Comments on: The Many Benefits Of Chevy’s Return

By: Brian McKay

Brian McKay — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 21:53:03 +0000

“… we must see and experience failures to be able to recognize success.” I recognize success when a racer finishes first. I don’t need to see exploding engines to recognize the cars that finish first, second, and third. I don’t need “wrecks” to remind me that F1 or IndyCar racing is demanding and beyond my ability.
I don’t belive the contention of fact, “… if race cars just ran start to finish on any kind of track, very few, if anyone would be watching.” Where’d that “fact” come from? We’re not supposed to see the cars go from start to finish?!
I guess that the underlying sentiment is that ‘mericans like to see “wrecks” and explosions (witness Hollywood’s action movies’ box-office sucesses and NASCRAP’s $ucce$$).

By: Mark Wick

Mark Wick — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 21:43:27 +0000

While engine failures are expensive and can deprive an Andre — err driver of a seeming victory, like crashes, the add to the drama of the sport. I don’t want to see drivers injured and very few who attend races or watch on TV want to see anyone hurt, but the fact is that if race cars just ran start to finish on any kind of track, very few, if anyone would be watching.

Years back when Rick Mears finally crashed he commented that the wreck was almost a relief to him. He knew that to win consistently, he had to drive on the edge. when he crashed, he knew he had driven past that edge. That was his confirmation that he had, indeed, been driving on the edge. He had to cross the line to be sure where it was.

Likewise, we who are watching need to know that the drivers, cars, and engines are all performing at the edge. Wrecks and equipment failures remind us that this is a hard, demanding, sport which is beyond our abilities or willingness to risk the consequences.

In racing, as in business and life in general, we must see and experience failures to be able to recognize success.

By: Travis R

Travis R — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 18:47:32 +0000

I’m a little late to the party here, but I was kind of holding out for today’s deadline to see if anybody else is coming in. From the article on IndyStar.com, it doesn’t sound like Randy Bernard is expecting anybody else today. There was also an article regarding the Dallara facility groundbreaking, but there was no mention of who was there. There were rumors that some Fiat execs would be there, which might hint at Fiat getting involved, but I didn’t hear anything yet.

Nonetheless, this is a good start for 2012. With 3 aerokits and 2 engine manufacturers, we’re going in the right direction. I’m sure a lot of folks will claim it’s not good enough, but we’re going in the right direction.

By: Bent Wickerbill

Bent Wickerbill — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 17:07:18 +0000

Man you are right George, where the heck is everybody, I expected that this post would have drawn many more responses than this.

By: Bubba

Bubba — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 02:22:32 +0000

I LOVE to wach stuff blow up!!!!! I don’t care if the best driver dont win as long as I gets to see exploshins!!!! The more the better! As long as the driver I likes the most gets to win!!!!

By: Bob

Bob — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 01:44:23 +0000

I don’t mind seeing engine failures when it is caused by pushing it to the limit by manufacturers or drivers. That’s racing! Failure in the pursuit of a win should always be an option. I say all of the above!

By: Edward

Edward — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 20:22:43 +0000

I share the assessment that I don’t want to see blown engines-at least all the time.

However, take a look at what Formula 1 does with it’s engine rules. Teams are allowed to rev their 2.4L V8 engines up to 18, 500 rpm. That stress can sometimes lead to failures. Combine that with the 8 engine per car per season rule-something which I hope IndyCar adopts-and the possibility of an engine failure creates drama, which is what sports is about. There has been very little on-track drama in recent years because Honda has de-tuned their engines to avoid all mechanical problems. That has made the series at times-even to the most die-hard fan-boring. To borrow a line from ABC’s Wide World of Sports, there has been very little of the Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat. That will hopefully change with the arrival of Chevrolet.

In regard to the poll, I voted every choice. In addition to the choices mentioned, there is also the promotional aspect that Chevy brings, not to mention the credibility that having having a major company like GM in the series can potentially bring.

By: Bent Wickerbill

Bent Wickerbill — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 18:08:48 +0000

No one WANTS to see engine failures, however, running identical detuned rev-limited engines in a spec series more or less eliminates any possibility of a team attempting to run their power plant on the ragged edge…. Back in the day of shade tree innovation, mechanics with a great deal of engineering savy, developed and modified existing powerplants and transmissions to produce an extreme amount of HP and torque. Through trial and error they got many of their projects tweeked to the point where these were relatively reliable while still producing competitive power. Each team / mechanic continually modified their existing equipment or began anew on different more modern equipment, always in an attempt to stay ahead of the other guys. Later when the manufactures became more heavily involved, things became much more expensive for the shade tree guys and they went the way of the horse and wagon. Lets face it, not many individuals or even groups of people can compete with the legions of people and the development equipment that a manufacturer can bring to bear…. The point is, now that there are two engines possible, the inclination by these two may be to push the performance envelop a bit more, which may result in one power plant being better on ovals and and the other being better on street or road courses. This may then result in the use of different combinations of aero parts which may then hopefully provide less predictable results, more competition and possibly even some blown engines.

By: BrianMcKay

BrianMcKay — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 15:34:49 +0000

I hate to see failed engines robbing very skilled, hard-working, deserving teams of wins, points, and prize money.
Yesterday I wouldn’t have liked to see a Red Bull team robbed of a race win and championship win by an engine detonating half a lap from the end of the race…

By: redd

redd — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 13:43:02 +0000

Izod, great. Bernard, great. GM, great. “All of the above,” too. I like to try to be positive about the series, but that’s sure gotten easier lately…

The only negative result of competition that I could foresee is if things start to get more expensive. Indycar is a fairly economical investment for a sponsor–at least compared to Nascar or F1. With engine competition (and engine failures) I’d think that could make it more expensive to run a team.