That’s about right for a NASCAR Sprint Cup race on a
twisting road course.
There will be no complaints about high speeds here this
weekend, which will be a change of late.
Because, ironically, in the world of major American auto racing, high speed
is under attack.
NASCAR officials wore deer-in-the-headlights looks last
week, when a small army of Sprint Cup drivers put up 200 mph-plus laps at the
high-banked Michigan International Speedway oval. Omigod!
They’re going so fast! What to
do?!
NASCAR’s solution was to approve alterations of the
left-side tires to slow the cars down.
There was a brief mention that NASCAR machines were hitting 200 mph a
quarter century ago, but it seemed drowned out in the rush to get the current cars
back under the 200 mph-per-lap threshold.
I understand the concern.
Tires were being eaten up at those speeds. NASCAR veterans also recalled crashes of a
generation ago, with 200 mph speeds absorbing big portions of blame. Yet you’d think that 25 years of aero
engineering evolution would have come up with a solution that allows for higher
speeds on ovals, while also maintaining safety.
I can’t argue too much with NASCAR’s call. After all, the series thrives on
comparatively heavy cars dicing and bumping in close quarters. These cars were never meant to be missiles.
However, I am demoralized at what’s going on in the IZOD
IndyCar Series.
IndyCar announced this week that it will allow a maximum
rear flap angle of 37 degrees and not allow a wicker for Saturday’s Iowa Corn
250 on the .875-mile Iowa Speedway oval.
This will reduce downforce, and if things turn out anything like they did
at the recent race on the high-speed oval in Texas ,
negate close pack racing – the kind of racing that used to bring Texas crowds to their
feet.
“Like Texas ,
we want to make sure the challenge is in the drivers’ hands and make them work
each lap,” said Will Phillips, INDYCAR’s vice president of technology. “It will be more of a challenge for drivers
once their tires start to go off during the 250-lap race.”
SIGH!
So, based on that, fans will be treated to spread-out racing
in comparatively unstable cars, which will become increasingly unstable as
their tires go off. That’s opposed to,
say, high-speed, wheel-to-wheel racing for prolonged periods of time under the
green.
Forgive me, but my love of IndyCar racing has long been
based on the latter.
I understood last fall that the storm was coming. The death of two-time Indy 500 winner Dan
Wheldon during a horrific crash on a tight, high-banked Las Vegas oval made everyone rethink what was
going on out there.
I’m not advocating more speed over safety. Not a chance. But for my money, what happened
in Vegas was fostered by too many cars on a narrow track. I’d start by cutting the field off at, say,
20 cars. And sadly, what happened to
poor Dan was just bad, awful luck – his car ripping into the catch fence
cockpit side. Frankly, I hate current
catch fence technology and wonder if it’s possible to develop a super-strong,
clear composite to replace the dangerous weave of wires, cables and poles.
It’s been said that you know you’re getting old when you
start complaining about the very things that have stirred your lifelong
passions. And I suppose I’m sounding
very much like that now. But I’ve always
considered Indy cars to be the edge, the envelope, the Blue Angels amid a
series of biplane races.
Too fast? That
complaint has been registered since the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911. I remember when some 200,000 would show up at
Indianapolis on
pole day in the 1960s, tingling with excitement at the prospect of the 150 mph
barrier being broken. In 1968,
turbine-powered racers blazed through 170 mph for a lap, and some people
thought that was the outer extreme of the ragged edge.
A mere four years later, cars were lapping near 200 mph. And let’s face it, 200 isn’t even a decent
warm-up lap at Indy today.
Don’t get me wrong. I
don’t want to see a return to the deadly days of the 1950s and 1960s, when it
was not uncommon for three, four or more name Indy car drivers to die in a
season. Safety advances won’t let that
happen today. And for me, nothing
compares with watching an Indy car driver wheel a car at high speed in close
quarters, and then come strolling into the pits like it was the most natural
thing in the world … That’s what turned me on as a kid. No wonder I considered these drivers to be gods.
Somewhere along the way, years after the
heartbreaking/fan-crushing CART/IRL split, I think INDYCAR lost sight of what
made it so thrilling to fans of all ages.
Thankfully, this year’s Indianapolis
500 was the best of all worlds – seriously high speeds and aero packages that
allowed liberal passing. It was great to
see.
Hopefully, the powers that be will continue to develop
INDYCAR’s aero packages, prompting a return to more high-speed, wheel-to-wheel
oval racing action. I might be in the
minority on that. Probably am. But after 50 years of watching the evolution
of Indy cars, I can only hope.
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