I think the rules should talk about fuel, not how the metal is formed to
use the fuel.....
dave A
I've said that for a long time. I've also said that they should provide
a protected area on the inside of the track where the drivers can run,
then their gas should be rationed to just slightly less that what was
required to finish the last race and get rid of that stupid restrictor
plates. You'll solve so many problems at once.
* The debate over whether the drivers are true athletes goes away when
the Daytona 500 is decided by a footrace.
* The race becomes much more interesting when you start to have complex
inputs that work against each other. Do you go fast and burn more fuel,
or do you slow down and hope to coast past the foot-runners to the
finish line.
* Fuel efficiency will go through the roof when the most practical
thinkers in the world are intensely focused on it.
Ernest Christley.
Believe it or not Ernest I agree with you totally.
Mazda won Lemans with a four rotor back in the days when they had a fuel quantity limit.
The safety structure of the car should be a driver protection module that all
teams must use. There are no other rules. No minimum weight. The weight
of the engine will be handicap enough on the MPG. No engine displacement limit.
If a large slow turning light weight engine works better than a small highly stressed
high RPM engine then so be it.
Paul Lamar ...No rotor no motor.
Paul, the problem with this is that the races are designed as
entertainment, not to actually prove anything. Remember the STP Turbine
Indy cars? After one nearly won the 500, they rewrote the rules to keep
them off the Big O. When the race started getting shorter, they rewrote
the rules to slow the race down.
What is needed is a new racing league, which follows your idea of a
basic safety structure that the teams build into any kind of 4-wheel car
they like, any powerplant, any fuel. The cars must pass a basic safety
exam and exhibit an ability to run the course EITHER WAY (no
left-turn-only cars like NASCAR uses).
Then you offer two types of race -- an oval and a road course -- with
teams being able to compete in any or all races over the season. A
driver's OVERALL LEADING LAP scores for the season count, not just wins.
Put that up, and they guys running rotary engines will win everything
except some of the ovals (turbines will win those, unless you put in a
weight or fuel quantity limit).
Keith
I live in NASCAR country, Keith. The problem for me is that the races
are NOT very entertaining.
Round and round he goes,
What he'll do next, everybody knows.
It's been the same race ever since the revenuers were behind the cars.
Well, it did change a little when they cars started flying and killing
the paying customers. So they added a restrictor plate that made all
the cars go exactly the same speed. It's all "pour in all the gas you
can, to go as fast as you can". No strategy. No divergent philosophy.
As boring as Major League Baseball or the NFL.
There are ways to slow the race down that make it more interesting. The
difference between 200MPH and 210MPH is lost on the spectator. All they
notice is car A is passing car B, and that is where the true excitement is.
Unfortunately, the guys running the show are old time racers themselves
and they disagree with me 8*)
Ernest Christley
I am totally in agreement with you on limiting fuel and getting rid of a basketfull of
other rules! If we as a nation are going to get serious about reducing our dependence
on foreign oil, setting rules that unleash the creativity of racing could make a huge
contribution.
I do think we'd need rules that reward the front runner(s) of each lap; otherwise
races could turn into a train of cars drafting each other for most of the race.
Suspenseful finishes are always more fun. I would never have thought of a footpath.
Great!
Philip
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