IRL: Final Curtain for Oldsmobile's 4-Liter Formula
12 October 1999
OLDSMOBILE AIMS FOR THIRD PERFECT SEASON IN INDY RACING LEAGUE FINALE
The End of an Era: IRL Aurora V8 Can Score 29th Consecutive
Victory in Last Hurrah for 4.0-liter Engine Formula
FORT WORTH - The season-ending Mall.com 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on
October 17 will not only decide the 1999 driver, team, and rookie
championships in the Pep Boys Indy Racing League, but also bring down the
curtain on the series' 4.0-liter engine formula. Next year a new generation
of 3.5-liter powerplants will replace the 4.0-liter motors that have
powered the IRL series since January 1997.
Oldsmobile's IRL Aurora V8 has compiled a perfect record of 28
straight poles, 28 consecutive victories, and 28 fastest laps since the
series introduced its naturally aspirated, production-based powerplants
three years ago. Now GM engineers are aiming to end the "Four-Liter Era"
with a final victory on the high-banked Texas track.
The odds will favor Oldsmobile when the IRL returns to Texas for the
final round of the ten-race open-wheel racing series. With 27 of the 28
entries using IRL Aurora V8 racing engines, Oldsmobile has the strength in
numbers to extend the longest active winning streak in a major American
motorsports series.
GM engineers had only 12 months to design, develop, and
manufacture components for the IRL Aurora V8 before the engine's debut at
Walt Disney World Speedway in Orlando, Fla., on January 25, 1997. Sixteen
of the 19 starters took the green flag with Oldsmobile engines that day;
when a downpour ended the race after 149 laps, Oldsmobile had scored its
first victory in Indy car racing. An Infiniti Indy engine powered the
runner-up - a result that would prove to be Nissan's best finish to date.
Oldsmobile gained momentum with an engine that was lighter, smaller, and
more powerful than its rival. The IRL Aurora V8 quickly became the dominant
powerplant in the IRL, and has remained the overwhelming choice of IRL
teams.
Oldsmobile swept the driver, team, and rookie championships in 1997
and 1998, and is leading all of the categories this year by wide margins.
In May, Oldsmobile won the Indianapolis 500 for the third straight year.
Two months later, Oldsmobile clinched its third consecutive Engine
Manufacturer Championship.
Last Hurrah for 4.0-Liter Formula
Fans at Texas Motor Speedway have witnessed the fastest lap speeds
ever recorded by 4.0-liter IRL race cars. Billy Boat set the absolute
qualifying record for new-formula IRL cars at 225.979 mph at TMS in
September 1998. Tony Stewart turned the series' fastest race lap at 228.012
mph at the 1.5-mile superspeedway on June 6, 1998.
Concerns about rising speeds eventually prompted IRL officials to
reduce the maximum engine speed from 10,500 to 10,000 rpm and announce
plans to introduce smaller, less powerful 3.5-liter engines next season.
"The lower rpm limit reduced peak output by approximately 20
horsepower," said Joe Negri, GM Raceshop IRL/Road Racing Group manager.
"The reduction in engine speed was a good interim step before the
introduction of 3.5-liter engines in 2000."
Continuous Improvement
Oldsmobile's success in Indy car competition is the result of a
focused and efficient racing program. "Our objective is to continually
improve the IRL Aurora V8," Negri noted. "From the first day of the
project, our focus has been on performance, reliability, durability, and
customer service.
"We know that the competition isn't standing still," Negri added. "The
IRL Aurora V8 has established the performance standard for the series, so
we need to be prepared to maintain Oldsmobile's competitive edge."
Track-Tested Technology
Since Oldsmobile's historic first Indy car victory at the Magic
Kingdom, 68 drivers have competed in IRL races with Oldsmobile engines.
Fourteen racers have taken the IRL Aurora V8 to the winner's circle, and
eight have won poles. Oldsmobile drivers have led 5,614 laps and completed
142,252 racing miles - a distance of nearly six laps around the Earth's
equator.
"The IRL Aurora V8 reached another milestone at the preceding race in
Las Vegas when it completed its 100,000th racing lap in IRL competition,"
Negri reported. "It is a remarkable accomplishment for Oldsmobile teams and
engine builders to have achieved this record in such a relatively short
time.
"While we are proud of the IRL Aurora V8's past accomplishments, we
are now totally focused on developing a new 3.5-liter version for the 2000
racing season," Negri continued. "Several teams have already conducted
track tests with prototype engines, and GM engineers are evaluating several
engine configurations on the dyno. We are very close to releasing our
initial recommendations on 3.5-liter engine specifications so teams can
begin to order parts for next season."
Supply and Demand
Oldsmobile has produced more than 600 IRL Aurora V8 engine blocks
and 1,000 cylinder heads to date. These major components will be carried
over to the new 3.5-liter engines. The demand for IRL engines remains
strong, and GM has bolstered its production and distribution system to
ensure that engine builders have the parts they need to service IRL teams.
Last November, Oldsmobile Marketing General Manager Karen
Francis announced that Oldsmobile had extended its agreement to provide
engines for the Pep Boys Indy Racing League through at least 2001.
"The IRL's philosophy of using affordable yet technologically
advanced racing engines is in harmony with GM's vision," said Francis
added. "Oldsmobile believes that it is important for engineers to have an
opportunity to work on advanced racing engines that are similar in concept
to production engines for both marketing opportunities and engineering
feedback."
Oldsmobile took a significant risk when it entered the demanding arena
of Indy car racing with only one year to develop, test, and manufacture a
racing version of the Aurora V8 production engine. Now on the eve of the
final race with 4.0-liter engines, GM engineers can look back at an
unmatched record of success in the Indy Racing League.