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Thread: Firsts and Lasts in Motorsports
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8th November 2016, 01:00 #151
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First turbine powered car to run in a Championship (Indy) car race: 1967 Indianapolis 500-Pratt & Whitney engine driven by Parnelli Jones to 6th place
Last turbine powered car to run in a Championship (Indy) car race*: 1971 Milwaukee 150-Pratt & Whitney engine driven by Rick Muther to 24th place
*If you include Championship dirt track racing then: 1972 DuQuoin 100-Allison engine driven by Jigger Sirois to a 3rd place finish
{corrections welcome}Last edited by Stan Reid; 8th November 2016 at 01:26.
This is my opinion and to the best of my knowledge, that is, if I'm not joking
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8th November 2016, 01:20 #152
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First turbine powered car to run in a WC Formula 1 race*: June 1971 Dutch GP-Pratt & Whitney engine driven by Rob Walker to 22nd place
*If you include non-Championship F1 races then: March 1971 Race of Champions-Pratt & Whitney engine driven by Emerson Fittipaldi to 12th place
Last turbine powered car to run in a Formula 1 race: September 1971 Italian GP-Pratt & Whitney engine driven by Emerson Fittipaldi to 8th place
{corrections welcome}Last edited by Stan Reid; 8th November 2016 at 01:23.
This is my opinion and to the best of my knowledge, that is, if I'm not joking
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8th November 2016, 01:48 #153
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Conversely, the Ford Indy engine had some marked success in dirt track racing. The trick was to swap sides on the cylinder heads so the header pipes wouldn't be blowing directly into the driver's face. Here's Big Al's version:
Picture090.jpgClick to enlargeThis is my opinion and to the best of my knowledge, that is, if I'm not joking
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8th November 2016, 02:31 #154
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Very interesting. I was unaware the front engined dirt cars used the DOHC Indy motor. Am I correct that this would be a very expensive motor for this class of racing. I thought they simply used tuned push rod engines as in many other racing applications,
The front layout calls for a completely different exhaust system. Can you explain a bit further on the exhaust layout changes.Last edited by D28; 8th November 2016 at 02:38.
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8th November 2016, 02:54 #155
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It was expensive but they were also running Offys at the time which weren't cheap either. As I understand it, they just put the left cylinder head on the right bank and vice versa so the exhaust ports were on the down side. I imagine they swapped pistons as well since I doubt that they were symmetrical. I actually saw one race in a Sprint Car on the half mile track at Knoxville, IL with Aldo Andretti (Mario's twin brother) driving. I think most of the front engine development happened after A.J. Foyt took over production of the powerplant.
Last edited by Stan Reid; 8th November 2016 at 02:59.
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8th November 2016, 03:38 #156
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Looking at references I note that USAC dropped dirt track races from their championship in 1971. There were many races still run by other sanctioning bodies, but would these tend to feature less sophisticated Ford motors, or did the Indy engines remain popular for some years?
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8th November 2016, 05:00 #157
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This is my opinion and to the best of my knowledge, that is, if I'm not joking
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8th November 2016, 14:39 #158
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Here's Big Al Unser on his way to winning the 1975 Springfield 100 Silver Crown race in a car with a Ford Indy engine.
Aunser1975.jpgClick to enlargeThis is my opinion and to the best of my knowledge, that is, if I'm not joking
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8th November 2016, 16:53 #159
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The first driver constructor to race his own car in a WC F1 event, was Jack Brabham, Brabham-Climax, 1962 German GP. The last would be Emerson Fittipaldi, Fittipaldi-Ford 1980 US GP, Watkins Glen. Other constructors such as Stewart and Prost did not race their cars.
In all probability Fittipaldi will remain the last one.
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9th November 2016, 01:52 #160
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First driver to race a 16 cylinder car in the Indianapolis 500: Louis Meyer 1930
Last driver to race a 16 cylinder car in the Indianapolis 500: William "Shorty" Cantlon 1947
{corrections welcome}This is my opinion and to the best of my knowledge, that is, if I'm not joking
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