ajcjr

i see this all the time, the crew pushing the car out of the stall, looks dangerous and does it really do anything?

Larry Herman

Chris Walrod probably knows, but I wonder if it might help to keep the car from going sideways when the driver dumps the clutch and spins the back tires?

John H

racing clutches typically don't like slipping to try to start from a stop.

Larry Herman

Yeah, I thought of that, but it seems like with most of the formula cars, they just snap the back tires loose. Maybe its just what has always been done.

Bob Rouleau

With very light clutches and engines which have no torque at low RPMs pushing the car helps to get it going with less risk of stalling or, smoking the tires.

Bryan Watts

To help get the car rolling without a stall and keep the driver from having to slip the clutch. Tiny clutches, high revving motors, and gear boxes without low "street" gearing for moving the car from a stop.

hacker-pschorr

Well, it's a hell of a lot easier than pulling it down the pits now isn't it?

ajcjr

well now i know!

analogmike

Try driving the car in your avatar or my cup car and you will find out, it's really hard to launch these racing clutches cleanly. You can spin the tires but that can also break the axles in 911s (their weak points).

srf506

As stated, it saves some wear and tear on the clutch and driveline if three beefy crewman help it launch from a dead stop. Additionally, if the driver's about to stall it that little push might be the difference between a hiccup and full-fledged stall. Pit lane is dangerous all of the time, not just when the driver departs ;-)

Seth Thomas

It is definitely a wear and tear deal. With the drivetrain being up to race temp it is hard on the equipment to start from a dead stop. Pushing the cars gives them just a little bit of movement so the drivers won't stall the car and can make their get away easier on the equipment. Plus with the gearing in a true race box, 1st gear is not a great starting gear. Example is in the stock GT3 transmission 1st gear something like a 3.7/1 ratio. In a racing box it is not uncommon to have a 2.5/1 ratio for 1st gear.

hardracing

Or even more so, Try taking a Carrera GT Out, and see what it's like to drive a Car with a Lightweight Carbon Clutch.

Very easy to stall from Dead stop.


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Chaos

So the girls watching can see the butts of the pit crew! Duh !

jgrant

+1

Especially with hot slicks that you're double stinting. One of our driver's at the 24hrs of Daytona this year dumped the clutch a bit aggressively after a refuelling stop, so no new (cold) tires, and snapped one of the half-shafts because the hot tires had more grip than the axles had strength.

That was one of 5 axles we had to replace in that race. Fun times.

Bull

Yeah, when I would move my Cup Car around the paddock or launch from a standstill, I often heard of people making comments about being a "show off" when at DEs. And it was nothing like some of the true race cars of today.