Archive | March, 2015

IndyCar is doing good…..IndyCar is doing bad…. IndyCar is doing good…..IndyCar is doing bad

24 Mar
Three years on and baack, Back, BACK

Three years on and baack, Back, BACK

While away on vacation or, as the British like to say, on holiday, I have enjoyed being on the other side of the fence, leisurely reading the efforts and output of my fellow motorsport bloggers and writers. Now I do not even remotely classify my stuff as writing. Honestly, a lot of it is just opinion. Almost all of it is MY opinion and I never charge a dime for that.

The bulk of what I have seen posted on various social media outlets as well as professional media outlets have pretty much covered the events leading up to this weekend’s 2015 season inaugural race at St. Petersburg. The earth shattering reveal of the highly anticipated aero kits lead the list of covered topics during the past two weeks. How do I weigh in after the wave of news has passed? Consider this; aero kits have been clamored for since Randy Bernard unveiled the DW12 concept at the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the cool, projected on the big screen graphics left people going, “huh?” We were all rather stunned by the concept of ‘boxes of development areas’ and a call to true aerospace companies to climb onboard and offer up designs and join in on the competition. With that perspective in mind, I got a chortle or two out of the sides being taken among the diehard fan as to which set of wings and bits was “better”. Believe me, without even seeing the Honda reveal, once I learned that Nick Wirth had the lead on their project I thought of wings, lots and lots of wings. The point not lost on me is this; now that aero kits are a reality, why are fans saying this will be bad for the sport if one manufacturer wins over the other? This has always been an outcome of competition in that one will win over the other. So, is IndyCar doing good or is it doing bad? One thing is for sure, young kids have taken notice of the new look cars. Check out this conversation between Nick Wirth and Robin Miller that was published by Racer Magazine on March 16, 2015. The folks at Racer Magazine always provide great content and you should consider a subscription!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-RPdrD97Ck

So, by any measure, IndyCar is doing good. But wait; it is doing bad also! Too many ride buyers, lack of quality seats, too few teams with talent and dollars divided among a small amount of super teams, few ways a newbie can get a ride. Well, the new reality is, at least the consensus among my fellow bloggers is that one has to have cash and lots of it! This is no different than in NASCAR or IndyCar or Super Modifides and darn sure the modus operandi of F1. Speed is an expensive past time and the amount of speed you want is related to the amount of speed you can buy. So, by this measure, is IndyCar doing good or doing bad? It certainly helps that the leader circle payout is growing. Not since the days of Tony George having his hand taken OUT of the cookie jar have budgets been so tight! So, with a season a mere 5 months long, is IndyCar doing good? Of course it is! Every single division of motorsport out there still struggles in the competition for the entertainment dollar. IndyCar has the right on track product, an increasing trend in viewership and a new media partnership with USAtoday. The car count for Indy is already at 33 but I see no more being added to the field for bumping.

Simona in and Busch OUT

Almost a candidate for my “This Week’s Hot Link”, the post by Robin Miller of his interview of Simona DeSilvestro. Granted Robin has at times reminded me of the pawing, feeling uncle at Thanksgiving that is harmless and yet we all steered clear. It is obvious that Robin remains enamored with Simona as do most IndyCar fans. She is the real deal, has a bigger pair than most guys and is quite fearless. After nearly being burned up and out at Texas, she stuck with it on ovals. She proved to be fast in her attempt to land an F1 ride and she has a line on some of the best equipment in the paddock. The question begs to be asked; if Kurt Busch had never met Ms. Driscoll, do you think he would have the fifth car at Andretti Autosport and not Simona?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gOy53kllTQ

CAR COUNTS GET TO 33 FOR MAY

How they did that is beyond me! Curt Cavin added a few lines to his Pit Pass post that is dated 3/19/2015 at 2:22pm which almost fell through the cracks. First his observations on Chevy Aero bits at the Barber open test last week. Specifically:
“Full-course cautions are about to rise on street circuits if the bumping of the past three seasons continues. The vertical pieces on either side of Chevrolet’s front wing figure to fly off with even modest contact. One team broke one with a rope while towing its car through the paddock.”

Oh my…….
And from the same post, my favorite comment on car counts for May:
“>>The Indianapolis 500 extras are starting to come together. Add Townsend Bell (Dreyer & Reinbold Racing) and Pippa Mann (Dale Coyne Racing) to the list that already includes Bryan Clauson (Byrd Racing via KV), Jay Howard (Bryan Herta Autosport) and Buddy Lazier (Lazier Partners Racing). Andretti said he’s expecting to run five cars (good chance Justin Wilson lands in the fifth), CFH Racing will have a third (best bet is JR Hildebrand), RLLR should have a second, and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports should have a third. That’s 33.

This Week’s Hot Link

A tastey bit o’ speculation to ponder as we grind our way along the path to May is THE Double. Who holds the torch now that a certain, shall we say, NASCAR driver actually wants to consider the 1100 miles of turning left. Tom Jensen of Fox Sports provided this exclusive a few days ago. Big tip of the hat to Mr. Jensen!

http://www.foxsports.com/nascar/story/aj-allmendinger-coca-cola-600-indianapolis-500-double-sprint-cup-series-auto-club-speedway-032115

As always, thanks for stopping by and hitting the blog! Nicely appreciated and we will talk to you next time.

GForcePaul

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On Break, Out of Town, Off The Planet Perhaps

17 Mar

Find GForce

 

We will return next week, but until then, enjoy a little cross link to the most recent post by Mark Wilkinson of New Track Record. His post yesterday was stellar and spot on. Where ARE the next open wheel fans going to come from?

http://newtrackrecord.com/

Thanks for the drive by and we will talk to you next week!

GForcePaul

Mario Does Charity BIG TIME and A Technical Extravaganza on Shocks and Grip

10 Mar

Warning: The ending of this post will get technical in nature. Very technical…..your eyes are not allowed to glaze over and you WILL have a quiz on Monday morning. Oh, and would you like some wings with your wings?

wingsWingsWINGS

One of my favorite community involvement opportunities my company participates in is Meals on Wheels. I have recently called for medical oxygen from my doctor after viewing a tweet on my timeline this afternoon. It came from Mario Andretti no less and shows just what right stuff he is made of.

As seen on Twitter 03/09/2015

As seen on Twitter 03/09/2015

I had no idea he would be willing to share his time doing this but then again, Mario is THE ambassador of open wheel racing and in any situation, one’s true color always shines through!

The link to the complete photo layout provided by LehighValleyLive http://photos.lehighvalleylive.com/4424/gallery/mario_andretti_delivers_meals_/index.html#/0

 

What a nice, feel good way to start this week’s blog off; with good people doing great things for those in need. Interestingly enough, a few weeks back I posted an article about raising cancer awareness and the search for the cure. Needless to say, my humble blog exploded with over 250 hits the first day. Now, I know that I am not a true word smith, nor am I about to quit my day job to become the latest motorsport hack. I am too old for something like that so I will stick to my little corner of 16th and Georgetown and continue to write about the love of my life which is Indy Car and IMS. But, little did I know that someone somewhere near Oswego, New York would see the story and engage me in a side bar.

ISMA entry of Mike McVetta

 

The folks over at Wing Side Up (https://wingsideup.wordpress.com/ ) tipped a hat to my posting and I became aware of who they are up there in Upstate NY. A gent named Bob Gangwer runs a WordPress site dedicated to super modified racing and through a series of engagements I asked a technical question via a submission on their site. The question had to do with set up and shocks, along with how to generate mechanical grip. While some consider super modifieds unrelated to Indy car, one cannot call themselves a race fan if they place themselves in a niche. Besides, set ups try to accomplish the same thing across all platforms; get some grip, make the car turn and neutralize entry and exit forces in the turns. A wise Wally Dallenbach once said, “if the car is tight (push) you hit the wall with the front of the car; if the car is loose, you hit the wall with the back of the car”. This led me to consider the epiphany of racing as getting through a corner quickly, no matter the vehicle.

 

Enter Bob Bogwicz

I sent a question into the “wailbag” on the blog Wing Side Up and posed the following question: Besides shocks, what is the next adjustment on a car that gives big bang for the buck? Thinking how to generate better mechanical grip.

Bob Gangwer sent the question on to their technical guru, Mr. Bob Bogwicz of Group R Motorsports and it was on like Donkey Kong. On March 5th, Mr. Bogwicz replied to my question with a primer on shocks and grip. In order to do it justice, Bob has graciously allowed me to quote the reply en toto for this week’s installment of Wide Open Wheel. So, without too much further comment, I submit the good stuff from Mr. Bogwicz.

Dear Paul:

Thanks for your question! Mechanical grip is achieved differently with different types of racecars. Since my experience has been driving a supermodifed at Oswego Speedway, I can talk about how we do it but most of the concepts are the same. You mentioned shocks in your email. I would like to give a quick primer on shocks to put all this in perspective. First, shocks operate in two modes: low speed and high speed with “speed” being the speed of the shaft as it moves in and out of the shock body. Bumps on the track cause high shaft speeds. High speed mode keeps the tire in contact with the track when it encounters a bump. This is the dampening effect that the shock provides (and remember, only the good old USA calls them “shocks”. The remainder of the civilized world calls them “dampers” for the reason). This is the sole purpose of a shock on a street vehicle.

The second mode of operation is low shaft speed. This is where the compression and rebound adjustments of a shock come into play. Slow shaft speeds are encountered during weight transfer, such as turning into or throttling out of a corner. With the compression and rebound adjustments, one can have control over weight transfer. Keep in mind that weight transfer is inevitable (it’s physics, after all!). Low speed adjustments just slow down the weight transfer for a particular corner of the car in a controllable manner. The reason I am talking about shocks is because it is used to “fine tune” the handling of a racecar. Low speed operation of a shock doesn’t necessarily increase mechanical grip but it will fine tune the “grip relationship” of the four tires at small portion of the racetrack (i.e., corner entry, mid-corner and corner exit). My opinion is that the expensive shocks that have a rebound adjustment on the shaft body and an external canister that controls compression are not a great bang for the buck. I think they are WAY too expensive for the type of racing we do. Yet, people are sold on them.

 

“Bang for the buck” adjustments, especially with a supermodified, are the torque arm and the front & rear panhard bars. The torque arm is connected to the rear end center section and comes forward to just behind the engine. The forward mounting point of the torque arm, in relationship to the center of gravity of the car will adjust the bite that the LR tire will have when you stomp on the throttle. The NASCAR equivalent of a torque arm would be the two trailing arms that locate the rear end. The panhard bar will adjust the ratio of downward forces to lateral forces on the tires. Raising the panhard bar increases the lateral forces of that axle and cause those tires to slide sideways. Lowering the panhard bar increase the downward force of that axle, creating more mechanical grip. The optimum height of a panhard bar will create a good balance between “grip” and “slide”. Keep in mind, if you lower the panhard bar in the rear, mechanical grip of the rear tires is increased which will tighten the car up. Lowering the panhard bar in the front, the mechanical grip of the front tires is increased which will loosen the car up. I hope this answers your question! Be sure to look up my supermodified tech article at wingsideup.wordpress.com the second Tuesday of every month and follow me on Twitter: @grouprmtrsports.

Kindest regards, Bob “The Bogwan” Bogwicz

Group R Motorsports

 

Shew, now THAT was certainly enlightening, don’t you think? I found it interesting to say the least. At any rate, thanks again as always for stopping by the blog and we will talk to you next time.

GForcePaul

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Anybody Seen Honda’s Aero Bits Yet? How do IndyCar Drivers Keep Their Sanity During the Off Season? How Does IndyCar Keep Up Interest?

3 Mar

 

1996 Honda design that never raced

1996 Honda design that never raced

 

One thing I have found to be true as I dabble in the world of word smithy; should people not be given the facts, they tend to make them up as they go along. Once that synergy kicks in, a rumor, yarn or outright lie begins to smell like the truth over time. This is called operating in a vacuum.

Hence, I have seen and heard more about 2015 Honda aero bits then I care to forward on to you, just to help keep down spam in your inbox. HPD aero bits are square; no, they are round; NO! They are more elliptical and so on and so on. See my point? Remember the old game of I heard that…? One person relates a story and tells it to another. That person passes it on to a third party and then the story returns to the original sender. That story in no way resembles the first tale as told. And so it is with Honda Aero Bits. Here are some of the visual suggestions I have seen on the interweb so far , and since no one is showing the actual pieces, imagination has run rampant. Interestingly, these “suggestions” are all older cars that used to run in that dying off series known as Formula One.

 

More Down Force? Less Down Force?

More Down Force? Less Down Force?

 

Perhaps this one is a little more streamlined which results in better air flow around the driver’s head…..We all know they need cooler heads! Could the Honda’s follow this design logic? I hope not.

 

Credit Racer Magazine

Better Aero but,,,,

 

Some truths about Honda’s development program were posted in Racer Magazine, as written by the incomparable Marshall Pruett. This was published back on December 9, 2014. In this article Marshall wrote:

HPD vice president Steve Eriksen tells RACER the process has been meeting their targets.
“Surprisingly, I thoroughly thought we’d have [spy] shots out by now…” he said with a laugh. “The testing has gone very well, and has mainly been focused on correlation more than anything. It’s about checking the virtual world versus what we’ve seen in the wind tunnel versus what we’re seeing on track. We’ve coordinated the configurations as such so that we can prove the data across each of the three points.”
“When you’re testing, you’re ultimately trying parts or pieces that were designed a little while ago – it takes time to tool up and manufacture the parts – and seeing how those snapshots in times match what we expected. Does this predicted performance match reality? Do the forces match? Does the aero balance match what we’d expect? And then there’s the unexpected part in the real world with a driver in the car giving you feedback on how it’s performing.”

Now folks, that would be known as coming from the horses’ mouth. When one considers that HPD hooked their wagon up to just one autosport team, whereas Chevy spread the R and D over two remaining juggernauts, the time to completion is going to be a little longer for HPD. I get that and also realize that the expense of development spread over the number of engine badged machines is not an equal number between the two manufacturers. The oldest of mathematical truisms states that the lesser the number of customers, the higher the development cost per unit sold. This applies to both the new IL-15 Indy Lights car as well as the DW12 ‘Engine Manufacturer’ 2015 Aero Updates. From my personal perspective, I would like to see 20 Lights teams and 24 IndyCar teams on the grid every weekend. More cars sold lowers the unit cost and more butts in seats raises the promoter’s return so the question begs to be asked, how will the new look big cars and the new look smaller cars affect the turnstile?

Off Season Fun and Driver Engagement

During the past week, Josef Newgarden and Sage Karam received an invite to the NFL’s annual pre-draft combine held in Indianapolis. They were asked to try their hands at four NFL skills tests to see where they would rank among the years’ potential draft picks. From what the Indianapolis Star’s Curt Cavin wrote following the test, the two young shoes held their own, especially considering they did not do event specific training as part of their normal conditioning routines. The boys of IndyCar humor posted some pretty funny stuff on the IndyCar channel on youtube. Give it a look see here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjoI9A21emQ

That Joe, he sure gets around a lot! At about the same time as the NFL combine’s run, Mardi Gras took place and just prior to that IndyCar conducted track testing at the new NOLA circuit. While all of this was taking place, Joe found time to hit Mardi Gras with his on camera buddy James Hinchliffe. IndyCar had the foresight to get a place on a prominent krewe’s float and loaded it up with both IndyCar and Indy Lights drivers. This is, by definition, great product placement. I mean Great.Product.Placement. The shot in the street interview video, where Hinch is given a microphone and Newgarden for a sidekick, made for some interesting comedy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qzswm6lBQCM

The day and night that make up Mardi Gras is worth consideration as a candidate on your bucket list. It really is an iconic event, similar in scope to the Indianapolis 500. Just the fact that Lights and IndyCar drivers got on a highly regarded float in this year’s Mardi Gras parade was quite a coup. Some PR peeps somewhere pulled one off; Big Time and so props to them. Some of the best photos from the day were posted on the IndyCar site so I suggest you follow yet another link and rush here to spend some quality time on a cold winter’s eve. Lots of snow in Indy on the first day of March feels like it is a cold winter’s eve anyway so drop by here for the good stuff about IndyCar in New Orleans. I call it
THIS WEEK’S HOT LINK

http://www.indycar.com/Photos/Gallery?g=2682

So I usually end each week’s posting with a hot link but wanted to share something near and dear with you instead as this week’s installment draws to a close. The folks at Chippy’s shop in Indy (Target Chip Ganassi Racing) hosted a fundraiser this weekend for Honor Flight (IndyHonorFlight.org). This is an organization whose mission is to transport American Veterans to Washington, D.C. to visit memorials dedicated to honor their sacrifices. My employer got involved in this cause a few months back and Chip hosted an open house at his shop on the 28th of February. The silent auction had some unbelievable memorabilia and the event was well received. Even though the event has passed’ I wanted to share their flyer link as it references a pretty special veteran that has left quite an impression on the IndyCar racing community. Study the picture closely because that veteran is no longer with us…..
http://www.indyhonorflight.org/sites/default/files/documents/Ganassi%20Flyer%202015%282%29.pdf

As always, thanks for hitting the blog and we will talk to you next time!

GForcePaul

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