DPM Strut Panel debut 03-20-06

           News From
David Powers Motorsports
Valvoline / 84 Lumber / Louisiana-Pacific / Mac Tools 

 


For HI-Res Images or Additional Information, Contact:  Don Armstrong
(832)-252-8732 or (713) 202-4849  E-mail: Don@DavidPowersMotorsports.com

Aerodynamic innovation tested at Gainesville Raceway

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 21) - Following months of development, a pair of
vertical rudders, similar to those on a F-18 fighter jet, has been fitted to
the David Powers Motorsports/Valvoline Top Fuel dragster driven by "Hot Rod"
Fuller. 

 

During Monday testing, crew chief Lee Beard instructed his Valvoline team
members to attach the high-tech rudders -- referred to as strut panels -- to
the vertical rods that make up the rear wing support mechanism. Top Fuel
dragsters have utilized a large rear wing for years to provide as much as
10,000 pounds of downforce to the giant rear tires that carry these
7,000-horsepower cars down the racetrack.

 

Unlike the mono-strut wing, a single support device developed in the 1970s,
these strut panels are attached to the existing structure. Unlike flimsy
strut panel incarnations of the past, Beard's carbon-fiber designs are
shaped like an airplane wing and are rigid.

 

"The idea has been around since the Wright brothers flew at Kitty Hawk,"
Beard said. "What we are trying to do is keep the car stable should there be
a catastrophic failure of the rear wing. Since the bulk of the weight is at
the rear of the car, when any kind of failure occurs, the law of physics
dictates that during deceleration the heaviest part of the mass wants to
move to the front in the direction of travel. So we see the rear end of the
cars come around and put the driver in further jeopardy. All we're trying to
do is interfere with that just long enough for our driver to get the
parachutes out and the car safely stopped."

 

Developed in conjunction with Aerodine Composites Group of Indianapolis, the
new strut panels have been given an initial go-ahead by NHRA technical
officials pending post-testing analysis. Soon after final approval is given,
Beard expects strut panels to appear on many more dragsters competing in the
23-event NHRA Drag Racing series.

 

 

 

                                                            --30--