Chevy Notes for Kentucky IRL
BOWTIE BULLET POINTS: Chevrolet Notes for the Belterra Casino Indy 300
Kentucky Speedway
Round 11 of 16, Indy Racing League IndyCar Series
Sunday, August 15, 3:30 p.m. EDT
TV: ABC (live), 3:30 p.m. EDT
* The Turning Point
Last week's announcement that the IRL IndyCar Series' 2005 schedule
will include road races at Watkins Glen International in New York and
Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., marked a turning point. The IndyCar
Series has raced exclusively on oval tracks since its inception in 1996,
but next season the drivers, teams and engine manufacturers will have to
prepare to turn right as well as left.
Although a Chevy Indy V-8 hasn't competed in a road race since the
CART season finale in Monterey, Calif., in 1993, Chevrolet already has a
deep well of experience at both venues through its participation in NASCAR,
SCCA, IMSA and ALMS events. Today's 3.0-liter naturally aspirated Chevrolet
IndyCar Series engine is a far cry from the 2.65-liter turbocharged Chevy
Indy V-8 that powered Chevy's open-wheel racing program a decade ago.
"The current Chevy Indy V-8 engine is optimized for high-speed
oval tracks, so the addition of road races to the 2005 IRL schedule will
require a new development program," said GM Racing IRL program manager Joe
Negri. "We currently have two basic engine specifications - a speedway
package that is designed to operate over a relatively narrow rpm range, and
a short-track combination that has a slightly wider operating band. With
the move to road courses next season, we'll continue this philosophy of
tailoring the engine to specific types of tracks. A road racing
specification typically must be tuned for a wide range of engine speeds.
The engine rules that were introduced in 2003 anticipated this move to road
courses by allowing the manufacturers to use technical features such as two
fuel injectors per cylinder, so it's a matter of tuning the engine for road
racing rather than developing an entirely new package.
"Up to this point, the engine systems have been designed for
left-hand turns," Negri noted. "For example, the oil and fuel pickups are
engineered to scavenge under the g loads produced by an oval track. Those
are some of the areas that we will evaluate. We'll go into the first test
of the road racing chassis configuration at Homestead Speedway in September
with an open mind and see what the data tells us.
"The GM Racing engineering team will also focus on software
development for 2005," Negri added. "Traction control will be more
significant on road courses, and with more gear changes, electronic
controls will play a key role in shifting and overall drivetrain
reliability."
* Chassis Changes
GM Racing takes a holistic approach to racing by optimizing the car
and engine combination. GM Racing aerodynamics and chassis specialist
Kevin Bayless brings GM's technical resources to IRL teams, and he is
already thinking about the next steps for road racing competition.
"A road racing setup will require several changes from the current
oval track configuration," said Bayless. "First we'll need to install
a differential that will allow the cars to turn left and right smoothly. On
an oval track, the rearend is equipped with a spool that locks the two rear
tires together. On a road course, we'll use a limited slip differential
that will allow the rear wheels to rotate at different speeds while
cornering.
"The left-side suspension will be changed to allow negative camber,
which is the inward tilt of the wheels, for better grip in right-hand
turns," Bayless continued. "Some suspension components may need to be
strengthened to withstand impacts when the drivers bounce over curbs. The
brake package will also be upgraded, since the brakes are now used only
during pit stops and on very tight short tracks.
"In terms of aerodynamics, the ductwork for the radiators will be
enlarged to ensure adequate airflow to cool the engine at slower speeds.
The airflow through the coolers depends on the speed of the car, so with
slower speeds on some sections of a road course, we'll focus on keeping the
temperatures within acceptable limits.
"The front wing will also be the focus of aerodynamic development
to increase front downforce," said Bayless. "The goal will be to produce
more traction for turning at slower speeds. Suspension damping will be a
new dynamic with turning, braking and accelerating. In effect, IRL teams
and manufacturers will have to learn how to adapt a car that is primarily
designed for oval tracks to run successfully on a limited number of road
courses."
* Kentucky Rewind
GM engines have won all four of the IRL events contested at
Kentucky Speedway. Buddy Lazier scored back-to-back victories in 2000 and
2001 with IRL Aurora V-8 engines. Chevy Indy V-8 powerplants propelled
Felipe Giaffone and Sam Hornish Jr. into the winner's circle in 2002 and
2003 respectively.
Pennzoil Panther Racing and Chevrolet dominated last year's IRL race
at Kentucky Speedway. Starting from the pole, Panther Racing's Chevrolet
Dallara led 181 of 200 laps and set the IndyCar Series average speed record
at 197.897 mph (a mark that was subsequently eclipsed at California
Speedway). The Panther team notched Chevy's first victory of the 2003
season and the red Bowtie's 15th overall IRL win.
* Chevrolet Drivers on Kentucky Speedway
ALEX BARRON, Red Bull Cheever Racing Chevrolet Dallara:
"I haven't had a lot of luck at Kentucky Speedway in my previous
races there. I've been there twice, and one of those times, we could have
had a top-three finish, but ran into a mechanical problem that cost us that
podium. The track itself is good though. It's another 1.5-mile oval that's
pretty high banked. You can run two lines in Turns 3 and 4, but there's a
bump in Turn 2 that you have to be cautious of and adjust your car to
compensate for it."
TOWNSEND BELL, Panther Racing Menards/Johns Manville Chevrolet Dallara:
"This is going to be my first race at Kentucky, and we're all
looking forward to it. I've heard some good things from the engineers about
the car they had there last year, so we're hoping that success continues.
We've been really consistent the last three races, and we continue to take
little steps forward each time we go out. It's nice to finish as the top
Chevrolet, and this race we're looking to battle with Tommy (teammate Tomas
Scheckter) for that honor. It should be fun."
ED CARPENTER, Red Bull Cheever Racing Chevrolet Dallara:
"I've raced at Kentucky twice before in the Menards Infiniti Pro
Series and also had my first test in an IndyCar Series car with PDM there.
The track is challenging and has little differences each time you run there
because after the winter, there always seems to be different bumps on the
surface. It's a little different setup to tackle the track vs. tracks like
Chicago and Kansas. It tends to modify itself a little bit each year."
FELIPE GIAFFONE, Team Purex Dreyer & Reinbold Chevrolet Dallara:
"I'm looking forward to going back to Kentucky. Last time I drove
there, we won the race, so I have some really good memories of being in
Victory Lane. It's a fairly bumpy track, so the car has to be working well
over the bumps. We haven't had a chance to test there this year, but it
sounds like the speeds will be up from where we were in Kansas on our last
1.5-mile track."
TOMAS SCHECKTER, Panther Racing Pennzoil Chevrolet Dallara:
"We're really looking forward to the run at Kentucky Speedway. While
the track itself can be pretty bumpy on occasion, the Pennzoil Panther team
has always had strong cars there. Our engineering staff seems to have
figured out how to make the car handle really well anywhere on the track. I
remember last year watching the yellow Panther car dominate all the rest of
us and wished I were driving it. Well, this year I will be and I can hardly
wait. It should be a great race for teams and fans alike. We're also hoping
that Steve Namisnak, our vent and jack man who was injured at Michigan,
might be able to join us for the race."
* Racing Across America
Chevrolet will be in action at Watkins Glen International a full
year before the IRL IndyCar Series' arrival at the historic track as
Chevrolet Monte Carlos compete this weekend in the annual NASCAR road race
at the Glen. Chevy Silverado pickups will take on the Nashville
Superspeedway and Chevy drag racers will sprint to the finish line in
Brainerd, Minn. Chevrolet is the only manufacturer that currently competes
in America's premier stock car, open-wheel, drag racing and road racing
series.
