J richard

If the cockpit can take 50 out of the equation the you're left with "only" 50G which evidentally is nothing to worry about...

It all has to be looked at as a system, and the issue of G forces is that they can be instantaneous or sustained both of which have huge survivability implications...

But again this is not the point, there are really smart people that do this for a living that can solve these issues, but only if there is a need and a desire to do so, the current direction provides neither...

Anyway just my opinion...

Later..

TexasRider

The CART and Indy split is part of it no question.

But it is only A part of it.

The other parts are simply that it is not what it was.

If the speeds in 2012 are less than 20 years ago you can talk all you want about close racing etc and Indy racing will still tank in my estimation. We can get some bicycles out there and have plenty of close racing . That is not Indy.

One reason is as I said you loose the innovation and the buzz. They used to have a lot of cars trying to make the field, and now they cant fill it.

Lack of talent due to the risk of death aint it either. The most popular F1 driver got killed in Senna, the most popular Nascar driver got killed in Earnhardt. I liked and watched them both and hated to see it. But there were still guys with top talent coming in to both series.

Some will say "there have been no deaths since ....". True. But it will happen again. Are we going to quit everything because there are deaths? There are risks and deaths in everything from farming, to swimming, to golf, to racing.

I am not advocating a demolition derby. Just let the teams and guys race - at least some - without stifling the spirit of it.

Here is something on that line. You know being a fighter pilot or an astronaut (when we USA still had that going ) can be darn hazardous. More than a few of them died. But the talent pool was still there and lining up and training to push the limit.

They are also going to have to, absolutly have to get the major USA auto manufacturers involved in Indy to compete against each other and crank up the spirit some again. And field more USA drivers too.

As was stated by several of us, look at the Indy role of drivers. Parnelli Jones, Foyt, Andretti, Mears, Sneva, Sullivan, Rahal, Unser, Rutherford, Allison, Cheever... legendary US drivers all and much of that made at Indy. They also bring their fans and fan interest to INdy from their regional association whether it be Texas, or California, Mid Continent or East Coast.

Then add in the international drivers like Graham Hill, Fittipaldi, Luyendyk, Guerrero, Castroneves , etc and NOW you are going to get back to some better competition. Ok, as bad as I hate to say it , maybe Danica too .

All that results in more participation from the manufacturers, the race shops, the sponsors, the fans, the TV, and all that adds up to more $ money $ .

Indy is getting watered down if I can go down and buy a car from the dealer and put a Texas plate on it and drive down the road with more HP in it than is in an Indy racing car.

The Indianapolis 500 has a long great history and plenty of prestige. Build on it.

Dont water it down.

My 0.02.

MarkM

Lots of good points in this thread as to why Indy isn't as big a deal now.

You can't discount the rise of NASCAR over the last 20 years as a major influence on the decline of Indy. The Daytona 500 is bigger than Indy and generates interest in the series throughout the year.

All of the best driving talent, production talent ( meaning TV and series advertising) and sponsor money is there. Indy will probably never unseat NASCAR.

TexasRider

^^^^

Very true too. NASCAR took some fans but Nascar was big and Indy, at least the 500, was big as well. If the 500 is not BIG then the rest of the series is toast.

GuyIncognito

Indycar gives the guys a boost:

http://indycar.com/en/News/2012/05-M...re-for-a-boost

TexasRider

Indy apparently did not like the times they saw posted either did they. Or the attendance figures they were seeing.

But they still had to creep in there with the "without incident" comments.

hacker-pschorr

+1
One of the best races I ever watched was Spec Neon at Road America back in the day.

Jim Child

Looks like they're up to 226 mph with the extra boost.

Jim Child

Make that 227 mph.

Mike in Chi

Stands are nearly empty and it's Pole Day.

They used to fill them once upon a time. Tony George's legacy...

chris walrod

I was on the 34 car in 2000 and Fontana was indeed a crazy race. We finished 7th. We painted our cars before that race and they were trashed afterwards due to all of the oil dry on the track during the race. LOL -- crazy engine explosions!

The idea of the new car for 2012 was to increase power on the road courses to bring back the driver, so to speak. Make the cars more edgy to drive, and it will be a natural filter, let the cream rise to the top!

Indycar turning up the boost yesterday to get speed is pretty embarrassing to be honest. There has been a lot of comments from drivers this month about the wicked large hole the new car punches through the air where the car behind benefits from the 'tow' as much as 10 or 12 car lengths behind. The concept of the new car was to reduce the wake to allow cars to run closer to one another. Whoops, what happened to that, Dallara?

I guess its a little of a sore point with us since we worked very hard in developing our proposed new Indycar to reduce the aero wake in efforts to promote close racing and the abilities to pass more frequently.

Bummer we werent picked to supply the new car.

Here are is a little insight of what we worked on

mclaudio

Thanks, Chris. I like the Swift chassis.

I was on track with you during that time; I was with PacWest and Mo Nunn running MB/Ilmor engines in CART, then Green during Andretti's 01 Indy 500. I preferred CART, but Indy 500 was quite an experience.

I'm watching Indy qualifying right know and it's nice to hear them talking about boost.

GuyIncognito

3 big hits today for Clauson, Carpenter, and Servia.

chris walrod

Yeah, those were magical days in CART!