‘GO-KARTS’ - MOTOR

`GO-KARTS' Prior to 1994, only open-wheel cars under a variety of sanctions--including AAA, USAC, CART and IRL--competed at the Speedway. Occasionally, drivers from Europe or other racing circuits in the U.S. would enter, but rarely

vs.

with any success after the teens. Frenchmen Jules Goux, driving a

Peugeot, and Rene Thomas, in a Delage, won the 1913 and 1914 races. All-

time great American Ralph DePalma

`TAXICABS' wonthe'15raceinaMercedesandthe following year Dario Rasta won in another Peugeot. Following a two-year break due to World War I, Gaston Chevrolet's win in a Frontenac in 1920 ended meaningful

participation by European cars or driv-

BY PACK BRYAN

ers, until Wilber Shaw used a Maserati for the first back-to-back wins at the

Speedway, in 1939 and 1940.

Indy car fans call the NASCAR racers "taxicabs" while NASCAR fans refer to Indy cars as "GoKarts." They'll never race against each other, but it's an interesting exercise to look at the

when NASCAR added the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis to its event schedule.

When you race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, you've reached the top! The name "Indianapolis" is almost synonymous with "auto racing."

The original surface was made up of 3.2 million paving bricks (hence the nickname "The Brickyard," and two of which are now embedded in my patio), but over the years since the 1930s, the bricks have been covered with asphalt

two kinds of cars and see how they It's been that way since 1911, when many times. Only a three-foot section of

match up running on the same track. Ray Harroun won the first 500 Mile brick at the starting line remains, in a

Are we comparing apples and oranges race at an average speed of 74.602 mph. bow to tradition.

here, or can you really make a side-by- It took him 6 hours, 42 minutes to do it. The two front and back straight

side evaluation of the vehicles running in In 2008, New Zealander Scott Dixon stretches are each 5/8 mi. long, separated

the two most popular forms of racing in won the race in 3 hours, 28 minutes, 57 by a pair of short 1/8-mi. stretches. These

the U.S.? That became possible in 1994 seconds. Average speed: 143.567 mph. are connected by four identical 1/4-mi.

NASCAR's Sprint Cup and the Indy Racing League are this country's two most popular racing series. While race cars built for the two series look very different, they have one very important thing in common: They're built for speed.

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banked turns, banked at a mild 9 degrees, 12 minutes. While supposedly identical, drivers say that each corner is totally different from the others.

Stock cars had been competing with each other ever since two pioneer car owners got to wondering whose was fastest, but rarely at a "recognized" track. Soon, the process became find a track (usually a fairgrounds horse track), assemble a group of drivers, locate a promoter to publicize the event, sell tickets to make up a purse and go racing.

In 1949, NASCAR was formed as a sanctioning body to supply the group strength, cohesion and consistency needed for success. Since then, the premier stock car racing group has grown to become the most popular form of racing in the country. Its cars had evolved from the souped-up coupes and sedans used by backwoods bootleggers throughout the south, and it was in the southeast where, until recently, it achieved its greatest success.

NASCAR's first venture north into Open Wheel territory was in a race in 1956 on the road course at Elkhart Lake, WI. A favorite of sports and Grand Prix car drivers, the 4-mi., 14-turn track was believed to be too tough and twisty for the supposedly overweight, wallowing stock cars of the day--Hudsons,

Chryslers, Mercurys and Oldsmobiles. The Good Ol' Boys' plans were greet-

ed with much skepticism, not only by the sports car and Grand Prix aficionados, but by open-wheel fans as well.

Edging up toward the Jaguar and Ferrari performances, the southern cars stunned everyone with their speed and maneuverability. Still actually "stock," the cars were modified street cars with strengthened chassis and running gear, and (sometimes) a roll bar welded inside the cockpit to protect the driver. "Win on Sunday, sell on Monday" was gaining believability as a slogan.

Tim Flock, driving a Mercury, won the 258-mi. race, averaging 73.858 mph in the rain! He won all of $2950 for the race! The speed record on the track at the time was 80.2 mph, posted the previous September by Phil Hill, just starting his legendary career. He drove a Ferrari, designed and built specifically for road course racing. Many doubting minds were changed.

Three years later, in 1959, Bill France opened the 21/2-mi. Daytona International Speedway. With banking in the corners of 31 degrees, on the tri-oval 18 degrees and on the three straights 3 degrees, it soon became recognized as a great highspeed track, one that would undoubtedly be the scene of many fabulous races and record-setting performances.

Unfortunately, just a few weeks before the first Daytona 500 in February 1959, NASCAR superstar Marshall Teague was killed as he attempted to set a closed-course record in a modified Indianapolis roadster. Then, in April, Indy car driver George Amick was killed in an Indy car race on the track. The loss of Teague and Amick so disturbed Bill France that he barred further Indy car races at the track, and they haven't officially run there since.

During the next 30-plus years, openwheel drivers like Mario Andretti and A.J. Foyt entered and won the Daytona 500, while NASCAR superstars like Donnie and Bobby Alison and Lee Roy and Cale Yarborough entered but had less success running in the Indianapolis 500.

Finally, in 1992, NASCAR sent nine drivers to test tires on the Indianapolis track. Top speed of the test was 168.767 mph, achieved by Bill Elliott on June 23. At the Indy 500 that year, Roberto Guerrero was clocked at 232.484 mph to win the pole, and Al Unser, Jr., won the race, at an average speed for the 500 mi. of 134.447 mph.

Then, on Aug. 16, 1994, Jeff Gordon won the first NASCAR Brickyard 400 at an average speed of 131.977 mph. (Earlier that year, Al Unser, Jr., won the 500 for the second time, at an average speed of 160.872 mph.) The Brickyard 400

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Indianapolis Motor Speedway photo

March 2009

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`GO-KARTS' vs. `TAXICABS'

Photo: Ron McQueeney

Scott Dixon, the 2008 Indy 500 winner, speeds down the main stretch.

has since gone on to become the second most popular race of the NASCAR season, consistently drawing huge crowds.

The Cars

It's easy to tell the difference between a stock car and an open-wheel racer when they're sitting side-by-side, but how much difference is there, really? Probably less than you think. The chart below gives a spec-by-spec comparison of an open-wheel Indy car and a NASCAR racer.

Let's get something straight about the

modern stock racer: Virtually the only thing on the car that is really "stock" is the manufacturer's logo, and often that's a decal. So are the headlights and taillights! In reality, a NASCAR racer is just as much a custom, purpose-built vehicle as is an open-wheel Indy car.

Built to the organization's specification and blueprints, the frame of NASCAR's top Sprint Cup racer is made of 3x4-in. .093-in. wall rectangular steel tubing, doubled on the driver's side. The roll cage is welded together, using .093 13/4-in.-dia. seamless steel

Comparison: Indy Car vs. NASCAR Racer

Category

Engine Horsepower Induction Fuel

Transmission

Chassis

Front Suspension

Rear Suspension

Wheelbase Weight Length Body Width

Indy

183.07-cu.-in. aluminum V8, 32-valve DOHC

670 @ 10,500 rpm; rev limiter

Electronic fuel injection

100% fuel-grade ethanol, 22-gal. capacity

6 forward gears, sequential manual shifting

Monocoque carbon fiber, Kevlar and other composites; engine is stressed, integral member of chassis

Lever action coil-over-shock with upper/lower A-frames

Lever action coil-over-shock with upper/lower A-frames

120 2 in.

1565 lbs. min for oval, 1630 lbs. min for road course

192 in. min

78.5 in. max, 77.5 in. min (outside rim-to-rim)

NASCAR

358-cu.-in. cast-iron V8, aluminum cylinder heads 850 @ 9000 rpm 4-barrel Holley carburetor Unleaded racing fuel, 17.75-gal. capacity 4-speed manual

Rectangular steel tubing with integral tubular steel roll cage

Independent coil springs, upper/lower A-frames Trailing arms, coil springs, panhard bar 110 in. 3450 lbs. without driver or fuel, 1650 lbs. min for right side 198.5 in. 74 in.

tubing for the main shapes, and smaller tubing for supports and connectors. A 1/8-in. sheet steel barrier is welded to the roll cage on the driver's side.

The car body is molded of 22-guage sheet steel, and energy-absorbing materials are installed between the driver's side roll cage door bars and the outside skin of the car. Each of the four manufacturers whose engines power the individual cars supply their teams with nose- and tailpieces, usually molded of fiberglass, along with hoods, roofs and deck lids.

The "paint job" on most of the NASCAR competitors is actually a large decal. Decals provide more uniformity, a better finish with more accurate placement of sponsors' logos and, most importantly, save time.

An Indy chassis is often referred to as a "tub." Tremendously strong, it's a monocoque made of carbon fiber with an aluminum honeycomb core, along with Kevlar and other composites. It houses the cockpit, fuel cell and front suspension, plus antiroll bar adjusters, the front air jack, the headrest structure, the roll hoop, air jack fittings and the molded seat. The engine is also a stressed (integral) part. The bellhousing, gearbox and rear suspension members make up the rear assembly.

The outer skin is made of aluminum or fiberglass panels, held to the chassis by Dsuz fasteners.

Indy cars and NASCAR racers use different methods of refueling during a race. IRL cars have fuel delivered though an airliner type connection, allowing gravity-fed ethanol to run through a large hose from a big, elevated pit-side tank and into the car.

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`GO-KARTS' vs. `TAXICABS'

IMS photo: Steve Snoddy IMS photo: Don Helrigel

In 2003, then three-time Brickyard 400 winner Jeff Gordon (left) is about to

Head-on view of 2008 Brickyard 400 step into Juan Pablo Montoya's Grand Prix car while Montoya prepares for

winner Jimmie Johnson.

a ride in Gordon's NASCAR racer. Montoya is now a NASCAR regular.

NASCAR racers are fed by handheld, modified dairyman's milk cans, each with a capacity of 11 gals. and hoisted by a (strong) crewman and poured through the fuel filler opening. A second crewmen stands by to collect overflow with a smaller can.

To prepare for pit stops, both NASCAR and IRL crewmen follow rigorous daily one-hour physical fitness routines to assure their strength and agility during pit stops. NASCAR pit stops when four tires are changed average less than 15 seconds seconds, while IRL stops are slightly quicker.

We're at an apples-and-oranges point here, because NASCAR has built into its cars a number of anachronisms to maintain the image of stock car racing. That also tends to slow down pit stops, but not nearly as much as you might expect. Those NASCAR crewmen are good!

For example, hand-pumped hydraulic jacks are used to elevate cars for tire changing: Pump up one side, change the two tires, then drop the car, carry the jack around to the other side and repeat the process. IRL saves time by having built-in air jacks lift the chassis.

NASCAR wheels are mounted with five lug nuts that are spun off and on individually with an air wrench, while IRL wheels are mounted with a single knock-off nut, spun off and onto the axle with an air wrench. Both NASCAR and IRL tires are totally smooth without a tread pattern, for maximum adhesion on dry track surfaces...racing "slicks." Neither group runs in the rain.

You can't go flying around a racetrack these days without wings, and both NASCAR and IRL have front and

Photo: Pack Bryan

rear wings, with strict regulations regarding their size, shape and placement. These add down-force, but also can limit top speeds.

The current car running in NASCAR has an adjustable front splitter mounted beneath the grill. Its projection is limited to 4 to 6 in. and the angle of attack can be controlled by five turnbuckles. Brackets for the rear wing are mounted on the trunk of the car, and are designed to allow considerable adjustment of the NASCAR-supplied wing.

You could say that there's a third

two-piece, consisting of a main plane attached at a mandated angle of 2.5 degrees and a top flap whose adjustment varies depending on the track where the car is running.

Driving the Cars

What are the cars like in competition? To begin, 33 cars start the Indy 500, 22 cars in other races. All NASCAR races, on the other hand (including the Brickyard 400), are more crowded, with 43 cars. We talked to several drivers who've driven in both races.

This is an interior view of the front left driver's side of a NASCAR Sprint Cup chassis. Note the tubular steel roll cage and side bars.

wing on an Indy car. Working with the nose and tail wings, the shaped bottom of the chassis (tub) provides a ground effect that can exert up to 5000 lbs. of force when speeds reach into the 220mph bracket.

At the Speedway, front wings consist of a mainframe and end fences. The end fences are usually in line with the center of the front tires. Rear wings are

Juan Pablo Montoya was the 1999 CART champion and won the Indy 500 as a rookie in 2000. He then competed in Formula One from 2001 to 2006, amassing seven wins and, in 2003, winning the series premier event, the Monaco Grand Prix. Starting in 2006 with one NASCAR race, he won his first career start at Infineon Raceway in 2007. He scored two Top

March 2009

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`GO-KARTS' vs. `TAXICABS'

Photos: Pack Bryan

A finished NASCAR Sprint Cup body, showing the identify- Each Sprint Cup car must run a NASCAR-supplied rear ing nosepiece. The running gear remains to be installed. spoiler. Its mounting brackets are shown here.

Fives and three Top Tens in 2008. He finished second to Tony Stewart in the 2007 Brickyard 400.

Driving in the Brickyard 400 at Indy, he says, "is like everything in NASCAR. You just run so close to each other and at such high speeds that it makes for incredible racing. The biggest adjustment, though, is how much more stock cars move around on the track. They are so much heavier and with so much less down-force that it makes the cars much more challenging to handle. Compared to Daytona and Talladega, there is a lot less banking, which also makes the cars move around a lot more.

"I think the biggest advantage I had from winning the 500," Montoya continued, "was knowing the track itself. I feel like I know every inch of the track and know what to expect from it. The handling of the stock cars always presents an added challenge.

"Drafting in NASCAR, although similar in concept to that in the IRL, is still very different. In NASCAR, the more cars you have lined up, the faster you go, and in order to get in those long lines you have to trust the other drivers and they have to trust you. At Indianapolis, you are not running restrictor plate engines, so the drafting is not quite as critical," Montoya said.

Having won the Indy 500 on his first try, Montoya has no interest in doing it again. But winning the Brickyard 400, "that would be special. I don't think anyone has done both before," he added.

Sam Hornish, another Indy winner, who amassed three IRL championships on his way to the 2006 Indy 500 win,

found braking going into the turn in a stock car greatly different from keeping your foot down at the same spot in the race track in an Indy car.

The Iron Men

Running the full Indianapolis 500 race is not only a test of a driver's physical condition, but also of his determination and ability to concentrate. It's an even tougher challenge to compete in a 600mi. race, such as the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, run on the same day as the Indy 500.

What kind of man would enter both races and expect to survive? Three of the drivers we've been talking with for this report did just that.

John Andretti is an all-around driver who made his first mark in racing in 1985 as USAC's National Midget Rookie of the Year. He first qualified at Indy in 1988, has run in NASCAR and has won a round in NHRA's Top Fuel Dragster competition. He's a veteran of 1099 laps in competition at the Indy track between 1988 and 1994.

In 1994, he started on the inside of the fourth row in tenth place in the Indianapolis 500 and finished a respectable tenth, driving for his godfather, A.J. Foyt. He then jumped out of his Indy car, helicoptered to a local airport, hopped on an executive jet to Charlotte, took another helicopter to the Charlotte racetrack and made the start of that race. Unfortunately, he had engine problems and finished 36th. That season he was the only driver to run in both the Indy 500 and the Brickyard 400.

Off-road champion Robby Gordon

specializes in long-distance challenges such as the Dakar Rally, and is a threetime winner of the Baja 1000. Threetime Sprint Cup champion Darrell Waltrip says Gordon has the best control of his car of almost anyone in racing.

In 2002 he qualified 11th for the Indy 500 and finished eighth. After that race, following the same path as John Andretti, he made it to start the 600 at Charlotte and finished 16th. In 2003, he started third at Indy, but a broken gearbox put him back to 22nd for the finish, while at Charlotte he finished 17th.

Tony Stewart made two tries at our "iron man" title and scored higher than either Andretti or Gordon, but his record shows no wins. In 1999, the IRL's 1997 champion finished ninth at Indianapolis and fourth at Charlotte. In 2001, he came closer to the goal, with a sixth at Indy and a third at Charlotte.

Stewart has not driven in the Indy 500 since, but still has winning the May event on his to-do list. He already has two Brickyard 400 trophies and two Sprint Cup Championships in his collection. In 2009, his big challenge will be to adjust to ownership of his own NASCAR team, Stewart-Haas Racing.

Schedule changes have made the 1100-mi. double at Indy and Charlotte a thing of the past, but the records show that some drivers just want to race...anything at any time. These three took advantage of the opportunity when it was there.

This article can be found online at .

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