All-purpose open-wheel (F1, IRL) racing thread

Obviously finding a "neutral" balance is the ultimate goal. But a hot day like Sunday's Indianapolis 500 really pushed the limit as to what engineers and drivers could do to combat very slick conditions. Heat not only brings oil and other elements of the asphalt closer to the surface, but it compromises the adhesive qualities of the tire. Using a larger diameter tire (or changing the inflation) on the right side will help a car turn. There are ways to move weight around in the car using different springs, shock absorbers, anti roll-bars and weight jackers. Plus, the aerodynamic drag of the car can be altered slightly with wing adjustments. But a car that's pushing from the green flag wasn't going to get much better. Danica was in trouble from the get-go.

EDIT: And a tight car only gets worse in dirty air (when following other cars). It just wants to wash up the track. If you've driven on ice or in a heavy rainstorm, compound that by going 220 mph with a hard concrete barrier to your right and a bunch of other cars trying to pass you.

 

Thumbs up, your added information.

 

Belle Isle is a beautiful place but it isn’t a race track, or shouldn’t be. Protesters have complained for years. Now someone says it might be illegal:

Attorney: Grand Prix appears to be running on Belle Isle illegally under state law

 

I remember Benny Parsons putting it this way: tight is when you SEE the wall when you hit it with the front; loose is when you FEEL the wall when you hit it with the back.

 

And General Motors executive vice president Mark Reuss crashes the pace car four corners into the first warm-up lap of today's Detroit Grand Prix, sponsored by Chevrolet. Oops.

First time I can recall a pace car crash since Eldon Palmer knocked down the photographer's stand at the start of the 1971 Indianapolis 500.

 

As if the weekend wasn't bad enough for Chevy, with Honda dominating both races.
I thought of the 1971 Indy 500, plus that scene from "Days of Thunder" when Harry tells Cole Trickle he's hit everything else, go out and hit the pace car. Maybe Mark Reuss forgot and thought he was supposed to wreck the pace car?

 

I didn't see it and the clip doesn't explain what that one car was doing so far back on the warm-up lap. There are additional pace cars down the stretch it looks like. I can imagine his surprise seeing an Indy car straight ahead when he was expecting clear track. Shoulda had a spotter. Not a good look in any event.

 

The Indy-type car ahead of him was a two-seater, apparently with Trey Wingo on board.

As for the races, I thought the on boards did a great job showing how bumpy that place was, I didn't need Goodyear and Cheever - gawd, he is awful - reminding me every fucking lap. Penske is based out of Detroit and this is his event? Really, I didn't get that the first hundred times it was mentioned.

 

Yes, the only actual competitor who went through the debris was polesitter Alexander Rossi. The rest of the field were probably peeing their driver suits with laughter. Poor Mark Reuss has driven the pace car there many times. Just picked the wrong time to shift/accelerate on the one corner with the least grip. Glad they were OK. I did find it humorous that Bestwick never called him out by name -- only "celebrity pace car driver." Either someone came over the headset and told him that or more likely, he had no clue who that was, since I get the feeling no one on air actually does prep work.

There is no way NBCSN can be worse than the two ex-drivers for ABC. I seriously wonder about their short-term memory issues, since Goodyear described "push to pass" at least three times in a 10-minute stretch, like no one has ever heard the term before. In fact, I don't think plucking two drunks out of the stands and putting them on the air would make for a less informative broadcast than what we've gotten in recent years.

Again, you broadcast open-wheel racing for 54 years and no little post-race tribute to all the effort and moments that made it special? More and more like the Worldwide Loser, in my opinion.