Latest Tracy Column

[TedN]

Here

Ted

[macdaddy]

Thanks, Ted!

[Dov]

Thanks for the link, Ted! If you didn't post it, I would have completely forgot and I consider myself to be one of PT's biggest fans! LOL

In fact, as the drivers punch the throttle heading down one of the straightaways, the car will try to turn left. I have to constantly steer the car to the right down the straights to keep its nose going straight ahead.

I found this to be very interesting. Do you think the car is trying to turn left on the straights because the tires are staggered?! However, I'm not 100% sure if they stagger the tires in Milwaukee because it's supposed to be a flat oval.

I'll hang out with some of the other drivers, relaxing, getting caught up on pit gossip and stuff. Before Monterrey, for example, Jimmy Vasser and Oriol Servia and I had dinner on the Thursday night.

I wonder if Jeemy had dinner with Paul this week after PT punted Vasser off of the track during the Monterrey race.

[macdaddy]

I'd imagine that it's a combination of stagger, camber and spring settings that make the car naturally tend to steer left. I'm sure that the tires are staggered at Milwaukee, Dov. I would think that the track's relative flatness would have nothing to do with that. Camber? Maybe.

[enemy-ace]

Since the cars don't have to turn right ever on an oval they definitley set them up with a stagger. They try to optimize them for best speed through the corners and don't need to worry about those pesky right turns

[enemy-ace]

In regards to camber I think they would probably run a positive on the left and a negative on the right. I also remember Zanardi saying something about his right-rear tire and what it was doing being an essential part of a good setup. Also you don't want to overheat your right-front tire because then you would oversteer right into the wall. That would not be good. A stiff rear and a soft front would seem to me to be the logical solution there.

[Snrub]

PT confirmed what I suspected was true due to the increased passing at Monterrey:
"But the series changed the compound of the tire we were running on this year. Last year's tires were a hard compound, but the construction was fairly soft. This year the compound was stickier, but the construction of the tire was stiffer."

[Dov]

Bridgestone represenative said last night during the race that this years tire is exactly the same as last years, so who know's for sure.

[Snrub]

They said at Milwaukee the tires were the same as last years. The Bridgestone guy said nothing of Monterrey.

[macdaddy]

The tires brought to Milwaukee were too soft.
Just ask any driver who turned more than 5 laps!
It would be a learning-curve for the next oval race...
But there ain't one.

[Snrub]

They definately created a marble situation this year at Milwaukee. I know it was a cool night, but it doesn't appear that it was as cold as last year. That would probably explain things.