And Jumbo wrecked.
And, that there are only 11 retired cars is a testament to how reliable cars are today.
Tracks aren't as smooth as they look on TV. Those curbs? They're like 6" high and alternate to like 2" high every foot or so. Imagine that as a rumble strip, and then imagine it at a low speed of 120 mph.
The whole race, their goal is to run it as close to the catastrophic failure rate as they can.
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[–] NamelessCrewmember 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Relevant and entertaining if you haven’t seen it.
https://hooktube.com/watch?v=2U8Uy_0qFuk
[–] TheBuddha [S] ago
LOL Yeah. I'm familiar with them. I'm sure others aren't, so thanks.
[–] PuttitoutIsGone 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
I drove from the northeast to San Diego straight through. 18 hrs. Was so strung out by the time I got there I couldn't find the address I was looking for. I can't imagine racing for that long. Gotta be some stimulants involved there.
[–] TheBuddha [S] ago
Coffee. They test. They also don't race the whole time. The driving is split between 2 to 4 drivers (varies per series/event).
[–] PuttitoutIsGone 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Ah. You know, I believe I knew that. I could use some stimulants myself. Hard to wake up on rainy Sunday mornings.
[–] TheBuddha [S] 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
I should probably explain that there aren't really all that many bolts. In your car, stuff like the doors are bolted on. I mean, of course they are.
But, in a dedicated race car, they're just pins with like a sprung ball bearing on the far end. You can just yank out two pins and lift the door off. It takes seconds.
In fact, the rules insist you have a lighted sign on both sides (for this series). If that fails, and it does, you don't fix the sign. You just take the door off and put a spare door on.
The entire front assembly is just two clips and a pair of quick release things (I'm sure they have a technical name) that are twisted halfway to secure or loosen them. The entire rear is the same, including the wing assembly. In fact, if you want to adjust the balance, you don't fuck around changing stuff in the pits, you tear the nose off and replace it. It takes seconds.
In other words, with pretty much just one tool you can strip one of these cars down to the frame.
[–] bbqchipz 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
The cars are engineered to have replaceable parts to reduce pit times. I believe Formula1 teams will have as many as 5 almost complete cars available for a race weekend. There are certain restrictions like the amount of motors you are allowed to run each year. The value of a second is worth more than a 1,000 unwed virgins in motor sports.