The New Car

Just dust off the chassis rule specs from the mid-nineties -- mail to any interested parties and tell them they have to be able to supply rollers for x-amount of dollars if they want to partake.
Done!
Next problem?

P.S. Just don't let them use that fin\fence that ran down the centre-line of the engine cover from the roll hoop towards the rear spoiler. That was UUHHGGLLYY!! I couldn't believe any top class series would allow such an abomination. Oh well, I guess they didn't know any better back then... way back then... before Jag had grey hairs. ;)

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Originally Posted by DrDomm

And what's wrong with that?

Sure as hell beats a 2008 Indycar!

I think a modified (for ovals) DP01 is the way to go. Get a couple of other manufacturers to build one, and stipulate a price (for the chassis and parts).

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There are too many small features that wouldn't easily carry over. For example, the DP01's gearbox was designed to be especially cheap. The Dallara's gearbox was designed to act as a crumple zone in a rear first collision. A gearbox like the DP01's crashing rear first on an oval would have F1 like results.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XA1KRf9s8Ds

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Originally Posted by Marbles

P.S. Just don't let them use that fin\fence that ran down the centre-line of the engine cover from the roll hoop towards the rear spoiler. That was UUHHGGLLYY!! I couldn't believe any top class series would allow such an abomination. Oh well, I guess they didn't know any better back then... way back then... before Jag had grey hairs. ;)

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That's a good point: the cowl fence or shark fin or whatever it was called. Didn't that first appear on the Penske? Then some other teams used it on their chassis, and some didn't. There were different approaches to aerodynamics from chassis to chassis, and even team to team.

And yeah, I understand and agree that ongoing development costs money. But whether under CART or USAC, part of the attraction this type of racing had in North America was the innovation that was allowed. That seemed to attract fans and sponsors, and it added to a general buzz that the sport no longer seems to have (IMO, true of CCWS or IRL).

I don't know what the magic bullet answer is, but when it comes to spec racing, GP2, Atlantics and Star Mazda do the trick for me. To be top shelf, it seems to me that you have to have something more than that.

I'm going to try some of that Grecian Formula stuff. I met a perky tweenager with a navel ring at a NOPI race a couple of years ago. She said her dad used that junk. So it must be good. :)

Current Dallaras are IMO the safest OW cars ever which is definitely important. So the next car must be even safer.

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Originally Posted by theugsquirrel

Fresh sheet of paper - design a car around a wingless formula.

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What?!
You mean cars the drivers really have to drive??! GASP!
:up:

There's no question that safety is of huge importance in the new design, and being spec more than ever will not only improve safety but balance of safety and speed.

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Originally Posted by Jag_Warrior

That's a good point: the cowl fence or shark fin or whatever it was called. Didn't that first appear on the Penske? Then some other teams used it on their chassis, and some didn't. There were different approaches to aerodynamics from chassis to chassis, and even team to team.

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And it just popped up now... over a decade later in F1... who'd of thunk?

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Originally Posted by Jag_Warrior

I don't know what the magic bullet answer is, but when it comes to spec racing, GP2, Atlantics and Star Mazda do the trick for me. To be top shelf, it seems to me that you have to have something more than that.

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Personally, for me the best racing finishes last year came from Canadian NASCAR (you had to see Ranger's finish at Trois Rivieres to believe it) and SCCA Touring Car.. But they just ain't sexy. Those guys don't spend anywhere near as much money on losing.

I'd like to see the chassis regs freed up and a small displacement turbo engine. Fiddle with the boost and fuel mileage (restrict revs) when the manufacturers start making too much HP and adjust boost for road and oval purposes. Ferchrissakes, we can't mandate horsepower when more than one engine supplier is involved.

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Originally Posted by Jag_Warrior

I'm going to try some of that Grecian Formula stuff. I met a perky tweenager with a navel ring at a NOPI race a couple of years ago. She said her dad used that junk. So it must be good. :)

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Remember, both top and bottom. The illusion must be complete! So I've heard.

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Originally Posted by theugsquirrel

Fresh sheet of paper - design a car around a wingless formula. Make sure the important things are taken care of and then worry about aesthetics. The racing will sell itself a lot better.

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Late sixties F1 cars looked great. Also, in my estimation, did a Champ Car when it had it's rear wing knocked off (awesome profile). This should seriously be looked at if the ICS wants a distinct identity. Wings provide advertising space though. Serious set back. They do not, IMO, provide much in the way of crush zone safety. Some here, however, feel they do.

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Originally Posted by Marbles

Late sixties F1 cars looked great. Also, in my estimation, did a Champ Car when it had it's rear wing knocked off (awesome profile). This should seriously be looked at if the ICS wants a distinct identity. Wings provide advertising space though. Serious set back.

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The teams can't currently sell the advertising space they have, and with the nice teardrop shape of the engine cowl, advertising on the cowl would be perfectly visible from a rear 3/4 angle if there wasn't a rear wing blocking the view.

If they had these tail-happy beasts that glued eyeballs to the TV, a whole lot less advertising space would be worth a whole lot more.

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Originally Posted by fan-veteran

Current Dallaras are IMO the safest OW cars ever which is definitely important. So the next car must be even safer.

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?? IRL crash test regs are nothing compared to those implemented in F1. The Panoz DP01 had to pass the F1 front and side impact tests as well. I'd argue the Dallara is at the end of it's life and the series could do with a safer car like the al the other higher level open wheels series.

Would it be possible for the ICS to desing a cockpit\safety cell and allow manufacturers to design a car around it?