Re: NASCAR etc

[C M Smith <cmsmith@domain.elided>]

Those who claim NASCAR sucks were right. Probably 90% of the "close" racing 
is due to aerodynamic effects. Cars behind the lead car in any chain are 
literally being sucked along the track. The hp output and aero resistance 
of these cars is so close that passing is only possible because of this effect.

Interestingly, the lead car in any group also benefits from sucking 
following cars along. The  total aerodynamic drag of the train of cars is a 
lot less than the total of each if driven in clear air, and even the front 
car goes faster than it would if alone on the track.

To say this type of racing is more exciting than F1 is ridiculous as it is 
similar racing with even fewer variables. The road racing track is 
inherently superior to the oval track for passing opportunities. If Nascar 
ran road courses more often you'd see that they lack the power differential 
to exploit real passing opportunities. Driver skill in Nascar is focussed 
on aerodynamic effects, probably only instinctively understood by the 
drivers. F1 passing "problems" are due to the very high technical level 
of  the cars which means that the driver has to be prepared to fully 
exploit the car, it's power characteristics, and the aerodynamic and 
mechanical grip changes around the road circuit to have any hope of 
passing. We see great passing maneuvers from great drivers in the top cars, 
but also great passing maneuvers from great drivers in the slower cars in 
back. You rarely see anything but a balls out pedal to the metal pass 
(accelerator or, more usually, the brake pedal) in F1, and that is 
precisely why it is relatively rare.

 As for goal scoring in soccer (football) it is the attempts and jockeying 
for position that entertain as much as the "scoring". In North America we 
are drawn to spectacles with lots of goals, but not much skill (baseball 
springs to mind as an exception, low scoring and dull!) whereas most of the 
rest of the world wants the excitement of the outstanding attempt only 
punctuated by the occasional "success". Some of the most exciting soccer 
games ever played are ties or 1-0 results. Ice hockey is the only team 
sport that compares to soccer, and it lacks the esthetic attraction of soccer.

What is needed to restore more excitement in racing is to  re write the 
rules to limit aerodynamic effects further and restore the balance in 
favour of mechanical grip. To begin with, F1 needs to dump those stupid 
tall tires and move into the 21 st century with proper low profile tires 
and more sophisticated suspension adjustments to exploit them. Right now 
these cars are suspended more like go karts than cars.

I say, build F1 cars a bit more like street cars and less like go karts and 
things would be even more entertaining.

And, how about those carb struts for an exciting digest topic?




Michael Smith
Calgary, Alberta,Canada
91 Alfa 164L
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