of stops?

Nice to hear that Watkins Glen is still in use.

[abrewer]

Thanks for info guys; so these are pretty big cars (compared to F1), they have big wheels, not so much downforce and very small fuel tanks- I guess this means lots of stops?

 

Right on all counts except the fuel.

 

Ethanol yields approximately one third greater mileage (4-5 mpg) than the methanol (3-3.5mpg) in these cars. As a result, the fuel cells were actually decreased to 22 gallons size this year.

 

In reality the tires wear out (100 miles max) before the tank runs dry (110 miles max) in IndyCar racing.

 

The smaller fuel cell is also the reason why you'll sometimes hear the race announcers talking about how the burden of being quick has shifted now, from the fueler (who can dump all twenty-odd gallons into the car in about five seconds) to the tire men (who need a couple of seconds more to do a change). Used to be the other way around, with everybody waiting on the fuel to get onboard before the car could go.

 

Thanks.

 

Allan

[Guest stnami]

Hi Alan

Soundslides boy now!!! I feel that the first image is on too long, we wait and sorta nothing happens, a quick intro and then off with the images just to keep the audience there:cool:

[azzo]

Allan,

 

A really nice presentation.

 

Azzo

[shirboxpoesche]

Nice set alan

 

One advantage of US racing is that the ordinary fan can get so close to the cars! Not like F1 Even for those of us on the inside it is almost impossible to get decent photos. Come on Bernie give the fans what they want.

 

Shame the IRL cars are sooo ugly I much prefer the look of the Champ cars. The new car built by those Panoz boy looks sweet.

 

However much I try I just cannot understand this roundy roundy racing! Ive just watched the nascar race and as usual it is a total mystery. The lead changes every few laps and you dont seem to be able to follow whats going on. I have tried to follow it on the computer at the same time as tv but its impossible. Does anyone follow the race or are they just waiting for the crashes?

 

Rich

[abrewer]

Thank you Ivan!

 

And thank you Rich!

 

The Indy Racing League agrees with you that it needs to diversify. They've put five road/street courses on their schedule this year. Keep watching...the next one is at Watkins Glen (a true classic, one of the all-time best race courses anywhere IMHO) on July 8th, followed by Mid-Ohio (a really sweet course) on July 22nd.

 

And the Panoz DP01 (the new Champ Car) is stunningly beautiful. I saw one up close and personal last fall, and it is one fabulous piece of machinery.

 

Thanks.

 

Allan