Comments on: The Junk Formula

By: H Donald Capps

H Donald Capps — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 02:01:11 +0000

Actually, the Technical Committee of the AAA Contest Board did not finalize and approve the rules for the so-called “Junk Formula” until December 1928, with the Contest Board approving the new rules the following month, January 1929, to take effect in May 1930. The rules were not the result of any general economic issues — they were hashed out and approved well before the economic situation soured — as many always assume. The basis for heading in this direction was Rickenbacher’s desire to get the manufacturers involved once again in automobile racing in the US, particularly at the Speedway.

For a variety of reasons, the US racing scene — the National Championship in particular — ran into a rough patch by the middle of the 20s, the board tracks finally seeing their day end, promoters not investing in other permanent tracks as the board tracks deteriorated, the general lack of interest in motor racing by the public, baseball being truly America’s Pastime during this era, and the autocratic nature of the Contest Board being just a few of the reasons.

When Eddie Rickenbacher (how he spelled his name until 1917) bought the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and then became the president of the AAA Contest Board, he was for all practical purposes the czar of US automobile racing. He used this power to ensure that the Memorial Day race and the Speedway were essentially unchallenged, few events or tracks even coming close to giving the Speedway and its annual event a run for their money. This would lead to the consequence of US motor racing being, for all intents and purposes, reduced to a single annual event.

By: The Evolution Of The IndyCar « Oilpressure

The Evolution Of The IndyCar « Oilpressure — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 09:10:51 +0000

[...] the air, and there was the semi-infamous “junk formula” (covered much better than I ever could elsewhere in this site) that led to a return to riding mechanics, but the vast majority of cars looked not too far removed [...]

By: The Speedgeek

The Speedgeek — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:53:04 +0000

I…don’t know what the two guys above are talking about, but I enjoyed this look back immensely. I don’t see it as a “like for like” situation, because of the overrun of the sport by engineers and technology (and rightly so, they’re the way one figures out the solutions to problems), which is a genie that will never go back into the bottle. I think the best that the sport can hope for nowadays is to shake up the formula every 5-10 years (while keeping an eye on costs) and then enjoy a few years of relative unpredictability before the big teams superior engineering and technology figure out the current formula and dominate. Wash, rinse, repeat. Good, bad or indifferent, it’s just the way things are now.

By: Rick

Rick — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:32:40 +0000

Delta THING is the ugliest race car ever conceived. What does it have to do with Open Wheel? The airplane tail and narrow front wheels are particularly hideous. What were they thinking???

By: Andy Bernstein

Andy Bernstein — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:10:15 +0000

Yes, as preoccupied with an uncertain future as racing fans are today, it’s refreshing to read another way for fans to distract themselves from reality.

Solace from faded snapshots and cartoons on the wall. Marvy.

By: Brian McKay

Brian McKay — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:46:41 +0000

Thanks for writing. -always grateful for history-

By: redd

redd — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:46:37 +0000

good work, Tom. covered a ton of history in short period of time. never realized that’s how the Offy was born. also interesting how much of an influence foreign manufacturers and drivers have had historically on the 500.