2016 Verizon IndyCar SeriesOpen Wheel 

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Kurt Busch was recently given permission from Tony Stewart to do the Indy 500/Charlotte 600 double again and, provided a sponsor is identified, Busch would bring more attention to the race and increase Honda's odds at the Speedway
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Season hasn't even started and he already gives Kurt the go ahead. Best boss ever.
 
RACECAR
Season hasn't even started and he already gives Kurt the go ahead. Best boss ever.
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Why wouldn't he? I mean, Stewart has done the double himself in the past, so not allowing Kurt to do the same would be extremely hypocritical. :p
 
I just thought it was cool that without Kurt even asking, Tony gives him permission to.
 
Interesting. Weird how something as simple as that could actually make a big difference.

With this in mind, could this idea work with other race cars reaching similar speeds? Maybe this could be the solution to the flips we've seen with the LMPs.
 
Yes, in theory it should work with LMPs and any other race car with a similar flat floor setup. They would just need to make sure that the holes weren't fully covered by fully enclosed bodywork.

Even movable flaps like NASCAR has on their cars could be just as effective. Just need something to channel air through and/or cause enough drag to prevent a car from lifting.
 
RACECAR
Interesting. Weird how something as simple as that could actually make a big difference.

With this in mind, could this idea work with other race cars reaching similar speeds? Maybe this could be the solution to the flips we've seen with the LMPs.
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I think the big holes at the tops of the wheel arches were introduced for this reason, I'm not sure how successful they've been given the Anthony Davidson and Loic Duval crashes at Le Mans in the past years.
 
Considering there are wheels in the way of those openings preventing them from being very effective, I'd say they aren't the best idea. In theory, a hole in the flat floor will be since there's an unobstructed opening to channel air through to hopefully prevent a lift-off from happening.
 
GOTMAXPOWER
I think the big holes at the tops of the wheel arches were introduced for this reason, I'm not sure how successful they've been given the Anthony Davidson and Loic Duval crashes at Le Mans in the past years.
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Those don't do enough for reasons stated above, as well as considering the LMPs have this body clearance that allows air to get under it from the sides.
 
Justin
I just hope they don't have any BoP for the aero kits as it would defeat the whole purpose of them.
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Agreed, if some teams are slow then they need to do some more R&D. This is why I'm not a fan of spec parts in top levels of motorsports, in lower ranks it makes more sense to let a driver shine outside of the budget.
 
The Q&A states that even kits between teams of the same manufacturer won't be the same, so I don't think any BoP will work for them.
 
Homologation for the kits will be finalized on March 1st, as that is the deadline for them. March 16-17 is a test at Barber and that will be the first time they're used on the cars on track. Then two weeks later is the season opener in St. Petersburg where they will be used for the first time in racing conditions.

There might be a chance we see them between March 1st and 16th.
 
Understandable move on the downforce reduction. Too soon to ask the teams to invest in stronger chassis components since the smaller teams were already somewhat pushed to implement the aerokits.
 
Can someone explain to me why/how more downforce is dangerous/could cause safety problems? I always thought that less downforce would mean the cars would go faster on ovals/straights which to me sounds more dangerous. More downforce to me would only make cornering on circuits faster and ovals slower. Correct me if I'm wrong.
 
ukfan758
Can someone explain to me why/how more downforce is dangerous/could cause safety problems? I always thought that less downforce would mean the cars would go faster on ovals/straights which to me sounds more dangerous. More downforce to me would only make cornering on circuits faster and ovals slower.
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They are concerned the Dallara chassis may not be able to cope with the amount of downforce.
 
ukfan758
Can someone explain to me why/how more downforce is dangerous/could cause safety problems? I always thought that less downforce would mean the cars would go faster on ovals/straights which to me sounds more dangerous. More downforce to me would only make cornering on circuits faster and ovals slower. Correct me if I'm wrong.
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The suspension on the DW12 is not capable of handling the extra downforce, and neither are the tires. So, instead of forcing the teams to spend more money to upgrade the vital parts, it's easier to cut out the 400lbs of downforce from the aerokits. The 300lbs from the holes in front of the radiator inlets was already planned as a safety measure to help reduce/prevent the chance of a car getting airborne.
 
Urgh taking downforce out of the floor and replacing it with topside downforce is always upsetting for racing.
 
GTPorsche
How so?
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Topside downforce, wings and all that are what cause the biggest disturbance to the airflow - therefore killing the ability to run closely behind another car as the dirty air effect is increased. Underfloor downforce does not cause this issue to the same level.
 
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