Comments on: What I Meant To Say…

By: bduddy

bduddy — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 03:57:43 +0000

Anyone who doesn’t think that saving one’s equipment is a part of racing would have been disappointed for a vast part of its history. For the first couple decades of the Indy 500, it was THE most important skill for the best drivers…

By: Oilpressure

Oilpressure — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 23:18:39 +0000

Taking care of one’s equipment IS a skill and used to be a requirement to be considered an elite driver. With detuned engines, it is now a dying art form.

By: Brian McKay

Brian McKay — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 22:47:05 +0000

Amen to that

By: Ron Ford

Ron Ford — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 22:35:53 +0000

A blown engine or other mechanical failure just means heartbreak or disappointment for the driver, his crew and sponsor, and his or her fans. I don’t see any upside to that. I would rather see the drivers create the drama using their skill and all the racing tools at their disposal.

By: Steve K

Steve K — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 18:22:10 +0000

High Drama at the Barzilian GP as Vettels engine blew late in the race. You could see molten parts spitting out the bottom. Red Bull had by far the fastest car on the grid all year long, but it wasn’t reliable enough to take full advantage (Vettel 10 poles and just 5 wins). It was, however, just reliable enough to win both points titles. There is much more to racing than pure speed. A good driver takes care of his equipment.

By: Brian McKay

Brian McKay — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 05:53:38 +0000

I don’t understand why the leading racer, perhaps a driver who’s been fastest all day, perhaps fastest all weekend, doesn’t deserve to win. I don’t know why $6 parts ought to fail to hand first place to a following racer. I would rather see the second-place racer pass with skill or more horsepower or less drag or better grip. I disbelieve the notion that “watching Honda engines race without the possibility of any mechanical problems has removed any on-track drama” since 2005.

By: Mike R.

Mike R. — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 20:40:36 +0000

Seems to me that in the CART era, mid-to-late 90s, they were twisting ‘em at about 14000 at their peak. Don’t know about The League. I could barely stand to follow anything other than Indy of the IRL when the split occured.

By: Travis R

Travis R — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 20:38:18 +0000

Nicely said, George. I can’t add anything, other than to say I’m looking forward to seeing some limits pushed again soon!

By: NaBUru38

NaBUru38 — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 17:14:58 +0000

How high did engines rev in 2002-2004 and in the 1990s?

By: billytheskink

billytheskink — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 16:26:10 +0000

That 2000 Fontana race was insane, it really came down to surviving those 500 miles.
Not only did all 4 Mercedes starters lose power right after charging to the lead, Max Papis and Juan Montoya also blew engines while challenging at the front, Kenny Brack destroyed a turbocharger while leading the most laps, and Alex Barron charged into the lead in a Dale Coyne car with a few laps to go only to have his Ford-Cosworth explode.

Of the 25 starters, 19 DNFed. 9 of those blew engines and another 5 had other mechanical gremlins.

Drivers were really pushing those cars hard, especially the guys who weren’t among the 5 championship contenders. They all wanted the winner’s $1,000,000 share of the purse, I presumed.
Even with all the DNFs, the high speed 500 mile survival races were thrilling